PROMOTIONAL GIVEAWAYS
 My boss wants to eliminate my budget for giveaways, but my instincts tell me our tchotchkes are a valuable part of our exhibit strategy. Can you provide some ammunition that will further my argument for giveaways and help me retain my budget for them?
 Your instincts are dead on. An effective giveaway strategy — i.e. one that features a branded item that’s appropriate for your audience, company, and products — can not only build pre-show awareness and at-show exhibit traffic, it can also extend the reach of your company and its brand for months or even years afterwards. Even a simple, branded gadget generates word-of-mouth exposure and, as studies show, creates a positive perception of the company that distributed it.
According to a Georgia Southern University survey, more than 70 percent of trade show attendees who received a promotional product remembered the name of the company that gave them the product after the show. And more than 76 percent of those participants showed a favorable attitude toward the company. These findings prove that promotional products at trade shows result in greater awareness and a positive perception of the company as a whole — factors that can generate
a more loyal and happy client base as well as new business potential.
A second Georgia Southern University study observed the effects of promotional products as part of pre-show promotions by dividing pre-registered trade show participants into three groups. The first group received only a postcard inviting them to visit an exhibit. The second group received the same postcard along with a branded magnet. The third group received a postcard with a coupon to redeem for a free T-shirt at the booth. The study found that 78 percent more attendees responded to the T-shirt offer than the postcard/magnet offer, while 57 percent more people responded to the postcard/magnet than to the postcard alone.
Not only does this study show the power of effective promotions, but it demonstrates that pre-show promotions in particular can increase exhibit traffic, and they’re even more effective when paired with promotional products or offers. That way, the target audience has you in mind before the show and, in turn, they’ll often make stopping by your booth a priority.
So while your instincts about promotional products may have been spot on, you’ve now got a few statistics to back up your ESP.
— Jacinta Langford, communications director, Absorbent Ink, Lawrence, KS
FREELANCE ARRANGEMENTS
What advice do you have for exhibit managers interested in leaving the corporate world and going out on their own as freelancers?
The following tips will help you make the transition from corporate exhibit manager to freelancer as smoothly and successfully as possible.
 Before you jump ship, make sure you’re independent enough to work alone. If you thrive in the social atmosphere afforded by an office job, you’re unlikely to enjoy the relatively solitary nature of a freelance arrangement.
Determine your niche market. Your best bet of finding work is where you have expertise, so figure out what your specialty is and court customers within that niche. For example, do you have extensive experience in a particular industry sector? Or do you typically work with small, budget-conscious companies? My first niche was working with start-up companies hungry to save money. After the dot-com bubble burst, I regrouped to work with companies that were forced to lay off their dedicated exhibit staff. Whatever your area of expertise is, know it and promote it.
Get all the training you can while your employer is paying for it. I started by earning the Certified Meeting Professional designation to round me out in meeting planning followed by the Certified Manager of Exhibits, the Certified Trade Show Marketer, and the Certified Meeting Manager designations. I also got the Certified in Exhibition Management designation to manage entire shows.
Save your pennies while you’re working full time, so you can survive until you’ve developed a strong stable of clients. A good rule of thumb is to have enough in the bank to cover a year’s expenses and overhead.
Before making the leap, do your research and write a business plan to clarify your strategy. You’ll need a company name and logo, a local business license, business cards and stationery, a Web site, and office equipment (a phone, fax, computer, and connectivity). Determine your budget for start-up costs and identify how much income you need per month to cover those expenses. Then establish a rate structure and have templates of client proposals and contracts ready.
Put together a team of professionals to help you. At the least, you’ll need an accountant, small-business tax specialist, lawyer, Web designer, and insurance broker. Don’t try to do it all alone, or you won’t have time to work.
Get to know your local exhibit houses, graphics producers, etc. Let them know you’re looking for clients to help “on the side,” if you can do this while still working full time. Arrange client meetings before or after normal work hours, or on your lunch hour. But be sure that you’re not putting your full-time job in jeopardy if this is prohibited in your current employment agreement.
Finally, check out the small-business counseling services offered by the U.S. Small Business Administration at www.sba.gov. The SBA can provide counseling in starting up your company and has a good library of resources to help you build your business.
— Candy Adams, CTSM, CME, CEM, CMP, CMM, a.k.a. “The Booth Mom,” president, Trade Show Consulting, Defiance, OH
LIGHTING ADVANCES
What are some of the newest advances in exhibit lighting that I should consider when updating my company’s lighting system?
One of the most useful lighting improvements involves LED fixtures. Now, instead of only RGB (red, green, blue) lighting colors used in the past, manufacturers are including other diodes, such as amber and white, in the fixtures. The addition provides an infinite number of achievable lighting colors, as well as a more seamless blending of color.
Digital light projectors and server-based systems are also advancing and are worth considering, as they’re increasingly more capable of multiple, seamless image projection to cover an ever-expanding surface area. Advances in framing or shaped light projection also provide designers with the tools to place light on odd surfaces such as curved walls or uniquely constructed properties.
Advances in remote-control dimming are also on the rise. Small wired and wireless systems allow you to place and control fixtures in places that might otherwise be off limits due to wire-management issues. Lighting designers can now be more exacting with their fixture placement to get light precisely where it does the most good, such as in those tight spaces in or around graphics.
So, if you’re concerned about your company’s old-fashioned approach to lighting, check into the three advances mentioned above to help bring your exhibit-lighting system up to date.
— Paul M. Fine, president/principal designer, Fine Design Associates Inc., Doylestown, PA
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