Archive for the ‘Events’ Category

Leverage Your Show and Save Media Dollars

Tuesday, July 26th, 2011 by user

By Jean Whiddon

Although most trade shows spend significant dollars on direct mail and other marketing tactics, you can maximize your print and interactive advertising investment more than you might realize through barters and other media negotiations. Print ads continue to be a strong driver for trade event registration and should be part of an integrated marketing campaign.

Bartering for advertising not only saves valuable marketing dollars, but also creates an opportunity for relationship-building between the show organizer and the industry publication, thus maximizing ROI. A good media negotiator knows who he/she’s dealing with, and the details of the potential negotiation. This attention to detail allows the negotiator to understand which cards he/she is holding, and how to leverage it for what he/she wants.

Below is a mix of sample “gives” and “gets” you might use to negoti­ate advertising deals. In some cases that might mean the advertising is free in exchange for alternative/trade “currency.” Your goal is to spread the marketing dollars further and the most exposure for the budget.

XYZ Expo Gets: Publication Gets:
  • Print ads (schedule of place­ments TBD as trade agree­ments are signed)
  • Banner ad w/ hyperlink on publication’s website
  • Banner ad and/or event de­scription in eNewsletter with hyperlink
  • Use of subscription list
  • Advertorials
  • Specialty Coverage in Calendar of Events, etc.
  • Insertion of direct mail piece in publication
  • E-mail blast(s) to subscribers
  • A publication bin in each entrance of the Expo
  • 10’ X 10’ booth with pipe and drape. Includes a sign and five (5) exhibitor badges.
  • Attendee Show Badges if booth is not supplied
  • One (1) Conference Show Registration
  • Listing on XYZ’s Expo Partners Page with logo and hyperlink
  • Pre-registration attendee list (only mailing addresses will be available) 1X or 2X use TBD based on trade
  • Post-show attendee list (only mailing addresses will be available) 1X or 2X use TBD based on trade
  • A dedicated furnished meeting room located on the show floor during the duration of the show. Includes a roundtable, chairs and a wastebasket. This will only be offered in lieu of booth.

Jean Whiddon is President & CEO of Fixation Marketing, www.fixation.com, a full-service marketing firm specializing in creative integrated campaigns that boost attendance and exhibit sales at trade shows and special events.

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Posted in Direct Marketing, Events Marketing | 3,467 Comments »

Salute to Excellence

Thursday, February 17th, 2011 by Autumn Jones

Yesterday, the 32nd Annual Association TRENDS Salute to Association Excellence was held int he Presidential Ballroom at the Capital Hilton in Washington.

Maggie McGary, online community and social media manager for the American-Speech-Language-Hearing Association was named Publishing Trendsetter of the Year by the Angerosa Research Foundation.  She was recognized for her efforts in developing and maintaining an organizationwide Web 2.0 strategy.  The association’s blog receives more than 40,000 visits per month and is accessible through a variety of mobile devices.  She also writes a personal social media blog “Mizz Information” and is a guest blogger for the Washington Post and SocialFish.

The winners of the All Media Contest were also recognized.

It was a great day for communications!

Maggie McGary receives the Publishing Trendsetter of the Year Award from Debra Stratton, Stratton Publishing

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Posted in Communications News, Events | 7,988 Comments »

Stocking Your Operational Toolkit

Tuesday, December 7th, 2010 by user

By Barbara Myers Ford

Employers are facing increased pressure to accommodate employees by allowing telecommuting, which Laura Skoff of Team Dynamics emphasizes is an essential factor for retaining qualified staff.  It is a matter of moving “from bricks to clicks” to create virtual operations. She explained this is important because it:

  1. Increases productivity
  2. Responds to staff realities
  3. Allows you to be a good employer
  4. Increases staff loyalty
  5. Improves the environment by reducing the carbon footprint of each teleworker whose commute is not contributing to the day’s emissions output.

Ken Heideman at the American Meteorological Society cautions that not all employees make good teleworking candidates.  Star teleworkers exhibit the following characteristics:

  1. Being organized with excellent time-management skills
  2. Self-motivation/self-discipline
  3. Strong communications skills
  4. Needing limited supervision
  5. Fully trained
  6. Comfort with technology
  7. Ability work alone
  8. Resourcefulness
  9. Ability to establish work/home-life boundaries
  10. Having a distraction–free work environments

He also spoke frankly that assessing how well someone will perform at the time of their interview is difficult, noting that you usually “hire” star employees AFTER you hire them by recognizing them with promotions.

During her 35+ year career, Barbara M. Ford worked for societies and consulting companies before establishing Meyers Consulting Services (MCS), specializing in society management and scholarly publishing.  Since starting MCS, Barbara’s work with commercial and non-profit publishers (as well as organizations in allied industries) ranges from a day of advice to months or years of service as adjunct staff in senior positions.

A co-founder of the Society for Scholarly Publishing and a past president of the Council of Science Editors, she has devoted considerable time to all the organizations serving the association community. Her most recent contributions are as adjunct faculty in the Masters in Publishing Program, George Washington University. More information can be found at www.bmeyersconsulting.com.

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Posted in Events, TRENDS Attends | 10,751 Comments »