Emilie Barta – Trade Show Presentation Specialist / Professional Trade Show Presenter – creating a clear, concise and consistent message to attract, engage, and interact with your audience

Welcome to St. Louis…an accommodating, affordable, fun city right in the middle of everywhere for your convention or meeting!

St. Louis is a rich, vibrant community steeped in history. It was founded by Pierre Laclede and August Chouteau in 1763 as a small fur trading post due to the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, and was named for King Louis IX of France. Laclede and Chouteau traveled up the Mississippi River from New Orleans and most of the early settlers were French…you will see much French influence still present in architecture, street names, and decorative areas around the city. St. Louis became part of the United States due to the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, and was the starting point of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, which was the 1st expedition to the Pacific Coast…hence the nickname “The Gateway to the West.” St. Louis was incorporated into a city in 1823, burned in 1849, hosted the 1904 World’s Fair (aka “Louisiana Purchase Exposition”) and the Olympics in the same year…and the rest is history! (more…)

In cleaning up my “virtual office” over a holiday weekend, I reconnected with this article that Deborah Elms of Imprinted Originals wrote for her blog. I couldn’t have said this better myself…so I’ll let her tell you the story!

STEP RIGHT UP …. TO A NEW LEVEL OF PRESENTATION! (more…)

Panel discussions have gotten a bad wrap…but I think that they are very enlightening, PROVIDED that they are comprised of positive-minded individuals who have an engaging personality and are very open and honest in their story-telling. (more…)

Whenever a video camera is turned on, people tend to do one of two things: they either light-up or they clam-up. With today’s success of video marketing and the plethora of opportunities to get your message out by being interviewed, there are a few simple things you can do to ensure a more comfortable experience. (more…)

35 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube every minute and 2 billion videos are viewed each month on Facebook. Brands are taking advantage of this new advertising and promotion format…so why aren’t you?

Promo videos allow your company messaging to reach trade show attendees who are on-site, and your potential customers who were unable to travel to the show. Linking to promo videos before, during, and after a trade show on your social media pages and on a custom landing page on your website allows you to: (more…)

Hiring trade show talent is a wise investment for an exhibitor to make…after all they are the ”trade show” professionals. There is no other medium like a trade show, and companies must market and behave accordingly. Unfortunately, too many exhibitors do not realize the nuances of trade show marketing, and do not have a successful show as a result. Supplementing booth staff with trade show talent is a great way to overcome this problem. (more…)

I recently received an email from a trade show exhibitor who stumbled across my article entitled A Smiling Staff Equals a Successful Trade Show. She agreed with the article, but unfortunately has to work with a booth staffer who is the exact opposite of the Safelite Auto Glass company employees I highlighted. So she ended her email by asking ”How do I rein him in without being like a mother hen and nag. We have no reporting structure between us. And other than ‘telling on him’ to our ‘boss’, do you have any suggestions?” (more…)

There are many methods exhibitors use to get attendees to stop by their booth. No matter what method you use, you should always start by thinking of how you can stimulate the 5 senses of the attendees. According to the Free Dictionary by Farlex, the definition of sense is a “faculty by which external or internal stimuli are conveyed to the brain centers, where they are registered as sensations.” Since the 5 senses are conveyed to the brain, it only makes sense for an exhibitor to utilize these senses to gain the attention of the attendees who are walking down the aisles of the trade show floor. (more…)

I just returned from NAFA Institute & Expo in Detroit, and was once again pleased to see a trade show with increased attendance numbers from 2009. While walking along the show floor, I noticed three different types of exhibitors: those that “got it” and made their presence known to the attendees; those that did not seem to care at all, did nothing to attract attendees, and consequently complained about the show; and those that knew the value of exhibiting, did a good job, and received enough leads to satisfy the checkbook, but did not do anything to stand out from the crowd. This last group was by far the largest type of exhibitor at the show, and although I felt they made a good effort, they could really learn a thing or two. (more…)

The place that birthed my trade show career has taken a lot of abuse lately due to political, union, and cost concerns. I have a “glass half full” personality, so I believe that everyone can work together to get everything worked out to benefit all parties involved.  (more…)