Emilie Barta – Trade Show In-booth Presentations, Convention Television, Corporate Promo Videos, Virtual + Hybrid Events

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…)

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…)

Photo courtesy of mdanys on Flickr Creative Commons

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…)

Photo courtesy of Michele Catania on Flickr Creative Commons

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…)

Presenting at CES is the best way I can think of to start the new year. The International CES (Consumer Electronics Show) is the world’s largest annual trade show for consumer technology and America’s largest annual trade show of any kind. It is great to get away to the Las Vegas warmth and sun from the cold and snow, and I always enjoy seeing old friends and connecting with new ones.

But what I do not enjoy about CES are the lines to get into any restaurant no matter where it is, what type of cuisine it serves, the price of the food, or whose name is associated with it. Plus, the name of the restaurant or the price of the total bill does not tell you anything about the quality of the food. I feel inadequate about my knowledge of restaurants in Las Vegas, so I turned to my Twitter friends for some help. Below is a list of restaurants recommended primarily by Event Professionals, whose opinion I trust more than any when it comes to food and service.  (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…)