To start, I want to say I don’t hold a high status in the trade show industry and I don’t consider myself an exhibition marketing expert. However, I have been involved in trade shows and event marketing for most of my adult life. I have worked as a trade show model, a brand ambassador, a product specialist, a tour manager, and in just about every relevant position you could think of. I am writing to share my experiences and give readers an inside look- at life in the trade show industry. I’ll also provide you with some helpful tips that I’ve learned along the way.
My Background
I grew up in Atlanta, GA. Atlanta has consistently ranked as one of the world’s most popular trade show destinations, and according to Cvent.com, is currently ranked #8 in the US. There’s a pretty good chance you’ll be traveling to Atlanta this year, or in the near future if you’re involved in event marketing. The best deals I’ve found on rooms are through Booking.com. Click HERE to check out their rates.
Growing up in Atlanta, close to the Georgia World Congress Center, provided me with the opportunity to begin working at trade show events right out of high school. It also gave me an early understanding of the impact the trade show industry has on the local business sector. The World Congress Center has hosted countless trade shows and other events that have helped make Atlanta a worldwide destination for the trade show industry.
No matter if it’s your first time visiting Atlanta, or you’ve been here a thousand times, there is always something new to see.
My Travels
Having the ability to work in my home city is nice, but this constantly evolving industry never stands still, which means traveling is pretty much essential. Over the past ten years, I have worked at most of the country’s top trade shows, and they are as diverse as this great country of ours.
I’ve worked everything from the Global Business Travel Association Expo in Washington, DC, to the heart of Texas at the Cowboy Expo in Fort Worth. I’ve traveled to Minneapolis, MN for the Association of the American Railroads, and I’ve been to the heart of steel country for the AISTECH Conference in Pittsburgh, PA.
Some of my favorite places to work are Vegas, L.A., San Diego, Chicago, and New York, to name a few. I have made wonderful memories driving through the Utah mountains and walking the beaches in San Diego. I’ve experienced the wonder of the Great Lakes in Wisconsin and the beauty of the San Antonio River Walk.
I have to say that of all the places the trade show industry has allowed me to visit and all of the things I’ve been able to do, the shows themselves have been the most exciting factor. Trade shows have provided me with great life experiences, like tasting the award-winning cheese at the Wisconsin International Cheese Expo and the opportunity to shake hands with interesting people like the head of the Bankers Association Conference.
There is always an exciting factor to engaging in conversations with people from all walks of life. I’ve had the opportunity to talk with new traveling show reps that managed to get an entire booth set up overnight due to their low startup budget, and I’ve engaged in conversation with the top executives about the million-dollar afterparty their company threw the night before. These invaluable experiences have given me a broad perspective on what all goes into trade show life. I have also developed an appreciation for our multi-faceted industry that goes well beyond the ability to travel and sightsee.
Event after event, no matter the industry or the destination, there is a common factor, everyone is there to network, buy or sell, or a little of both. This is what industries are born from. New products and ideas are developed. Supply and demand are created. Marketing these products and ideas has always played a crucial role in driving our economy, and the trade show industry is vehicle.
My Role In The Trade Show Industry
Providing marketing tools and services has always been my role in the trade show industry. No matter if it is generating leads, promoting a new product, or coordinating a tour, I quickly learned that there is always a new horizon ahead of me.
Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of redundancy that comes along with working in the trade show industry. There is the monotonous repetition of packing and unpacking, which becomes a chore. The long hours of standing, waiting for breakdown hour to come around to pack up, load out and do it all over again in a new city. I have become accustomed to the airport restaurant menus and the same drawn-out boarding procedures that you’ve already heard a thousand times. Leaving my family for days at a time to sleep in a bed that wasn’t mine can get old.
Despite the annoying little details, the reward comes in a big package. The ability to experience new places, taste the array of flavorful foods from different cultures, learn about new innovative products, and be one of the first to see an invention come to life are just a few of the experiences many would never have the opportunity to enjoy.
The trade show industry is full of life and new beginnings. And, just between us, there are times I enjoy having a little alone time away from the home front.
Welcome to the Pandemic!
With all that I have experienced, nothing could have prepared me for COVID. Everyone and everything we called “normal” was affected by the Big C in some aspect. The event industry came to a complete stop. Flights were canceled, businesses and jobs were lost, and dinners, hotel stays, and client meetings all came to an end. The life I had come to know and love was a thing of the past.
I remember working at my last show before the quarantine, IPPE (International Poultry & Processing Expo). No one had a clue about what was ahead. Shortly after, the convention centers started shutting down one by one. And just like that, the trade show industry changed and I was out of a job.
For the better part of a year, I, like a lot of other people, was out of work and trying to figure out what to do next. Life was full of uncertainty and a lot of fear. On top of everything else, about a month into the quarantine, my husband and I found out we were expecting our third child. Life was definitely going to be different!
But, I can’t say that the entire experience was a bad thing. I learned a lot about myself and what I wanted out of life. I learned new skills, new ways of doing things, and how to handle stress better. Most importantly, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Overall, I wouldn’t change a thing.
My Return to Event Life
I finally returned to the trade show industry in March of 2021. The event was held at the Astros Stadium in Houston, Texas. Working a trade show on an open baseball field was certainly different. The committee was eager for the association to reunite in a physical setting again, but with strict restrictions still in place, it created a challenge.
The conclusion was reached that hosting the annual event in an open area with a removable stadium roof was a win! The event was a success, and the attendance rate was higher than anticipated. It seemed people were ready to get out into the world again. But not everyone was ready to jump back into things in full swing.
Despite the show’s approval, the international attendee list had decreased significantly. With only domestic exhibitors attending, this resulted in a tremendous revenue loss. The loss affected not only the suppliers and the buyers, but the nearby hotels, stores, and restaurants all took a hard hit. In fact, the City of Houston, as well as other major cities across the Nation continued to suffer.
The Rise of Virtual
The pandemic taught us that business does not have to be conducted face to face. Virtual meetings became everyday business vernacular overnight. People began working from home, and delivery companies like Amazon and DoorDash grew larger. We quickly became a nation of recluses.
The global pandemic also gave rise to virtual trade shows. At the time, social distancing was being enforced at the local grocery stores; therefore, hosting an enormous international gathering was definitely out of the question. New technology had a heavy influence on the direction that the event industry was headed.
The need for commerce to carry on always brings about new ideas, innovations, and strategies in how we do business. In many ways, the trade show industry has gained a broader audience reach and greater accessibility.
With regard to the trade show industry, the virtual environment provided companies with the ability to save money. The cost of show registrations and rentals was cut. Forking out money on booth design and equipment shipping, as well as travel pay for staff became a thing of the past.
I could keep going, but the point is, at the height of COVID, virtual hosting was the only option, and it wasn’t a completely bad thing. It’s more convenient and has a cheaper price tag.
Virtual Networking Versus Traditional Events
So why wouldn’t the trade show industry change to a virtual networking stage? Makes sense right? The fact is that a significant percentage of conferences and seminars have turned virtual. There is also a large number of companies that maintain a “one foot in one foot out” mentality, giving rise to the “Hybrid” event strategy. In other words, a dual method of continuing face-to-face meetings and providing scheduled virtual meetups. How the company conducts business is solely at its discretion.
With the growth of virtual interactive exhibits, other sophisticated concepts have been brought into action, such as hosting integrated live streaming events with live polls, and gamification to breakout sessions.
Social media is slowly changing the face of the marketing industry. Social channels such as Facebook and LinkedIn create a direct line of communication between businesses and existing customers, making new client acquisitions more probable over digital platforms.
The trade show industry has inherited many new access points and the ability to utilize powerful elements, but with this comes much higher competition. This means that businesses need to be more prepared now than ever to provide customer support for concerns while gathering feedback. In response, marketing companies have turned to extensive digital graphic designs for their marketing campaigns.
Event projects have become more focused on incorporating a human-like experience into a 3D platform. Research studies involve digging deeper to develop creative ways to engage hybrid and digital attendees to restore the relationship-building essence.
Conventional event planning expertise is being challenged by a new profound and dramatic change in the trade show industry. A day in the life of an event planner has gone from organizing tables at a venue to digitally designing a floor plan for a virtual exhibition.
New training courses have emerged, along with seminars and webinars, offering powerful tactics for developing creative interactive experiences. The benefits are undeniable. Networking is much more accessible globally, resulting in a growing percentage of attendees and participants.
The Impact of Virtual Events
In many ways, the coronavirus set a turning point for the better economically. However, it’s important to stop and look at the entire picture. It’s the small details that have a huge impact.
It has definitely made an impact on the way sales and marketing strategies are looked at within the tradeshow industry. Exhibitors targeting a sale don’t normally target groups, they target individuals. Most sales that lack a professional relationship struggle to trigger buyer trust. A relationship must be formed to increase the chances of a returning customer. The bottom line is that sellers want to sell to people, and buyers like to buy from people.
Networking events afford the opportunity to engage colleagues and clients in both formal and informal settings. Throughout my experience, I have learned one thing. The show is for show. The deals are done off the showroom floor.
For many, the showroom gives them the opportunity to make a personal appearance. Others are looking for a competitive edge on who has the most intricate booth design or clever marketing strategy. Some are simply waiting for the mid-day cocktail hour.
Real networking and selling come later, through dinners, afterparty engagements, and conversations. Think of it as the show being the primer and the afterparty as “sealing the deal”. Experiences and relationships are important components that are hard to develop through a virtual connection.
The Times They Are A Changin for the trade show industry
The world we live in is constantly evolving, and the marketing game is switching focus to a new direction. Like anything else, it has its good and bad sides, and whatever your opinion of the change may be, it is important that the trade show industry embrace it in order to remain relevant.
Just think, we’ve dropped newspapers, billboards, and traditional television commercials to turn our marketing strategy into a brand awareness campaign on Facebook. LinkedIn is the new job interview, and Instagram is the old shopping mall where we would meet our friends on the weekends. Marketing departments aren’t complete without SEO specialists, social media managers, and YouTube influencers.
What does this mean for our generation? According to 24-7 Press Release, a leader in the online press release distribution industry, it means growth, which is good. On the flip side, however, we must reflect on the many advantages that come from face-to-face events.
Conclusion
Despite the massive amounts of information, ideas, and trends the virtual world has to offer, it’s not until you get to the show that you’re able to experience the reality of what trade show industry events offer to you personally. I’m sure that many can relate to the enjoyment of seeing familiar faces, swapping jokes and war stories, and having the opportunity to meet new people. It’s the kind of experience that many of us will never forget.
And it all begins with a simple, yet irreplaceable handshake.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, and check out the rest of our tips, tricks, and advice to make your events shine at The Shine Blog from Divine Shoe Shine Models!
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