Cheryl Medici
Marketing Services Coordinator, Ashland Specialty Chemical Company – Boonton, NJ |
 |
 |
Cheryl brought ten years of experience in trade show marketing to her position
at Ashland Specialty Chemical Company, when she joined them in 2001. She also completed her BA in Business Administration during her first six months with
the company. At Ashland she is responsible for the management of all of their trade shows and other events and meetings. Their largest trade show presence
is at the ICE (International Coatings Exposition) Show, and she focused her portfolio on how their participation in this show has evolved since she took
over management in 2001.
Ashland Specialty Chemical Company is made up of five businesses. To give a better picture of what they do, Cheryl explained it this way, “Ashland
Inc. is the motor oil that helps your car run more efficiently; the roads you drive on; the plastics in your kitchen appliances; the resins in your bathtub;
the chemicals used to make the microchips in your cell phone and computer; the additives in your living room paint; and the materials that help you maintain
your car’s appearance.
There were two key areas in Cheryl’s portfolio that clearly demonstrated her ability to successfully manage her trade show program. First, after joining
Ashland, Cheryl did a site visit to the exhibit house to better understand the exhibit properties and time needed for I&D. What she discovered was a
booth purchased four years prior, used only once, and sitting in storage, while they had been using a borrowed worn custom booth from another division and
were considering refurbishing it. Cheryl returned to the office with recommended changes to improve the booth in storage, estimated costs, and gained management
approval to move forward, completing the project with significant savings in time for their big show.
The second key area was the need to improve traffic at Ashland’s annual hospitality suite held in conjunction with the ICE Show in New Orleans, a
city providing many distractions for attendees, especially on Bourbon Street. By switching the venue from the host hotel to a hotel on Bourbon Street overlooking
the street activities, the time from 5 PM to 8 PM start, and the food/beverage from finger food and mixed drinks to coffee, cordials and dessert, Cheryl
created a winner! Not only did she win over the skeptics in her company (going from a handful of visitors after 7 PM previously to a full house both nights),
she also did it at a cost savings of over $2500. |
 |
| Contacting the CTSM Program: |
CTSM Program Administrator (Wendy Lewis)
206 South Broadway Suite 745
Rochester, MN
55904
507-252-4624
Fax: 507-289-5253
wlewis@exhibitormagazine.com |
 |
| Back
to Top |
|
|
|
