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

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…)

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…)

Mark and Sally Have a Problem
Mark from Marketing and Sally from Sales have many customers at the trade show that need their attention constantly. Their colleagues also want their frequent input on other issues, and they feel the need to walk the floor and check out the competition. They also feel a lot of pressure to get face time with others in the industry, and they have just been signed up for “booth duty.” On top of that, they just got the news that they are to do presentations on their product, 8 times a day!

“Great,” thinks Mark and Sally. But they are team-players and they will suck it up. It’s too bad the results from their presentations will be, ahem, mixed. After all, they’ll be thinking about all the other things they should be doing while they are presenting, which is not what they want to be doing. Mark and Sally are idea and implementation people, not crowd-pleasing spokespeople.

There is a better way.  (more…)

At the start of the Great Depression, Kellogg’s and Post were neck and neck in cereal sales. Post slashed their marketing budget, while Kellogg’s maintained theirs. When the Depression ended, Kellogg’s had a market share dominance that they maintain to this day. (Source)

This is a perfect example of what NOT to do in tough economic times!  (more…)

Throughout the years I have come to find that many people in customer service positions are REACTIVE, rather than PROACTIVE. Think about it…who would you rather assist? The customer that comes in screaming their head off and demanding that YOU do something to make their situation better regardless of who is at fault, or the customer that calmly approaches you and asks if you could help them out?  (more…)

When walking around the trade show floor, I am constantly amazed at how many exhibitors I see who do nothing to encourage attendees to enter their booth. Having an in-booth presentation is a strong way to make a statement, and encourage attendees to stop, look, and listen.

The possibilities are endless…presentation theater, game show, product demonstration, magician, booth tour, interactive competition, roving reporter, you name it…but they all do the following: (more…)

So you have purchased your booth space, had your exhibit house design and build your exhibit, contracted all of your services, booked your airline flights and hotel rooms, hired your Professional Trade Show Presenter and other trade show talent, and chosen which of your employees are going to staff your booth. So now all you have to do is show up at the convention center…right?   (more…)