Bay Area Trade show display, Event Marketing

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February 2012
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Jessica’s Blog: Sun Tropics Exhibit for Fancy Food 2012 SF

Sun Tropics debuted their brand new booth exhibit at 37th Annual Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco, California. The main focus of their 10×10 corner space was to sample and display their all natural juice products while at the same time keeping their set up and installation easy and manageable. To accomplish this they opted for Skyline’s 3000-R portable bannerstand backwall in an inkjet print at custom height of 92″. In addition they put to use the 6′ table which was included in their space rental and draped it with an imperial blue throw with a fully printed front logo. This entire exhibit of 3 bannerstands, 3 lights, and 3 table throws packed in one wheeled round case at 30 lbs.

For any questions on bannerstand backwalls feel free to email me at jlorias@skybay.com

Filed under: Banner Stands, Jessica's Blog | No Comments »

Jan

Jessica’s Blog: Welcome 2012

2012 has had some buzz full of predictions and theories. No matter what you believe, this year will definitely be quite interesting. We started the year off with a spring winter in Silicon Valley, then lead into an extra day in February for leap year, and of course the world’s Summer Olympics. In the tradeshow world, we always love the fresh start of a new year as we are given a clean slate for new, exciting, and sometimes good riskay exhibiting strategies. Exhibitors and booth builders take what they have learned from the last year(s) to make the new year even better. Morphing is always awesome and only time allows us to do that.

Here are some examples of exhibits morphing over the years…

Exhibits by Skyline make transformations easy since massaging changes are vital in marketing. So definitely take what you have learned and make 2012 even better.

For new year ideas feel free to email me at jlorias@skybay.com

Filed under: Jessica's Blog, Show Tips | No Comments »

Dec

Jessica’s Blog: BIOMEDevice 2011, San Jose CA

The two day show right in our Silicon Valley backyard (San Jose Convention Center) has come to a close. The show featured predominantly inline spaces which some companies showed great portable & modular exhibits. Check out phoots from my visit:

RTX partnered with Skyline for their 10×10 space using Skyline’s Inliten system with tube extension kiosk. The reception table used is one of Skyline’s newest product lines, the Occassions table. A great fit for their space!

This 10×20 Inliten booth by Skyline has some great detail. This exhibitor powder coated their Inliten hardware to gloss black from the stock silver it comes in. A great look to the booth which does not eat a hefty part of the booth budget.

For ideas for BIOMEDevice 2012 feel free to email me at jlorias@skybay.com

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Nov

Jessica’s Blog: Happy Thanksgiving!

I am always anxious to enter Q4, or even as early as September, as I know fall is waiting in the wings. Kids are back in school, the nights are colder, and the fall trade show season is in high gear. With all of these activities and in addition to the holidays, I find the most inspiration during these months. The season’s color pallet, burnt oranges, browns, deep reds, are of such rich hues that it can be implemented in various design aspects. The transitions of color gives such a great flow and in design gradients translates very well to the eye.

Now enjoy all the falling leaves, bundling up and turkey with family and friends. Cheers!

For ideas on how to incorporate a fall color palette you can email me at jlorias@skybay.com

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Nov

The Pain of Non-functional Budget Breaking Exhibits

How Does Your Pain Rank?

Funny thing happened to me a month ago as I was walking the isles of Home Depot. I was overcome with a pain that could only be described as similar to someone driving a nail into my ankle! Waiting for the funny part? So was I! Despite inheriting my father’s ”play with the pain” and “suck it up” mentality I figured being in the fetal position in the hardware section of Home Depot for ten minutes was all the sucking up I could handle and I quickly set up an appointment to see a specialist. Funny thing happened to me at the specialist. After the overly enthusiastic doctor anxiously pulled me into the exam room, along with any and all interns within earshot, to look at the x-ray she disclosed a rare condition where the synovial sack of my ankle joint was filled with tumors! Still waiting for the funny part? So am I! After an hour and a half of waiting to see yet another specialist and fearing the worst – while also attempting to humor myself by recalling Arnold Schwarzenegger’s famous line “It’s not a tumaaa” over and over again – it was explained to me that while they were indeed tumors they were most likely benign and removable. Funny thing happened after the surgery. The specialist removed 126 tumors that turned out to be a medical record eclipsing the previous measly record of 22! To my slight disappointment the specialist honestly disclosed that while this was quite a medical phenomenon, it would still take a close second to his Guinness Book of World Record for largest wrapped burrito. What’s a guy gotta do??? Now that’s almost funny in a Sienfeld irony kinda way. When I asked the specialist his opinion as to why I had eclipsed the record by such a large margin he theorized that most “normal” people wouldn’t have endured the pain for as long as I did – translation: there’s a reason the cavemen had a low life expectancy.
You knew this had to tie into trade shows somehow right? Moral of the story is I meet so many clients or potential clients that have or still do live with the pain of either their non-functional budget breaking exhibits, their excessive non-productive trade show schedule or a bad vendor for far too long because they get so used to it and they start to think it’s normal. Don’t be as stubborn as I was and wait until the pain is too much before consulting a trade show professional on solutions to ease that pain. Unless of course you have a prescription for codeine to mask the pain as I did! Disclaimer – watch out for the side effects when you stop taking it as I found myself emotionally distraught over the episode of friends where Ross had to say goodbye to his pet monkey! Now that’s funny! I can say that now because I’m over it.

Todd Anderson
Exhibit Consultant
Skyline Northern California
Skyline Displays Bay Area, Inc.

Filed under: Show Tips, Technology, Todd Anderson, Todd's Blog, trade show marketing | No Comments »

Oct

Jessica’s Blog: The Trusted Dividend

As I approach my 10th year of my tradeshow career and especially at the end of 2011, like companies, I look back at the last 12 months. Did I reach my goals? Did I perform to my ability? Do I have satisfied clients? I want to say yes at all, but I do not believe even the top CEO can answer it all as 100% true. With close to 500 working projects a year of various degrees of complexity and budgets, the only scenario I can provide is trust. It has been the common denominator among my successful projects.

I enjoy the achievement of a well thought out and executed project, and have never taken credit for it alone. My team and I work as a whole unit and they understand and respect my passion, and most importantly, my overall attention to detail. This level of performance strengthens the trust factor in all my account rep – client relationships.

On the darker side of projects that we wish did not happen but do, are mistakes. The honesty in communication of those mistakes maintains the trust. I am not pleased when they happen and try my best to avoid them, but over the years I have accepted they will and my role is to be prepared for them. I always have a back up plan in place even if they are under my control or not. Murphy’s Law is extremely prevalent in event planning! It is like having a 6th sense being able to anticipate them and over time after seeing it all you just know when they will arise.

In my almost decade of a career I have learned I am here for the good and the bad and that is why I am trusted. I never t take that trust for granted and I appreciate being chosen as a partner.

Filed under: Jessica's Blog, Show Tips | No Comments »

Oct

Do not be part of the “Herd”. Go Big When Others Are Small.

Often you hear trade show marketing managers saying “Oh it is a small venue. We do not have to go big.” However, if you did your market research of Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning, it does not matter what other exhibitors are doing. Your exhibiting marketing goal should always be implementing your segmentation by optimizing your products/services for that segment and communicating that your brand have made the choice to distinguish itself. If you follow this mantra you automatically weed out at least 70% of your competition. As you see in the images below, Cloud Shield chose to do exactly so at Focus 11, Security Conference that is going on now. Notice, how most of the exhibitors are in an “inline space”. Cloud Shield stands tall way in the back towering above everyone.

The show is sponsored by McAfee: notice how McAfee on to your left is subdued by the monolithic structure of Cloud Shield. Good Move you would say and I would say: Follow Basic Marketing 101 Principles. You will never go wrong.

Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win… The Art of War, Sun Tzu, 600 BC.

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Sarmistha Tarafder

Filed under: Focus 11, Sarmistha Tarafder, Show Tips, trade show booth designs, Trade show convention | No Comments »

Oct

7 Rudimentary Instructions for Trade Show Booth Staffers

The First Question To Ask When Exhibiting At Tradeshows

As a trade show manager you are responsible for the success of your mega production. Having a prepared booth staff will definitely help you in the long run.

1. Instruct staffers where and when to pick up badges if you are not distributing badges to the staff before the show.

2. Instruct the staffers the show dates and hours that they need to be at the booth. converse with the staffers what they should do if they are running late for their assigned time or fall ill and are unable to make it to the show floor. It is wise to schedule a few floaters for every shift in case last-minute changes.

3. Instruct the directions, transportation options from the hotel to the convention center. Give the estimate time to travel on show days.

4. Instruct your company’s dress code and distribute booth uniforms if you are using them.

5. Instruct on the limited personal storage space in the exhibit. It is messy and not secure to leave the personal belonging lying on the booth floor.

6. Instruct the schedule and location of end-of -day debrief meetings to review what worked and what did not work. This is a great way to brainstorm any necessary mid-course connections that needs to be implemented for the remainder of the show.

7. Instruct the individual responsibility for exhibit tear down. Schedule task ahead of time to ensure that your staffers are there when you need them.

Source: Exhibitor Magazine

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Sarmistha Tarafder

Filed under: Sarmistha Tarafder, Show Tips, Trade show booth staffing | No Comments »

Oct

Jessica’s Blog: The Scoop Ball Chair – A simple design decision

Just like in a home, furniture in trade show exhibits create the overall style of a booth. While Herman Miller, Ethan Allen, & Restoration Hardware are not trade show friendly, there are other pieces that do accent well, convey uniqueness, and will not take a huge hit to the budget. We know all too well the infamous grey padded silver show rental chair for $250.00/each.

The choice of furniture has a huge impact, especially on theater settings. The seating selection is the first element attendees will draw their eyes to. For a split second the overall look in seating will implant in their heads and sway their decision to determine if the presentation is worth commiting a couple minutes, and in some the leading motive, to relieve their walking feet from hours of walking the trade show floor (We all have been there).

The scoop ball chair is one of my favorite pieces for theater seating. It’s ergonomic form is such a talking piece at events since it is so different. It comes in a ton of colors which really can make your space pop while splashing a little mod to it.

For questions on the scoop ball chair email me at jlorias@skybay.com

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Oct

Jessica’s Blog: Thank you Mr. Steve Jobs

I was closing out my LinkedIn account yesterday around 4pm, and the recent status on my timeline reads “RIP Steve Jobs”. It was a semi-shock feeling, but more the shock of seeing those words actually together in a sentence. I knew of his health issues and the chances of him passing were realistic, but you always think the inevitable wouldn’t happen to people of that stature. The entire Silicon Valley has a sweet spot for Mr. Jobs. Thank you for building the Valley to what it is today.

Ten years ago exhibitors would walk into our doors asking for a “cool” booth. They wanted to stand out and set themselves from the competition, because of Steve Jobs’ vision our “cool” is now “Apple”. “Apple” is most used design term in the Silicon Valley for trade show exhibits in the past 5 years.

“We want to look like Apple.”

“The design should be clean, minimal, simple and modern. Think Apple.”

“The furniture should be light wood colors like the Apple store.”

“We are looking for an open and inviting booth like Apple.”

“Skyline’s Envoy system evokes the look and feel of today’s most in demand brands as in Apple…”

Apple conveyed a strong brand across all experiences, product design, marketing design, packaging design, down to even the retail environments. It is so clean, simple and strongly recognized that it attracts all. It is modern, sexy, classy and the tradeshow world now considers this design as the founding father. Skyline Exhibits did not ignore its strength and was the inspiration to our newly designed Envoy System.

Steve Jobs unknowingly set the tone for design trends in the trade show world. Mr. Jobs you can add another accomplishment under your belt.

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