(Note: this article is continued from our June 2006 newsletter)
 

The 3rd ingredient of your Operational Plan is:

3. Preliminary Plan - The first component for defining your Preliminary Plan is to determine your exhibit “Concept”. There are 3 basic concepts that can be accomplished through exhibiting at shows and events:

• Product Position – this concept focuses on your product or service offerings. It works well for new companies.

• Company Identification – this concept focuses on creating awareness and the branding of your over-all company. If you are looking to enhance or change your company’s image this concept works well.

• Company Position – this concept focuses on your marketing position. Is your company a leader within your industry? Is your company “Trying Harder” (such as Avis)?

Other components for defining your Preliminary Plan are:

• What you are going to display? Which products or services are best to showcase for the audience of each specific show you are considering?

• Your communications message. What do you want to inform the show attendees about? What needs to be presented verbally and with graphics?

• Your structural requirements. Which exhibit structures are going to be required to showcase your products or services and/or the graphic messages that you are going to present?

• I&D (installation & dismantle) requirements. Do you want or need to hire an I&D crew to set-up and tear down your chosen exhibit structures?

• Logistics. How are you going to transport your products and exhibit structures to and from the show?

• Determining your booth staff. Who is going to be working in your exhibit booth?

4. Booth Selection - Your Potential Audience at any given show is a key to determining how large a booth space to rent. So what is your Potential Audience? Your Potential Audience is defined as the number of qualified attendees there are at a show to purchase or recommend each product or service that you offer.

Your Potential Audience will range from 7% to 12% of a shows total Net Attendance. However, although 80% of your Potential Audience will see your exhibit only 44% will actually stop and visit with your booth staff.

So how much space do you need to qualify then present your offerings to your calculated number of booth visitors? Certainly other variables exist such as space needed for demo areas, work-stations, conference area, etc. You don’t want to rent too much space but equally important you don’t want to rent too little space.
 

5. Promotions – A promotion is your marketing strategy. It is the creative approach you use to deliver your message. Promotions include your Pre-show, At-show and Post-show strategies.

According the Trade Show Bureau, your chances of seeing your target prospects without prior contact (Pre-show) or on-site (At-show) promotion is less than 3% due to the time limitations for your prospects. 
 

6. Budgets - Exhibitor Magazine has published an average exhibition industry budget as follows: 

• Exhibit space rental    31.6%  of total budget
• Promotions       6.1%
• Graphics     7.5%
• Exhibit Design & Construction 12.4%
• Show services   13.6%
• Travel, lodging, entertainment 18.1%
• Exhibit Shipping    9.3%
• Other      1.4%

Exhibiting at tradeshows and events is a simple concept that requires a complex set of activities to make is a successful method of marketing, communication and sales. If you prepare your exhibit plan with the same attention to details as you would in determining the ingredients required to prepare a fine meal, your exhibit program will not only be “good”, but will be excellent!

Construction continues at AEM in Irvine, CA. Cement has been poured and drywall has been taped and painted. The Graphics area and showroom structures are complete. Up next: new bathrooms and front office areas!

We all know that there is an ebb and flow to colors--a cyclical pattern of intermittent popularity. Mauve is "in" , mauve is "out". What brings a color into public awareness and makes it popular? 

Designers and forecasters are the visionaries; they are super-tuned to the current and future events that shape the public taste, however, there are many reasons why a specific color or color family captures the collective consumer eye. 

Among the most influential issues, role models or creators that are currently influencing consumer color trends are: 

TV: From Regis Philbin to Katie Couric, millions of watchful eyes observe what the stars are wearing and emulate their favorite styles and colors. MTV continues to be a strong trend setter for the younger generation. 

Films: When Warren Beatty's Dick Tracy was in production, his heroe's ubiquitous yellow raincoat was talked about and photographed for a year before the film ever appeared and yellow became hot. A hit film enjoys a longer shelf life because of home videos, prolonging the life cycle of the featured color in the marketplace. Yellow continues to be a presence, especially in interior design and many other colors are underscored with a warm yellow undertone. 

Music: The music world has always influenced styling trends. Country and Western music has crossed the line into mainstream and "scoot your booty " western line dancing is the rage."Dude Style" has spread from Houston, Texas to West Houston Street in SoHo. As a result, denim is the # 1 fashion fabric in the U.S. and blue is still America's favorite color. 

Magazines: Fashion magazines have traditionally been the arbiters of style and color. Today mega-models inspire trends that are interpreted internationally and home decorating magazines have become the consumers' "wish books" for colorful and liveable environments. Ecclectic remains a key word for the 90s to 2002, often inspired by a rich variety of cultures. 

Museum collections: Media focus often brings attention to specific collections or artists. As the collection of Egypt's Dazzling Sun: Amenhotep III tours internationally with displays of brilliant glass, glazed ceramics, temple sculptures, gilded jewelry and opulent mummy cases, many consumer products will be rendered in gilt by association! 

Social issues: One of the most significant public concerns is the environment. How can that impact color choices? When we are bombarded with information and genuinely concerned about a universal problem, the colors associated with that problem are subliminally with us. When we want to preserve the earth, we become more open to the use of earthtones and consciously ( or unconsciously) seek them out. Environmentally correct buzzwords relating to color are: natural, vegetable-dyed, tea-stained, sunbleached or unbleached. 

Mass Market Merchandising: Huge chains like The Limited, The Gap, Target and Pier I display the newest colors in a very appealing, well-organized manner, simplifying color coordination for the consumer and, most importantly during a time when money is tight, at an affordable price. 

Occasionally, colors become popular because of unforeseen events. During the Gulf War in 1991, the yellow ribbon became the symbol of hope and optimism. This coincided with the Dick Tracy film and yellow exploded in the marketplace. 

The roving consumer eye is notorious for seeking novelty. A "new" color or colors used in unique, fresh combinations will not only get the consumer to pay attention but to pay the price as well. 
 

article from PANTONE