Do you find that most of your time online is on mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets? You may find that the convenience of the Web at your fingertips is beneficial but keeping up with your favorite webpages could have a little bit of a damper. We have great news though.

The Trade Show News Network, a primary source for our Trade Show news and updates, is proud to announce a partnership with a2z Inc. This partnership with the leading provider of web-based event management tools means the coming year will be easier to organize your calendar and your life around the important tradeshows surrounding your area and your industry.

We will continue to give you news about trade shows and events throughout the United States so be sure to add The Trade Show Blog and Motivators.com to your list of homepages on your devices. 

Although it is not yet December, much of the Northeast is seeing regular temperatures in the high 30's. It's hard to imagine how anyone can cope with brisk temperatures come January.

That's why I am here to tell you about the ASI Orlando Tradeshow. Every year, the Advertising Specialty Institute hosts several tradeshows designed specifically in mind to get industry members together and to showcase some of the newest promotional products on the market. Our Motivators employees go to these shows every year in the hopes to use and touch these products first-hand - before we put them up on our website.

The ASI show will be hitting The Sunshine State in early January - and this is not a show to miss! This show is the first of 2013 and will give attendees the opportunity to see (and even order) items that will be high in demand for 2013. What will it be this year? Whatever product is in demand, you can be one of the first to have your company logo printed on it.

The ASI Orlando show takes place between January 5 and January 7 at the Orange County Convention Center. For more information, please visit the ASI Orlando show website.

I had the pleasure of attending my first industry trade show - ASI New York - and was very impressed. There were so many vendors and products with amazing and unique features, it was a little overwhelming at times. I just didn't know where to look first!

With rows and rows of booths set up in Manhattan's Javits Convention Center, we made sure to visit everyone. And we got to see some pretty cool things. Here just a few of the highlights:

This pillow separates passengers on a plane for comfort and privacy. I don't know about you, but I could definitely use one of these! 

A new kind of printing for apparel. They won't tell us exactly how they do it, but it looks very cool - definitely one that would stand out in a crowd.

Beverage cooler meets slap bracelet. What I love about this one is that it's adjustable for a one-size-fits-all fit. Plus, it's really fun.

What a great experience. I have to say it was definitely one of the more interesting trade shows I've been to. I think I can speak for the Motivators gang in saying we all enjoyed the ASI Show in New York!

If you're anything like me, you're desperately looking for a way out of spending 4+ months in New York during winter weather. I have annual remedies that range from hopping on a flight south to looking up .jpeg images of tropical regions.
Although I've never done it, many hop a flight with their golf bag and spend their time playing 18 holes (or more) in the warmth of the sun.
If you're looking forward to doing the same thing this year, might I suggest a change of pace: the Golf Industry Show.
Held at the Convention Center in famed Las Vegas, NV, the Golf Industry Show is one of the largest of its kind. The convention includes keynote speakers from the industry as well as exhibitors and distributors with hundreds of new and exciting promotional golf products. These might include custom imprinted golf tees, custom imprinted polo shirts and even custom imprinted golf balls. Best of all, there is exactly 129 golf courses in the Las Vegas area where you can show off your skills and new products.
The tradeshow takes place between February 29 and March 1 of 2012, leaving you plenty of time to find airfare, hotel and something to dust off your old clubs.  

If you're going to call something "Ultimate" you need to stand behind the product/service 110% and it needs to be the best of its kind around. For that reason, it's appropriate to call things such as Ultimate Fighting Championship and Ultimate Frisbee - ultimate.
With this is mind, it's also appropriate to refer to the Ultimate Fishing Show as the "ultimate" tradeshow for fishing and fishing accessories for the entire continental United States. Taking place in the majestic Suburban Collection Showcase in Detroit, MI this tradeshow is three days of fishing accessories, fishing equipment and even fishing seminars. These include exhibits of new fishing boats on the market, a fish fry dining hall, demonstrations on how to clean fish, thousands of different hooks and tackles as well as a 110,000 gallon lake for demonstrations.
Motivators has dozen of fish-related items in-stock. There's custom imprinted food products that look like goldfish, custom imprinted stress balls in the shape of fish, custom imprinted fishing hooks and even a promotional fishing line bobber. 

Eat Up.

As if Halloween wasn't enough, this weekend also marks the 14th annual Chocolate Show in New York, NY. Held at the Metropolitan Pavillion, this tradeshow will feature more than 65 fine chocolate companies that will display their art for all to see. Additionally, there will be exhibits designed for children, cooking seminars in two elaborate theatres and promotional book signings by world-renowned chefs.

For those who can't make the last minute minute trip to the chocolate hub of North America and are too old to walk door-to-door for Milky Way bars, there is always promotional chocolate products from Motivators. There are chocolate coins, chocolate shapes and even chocolate gift boxes. All of these are delicious and always fresh upon delivery. Perfect for clients and employees for the upcoming Holidays...or for yourself. 

"Go ahead. Watch TV."

It is absolutely normal to feel pre-show jitters once signed up for a tradeshow. You start to think how you'll be able to hook people into checking out your booth and eventually panic that your product or service might not be. Don't worry - take a breather. And start using your senses.

People are drawn by anything that heightens their senses. But while most tradeshows won't allow you to cook up something delicious to bring people in, almost all tradeshows will allow you to include some sort of audio and/or visual component.

If you have the money and the time, hooking up stellar visual screens is a surefire way to get people over to your booth. These screens are perfect for demonstrations, for commercials or even interviews. Because most people opt out of using visual screens, your booth will surely stick out. If budgets are tight, audio might be the easiest to incorporate. Playing music at a fairly loud volume will attract a crowd to your booth just as well. Motivators carries promotional electronics that will do the trick at a fraction of the cost.

And it truly works. We at Motivators have a division called Motivators TV whose job is to find top-notch products and create videos for them. Whether informational or humourous, the videos are always a huge hit and as a result end up selling better than products without videos.

"Extra! Extra! Read all about me!"

In the same way you invite someone to your birthday party or wedding, inviting people to visit your display at your upcoming tradeshow is one of the top priorities on a long to-do list. Inviting friends, both inside and outside of the industry, is a perfect way to catch up and to receive updates/opinions on the industry you work in. But as a company, everything you embody depends on new and existing customers - without new customers, there is no room for growth and without a good relationship with existing customers, your hardwork will never fully pay off. Reaching out to TV stations, radio stations, Internet and paper sources is the best way to reach these masses. And there's no way to try to get your foot in the door without a media invite.

Once your tradeshow space is confirmed, (a booth number is recommended, not mandatory) create a media invite that includes information about the tradeshow, information about the company and above all, the time(s) and date(s) of the tradeshow. If no one in your company has experience in writing media invites or press releases, find a template on the Internet. 

Once completed, find appropriate contacts for any media you deem appropriate. This could be nationally recognized newspapers, online blogs pertaining to your industry, radio stations - the possibilities are infinite. Obviously, the more localized and independent of a news source, the more likely you'll receive a response. And adding a promotional product, such as a custom imprinted pen or custom imprinted bookmark, will definitely help in a lasting impression.

If you don't receive a response, don't fret. News sources hate when someone is too persistant and simply don't have time to respond to every e-mail they receive - even if they plan on attending. As for any responses you do receive, be sure to set up a time to meet and offer anything the reporter might need - whether it be an interview or a press release.

"Was it something I said?"

You're at the tradeshow, talking it up with someone who asks you questions about your product or service. You answer the question and he or she immediately turns away with not so much as a thank you. You choke it up as being that one person but then it happens again to you - two, three, even four times. "Was it something I said?"

Know Your Audience.
That is the one phrase that got me through college as well as a handful of jobs I've held. That is, know who is going to be at the tradeshow. Will they be experts in your field? Will they be in the industry already? The best way to do this is to research the tradeshow you plan on attending as well as coming up with a list of questions (and answers) that you believe will be asked at the tradeshow. There is nothing people hate more than someone who is illprepared for a tradeshow or someone who doesn't seem interested. 

Hygiene.
We all enough to brush our teeth in the morning or to shower before heading to work but attending a tradeshow may mean keeping ahead of the curve when it comes to all this. Long hours means not taking care of your breath and lots of people means an increased indoor temperature. Be sure to have promotional mints on hand or a lightweight promotional t-shirt so you don't sweat through your promotional long sleeve dress shirt. 

What do Mike Posner, Kelly Rowland, 2 AM Club and Salt N Pepa have in common? Simple: they were all special guests at last years' International DJ Expo in Atlantic City, NJ. And if you want to rub elbows with famous artists and see the latest in mixing/recording technology, look no further than this exotic location.
For those interested in attending this year, there will be promotional giveaways such as promotional t-shirts and promotional stickers touting the names of DJs, production companies, etc. There will certainly be enough going around to fill a promotional tote bag.
This years' festivities will take place August 8-11 at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. And you'll never know who will grace the stage.