In my opinion, the best gifts for the Holiday season are those that you receive after the Holiday season is over. Do you want to take your loved one to a concert but tickets aren't released? Do you want to promise someone the new iPhone when it comes out? Print out a picture or description of the item. This will get your recipient excited about what is to come - before the product is even in production. 

I have friends who live or go to school in the Philadelphia area. For Christmas, I was unsure of what to get them. Instead, I am giving them an IOU - at the Philadelphia Gift Show 2013 tradeshow.

The Philadelphia Gift Show 2013 tradeshow takes place at the larger-than-life Greater Philadelphia Expo Center. The Expo Center is filled with thousands of lines of products and thousands of products - many of which will probably be must-have items for the 2013 Holiday Season.

With so many new and interesting items, giving your loved one an IOU at the Philadelphia Gift Show is more personable than a gift card but great for those who do not know what they want. It also makes the perfect gift for yourself.

Mark January 5-8 2013 on your promotional calendar today!  

As some of my earlier posts may have hinted to, I have had some experience when it comes to standing on both sides of the tradeshow booth. This gives me the slight advantage of knowing what it is like to be asking questions and answering the same questions. 

But where do I get up-and-coming information on tradeshows? My primary source is the Tradeshow News Network.

The TSNN is a highly cited website by the Motivators Tradeshow Blog and has the largest database of tradeshows in dozens of categories. Whether it is a sport fishing tradeshow in Alabama, a medical technology tradeshow in Hawaii or looking for an industry tradeshow on the other side of the world, the database allows you to search by name, locale or even the month.

No one understands the inner workings of a trade show like the contributing writers of Tradeshow News Network. Once in a while, a very informative article on the DOs and DON'Ts of the tradeshow lifestyle.

Two such articles, entitled "10 Tips to Check Off for Your Next Trade Show" and "6 Post-show Practices You Should Be Using" are written by Lisa Apolinski and Christina Hernandez respectively. The first discusses what features you may want to use during your next tradeshow and what can be passed on. It gives many new ideas and shuns things that employees/employers still use to this day. Christina Hernadez's article focuses on what to do with the newfound information and contacts after the tradeshow is done and over with.

So grab your promotional products and read both articles linked above. The two articles are must-reads. As always, be sure to check this site for more hints and promotional product ideas. 

Go away for a weekend and you'll find yourself staying at a hotel or motel and going to several restaurants for your meals. So once the vacation is done and over, how do you remember the hotel or the restaurant you visited?

Promotional products. 

According to eHow, promotional products is one of the most powerful and effective ways to expand your name. In hotels, you'll see this on bathrobes, shampoo bottles, hand lotion bottles and even the occasional pair of bathrobe slippers. In restaurants, you'll find after-dinner chocolates, after-dinner mints, business cards and matchbooks adorning the restaurant's name and information. Over the course of one weekend, you'll probably go home with something like the items listed above.

The International Hotel, Motel and Restaurant Show is an opportunity to meet other people from your industry and to those who cater to making your industry optimal. This is a chance to see what new promotional giveaways are available and what can help promote your name and likeness.

Although the show takes place in November at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City (November 10-13) use this time to register, book a flight/hotel and to prepare for networking. By doing so, you'll be sure to gain awareness of your brand in time for 2013. 

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.  

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.

"What's in it for me?"

During the tradeshow, you'll be in close contact with hundreds and in proximity of thousands. So, at the end of the day, don't you want to be sure you have their contact information?

Simply asking for it can work sometimes - especially with those who seem really impressed by your product or service. Most people won't willingly hand out their personal information, no matter how little is asked of them. Even those who seem interested will feel uneasy about handing over anything from an e-mail address to a phone number. You can't really blame them - with corporations breaching the Do Not Call List and pop-up ads going renegade, this is simply not a surprise. 
But with some promotional incentive and some smooth talking, you can get a sign-up list going for mailers, e-mails and future promotions. 
But handing out promotional pens isn't the way to get people flocking. Give the people what they want!
Motivators has plenty of promotional incentives that will have people flocking to your booth and handing out their contact information. From mp3's to DVD's to photo prints, the hardest decision you'll have is which promotional incentive to pick - that, and how many to purchase!
And to get people really excited, why not have a contest? Nothing draws people to a booth like a contest. Whether it is a cruise, a TV or just a pile of cash, people will definitely want to throw their information your way. Use a promotional tradeshow ballot box to keep these entries safe throughout the tradeshow.

As a word of advice, please be conservative and respectful when using contact information from people you meet at tradeshows. In the same way word-of-mouth can build up a company's stature, it can also destroy it in an instant. 

 

"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.

"We missed the registration deadline. I guess we can't go to the tradeshow."

False.

If you're like me, you sometimes come across some really great events and promotions too late. I do it all the time with online clearance sales and concert ticket purchases but for a company, missing out on an industry-wide tradeshow is slightly more detrimental. Missing out on vital tradeshows can result in missed opportunities to network and missed chances to reach an audience who is actively seeking your product and services. 

But just because you missed the registration deadline for a tradeshow doesn't mean you can not go. There are many ways to make your company known just by being an attendee. 

As an attendee, you can scout what is new in the industry from the point-of-view of the consumer. Think of the questions your consumers would ask you about your products and services and see how your competitors and other adversaries answer or react. You might get some vital information that can put your company at the cutting edge of technology and help you prepare for your next tradeshow.

But attending a tradeshow can also get you closer to your consumers. You'll be walking among your consumers so striking up conversations and surveying the crowd will take little effort. Based on this feedback, you'll be able to tweak your services to better customer service and might learn a thing or two about what consumers are really looking for in products.

Promotional products can certainly help you out here too, despite not having the promotional tradeshow display. Handing out promotional pens or promotional notebooks is a good way to have an item with your logo and your name on an item they will be using all day at the tradeshow. Or for something more unique, consider handing out custom imprinted stress ball key chains. They are a fun and covert way to advertise your name at a tradeshow. Disclaimer: See tradeshow's policy on advertising and promotional giveaways before distributing promotional products. (we want you to be a success and not escorted out of the tradeshow) Promotional products are also perfect for networking with other companies in the hopes to collaborate on future endeavors.

Planning is key for any tradeshow and is necessary for networking and scouting at tradeshows.