The Year of the Dragon

Posted by

Barry Siskind

Community Manager

 

In Chinese metaphysics, the active Dragon symbolizes the massive mountain range, the powerful energy of the land, and a strong earth element. The year, the dragon will, according to those who understand these things, be a time of change and movement. While some of these changes may involve destructive acts of nature there may also be positive changes that come with new opportunities. Our industry has proven over and over again its resilience to whatever is thrown in its path.

 

So as we usher in the year of the dragon I want to wish all of our followers in China a healthy and prosperous new year.

 

 

Sylvie Fourn speaks about Franco Phonic Africa

Posted by

Barry Siskind

Community Manager

 

 

The African continent has the largest number of French speaking people in the world. There are nearly 115 million French speaking people in 31 francophone countries. This represents a huge potential marketplace for the exhibition industry. At the upcoming UFI Open Seminar and Expo Summit in Africa, Sylvie Fourn, Managing Director of the Industry and Environment Division for Reed Expositions, France will address the audience with her presentation called, “The Choices of Cooperation and Partnerships with Franco Phonic African Show Organizers.”

 

I asked had an opportunity to ask her a few questions in advance of her presentation.

 

Barry: What should Franco Phonic organizers look for from potential partners?

 

Sylvie: In my experience the key to a successful partnership are having a global outlook, being open-minded  and operating with integrity, honesty and a willingness to learn, share and grow together.

 

It requires more time to work in association with another company or partner to launch a new show more time. You have to take into consideration that the local partner will think and act according to their culture and experience.

 

If you want to be safe, successful and happy, you need to be mentally prepared to enter into an association with foreign partners knowing that working together is complicated but the results are significantly more productive for the future of each partner. That’s why I always prefer a clever and well educated partner that I can rely on, who has looked at developing his company and is interested in cooperating with a French partner.

 

Barry: Does it make sense for exhibitions in Franco Phonic markets to focus on certain industries rather than others? If yes, which industries would you say provide the most opportunity?

 

Sylvie: In North Africa as everywhere in the world, a trade show is only one tool, among many that answer the needs of a market. The best shows and the great opportunities for successful shows are the industries/markets such as  Agriculture, Food Industry (products, equipment and machines), Building and Civil Engineering, Environment (water and waste publics services), Catering and Accommodation, Chain Stores,  Industry (equipment, machines and sub-contracting), Logistics, Medical and Automotive.

 

Most of the successful shows we’ve launched were dedicated to these markets and our defined priorities: present the foreign technologies and products to the local purchasers, create business and technical partnership between the foreign producers and local distributors or investors and bring technical contents and best practices to the professional attendees.

 

If Africa is a place you have considered then the conference, which falls on March 15 – 17 is worth your consideration.

 

http://capetown2012.ufi.evenium.com

..

 

 

Face to Face may be good for your health

Posted by

Barry Siskind

Community Manager

 

Have you ever wondered if all your text messaging is doing anything towards relationship building? Do you miss those “good old days” when people talked to each other on the phone or better still face to face?

Before you chalk up texting as the way of the future you should take note of an interesting study conducted by social anthropologist Leslie Seltzer from the University of Wisconsin in the USA. Seltzer studied 64 teenage girls who were put into a stressful situation. Then one third of these girls were comforted by their mother’s voice in person, one third on the phone and the last by text.

 

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/01/instant-messaging-stress/

 

The first two groups experienced a reduction in the stress hormone oxytocin and cortisol. The last group showed no measurable difference in these hormones.

While the experiment focused on a familiar voice (mom’s), it is not a great stretch to ask whether any human voice would have a similar affect. While that question may be the focus of future studies, Dr Seltzer’s conclusion was that  “People still need to interact the way we were evolved to interact.”

One of the key benefits to our exhibition visitors is the ability to network in a face to face environment. It is a benefit we know well and continue to promote. This research confirms that there is more to face to face than a good business meeting. It also says that it can have a direct affect on the business relationship which improves when people feel better about the interaction.

I am not sure that this study has any practical implications for change in the way we operate our exhibitions. I just thought it was interesting enough for all of you to file away for a time when you are wondering whether face to face still has relevance in an online world.

 

 

The Demise of Posters at Science Based Events

Posted by

Barry Siskind

Community Manager

 

Those involved in health, science or engineering exhibitions and conferences know the importance of having a portion of your floor space dedicated to posters.

 

Posters, which are painstakingly prepared by researchers, academics and health care professionals, provide a visual opportunity to tell a story. Posters provide a vehicle for sharing valuable information with the community, informing colleagues of current directions with the hope of collaboration, informing funding agencies of advances or enticing potential partners. The value of posters is undisputed.

 

The problem is that posters typically have a short life-span. They are created for a specific event and then relegated to a wall in the back of the laboratory or a box in a storage room.

 

What if there were an alternative to posters at a live event?

 

One initiative is SKOIR, http://www.skolr.org/, which is a publically funded digital repository for posters. SKOIR gives the poster a longer life, can be changed and updated easily and economically and provides a broader audience than those who attend a conference.

 

SKOIR seems to make a great deal of sense but at what cost? From the organizers perspective it could mean the loss of a valuable part of the fair as well as a reduction in revenue.

 

Is the world of posters at live events coming to an end?

 

What are you doing to compensate for the loss of this potential revenue?

 

Have you seen this as an issue?

 

Background Music at a Conference

Posted by

Barry Siskind

Community Manager

 

One of the primary reasons visitors attend exhibitions and conferences is the educational component.  Organizers face the daunting task of ensuring that the education program is relevant, dynamic and memorable. The focus of this task has been in the selection of speakers, the theme of the program and the quality of deliverables. But is there something else that can be done to ensure that the visitor experience is maximized so that they absorb, process and are able to use the information they have learned in their everyday lives?

 

According to a survey reported by Miller-McCune the answer may be the integration of music. A research team led by Fabrice Dosseville of the Universite de Caen Basse-Normandie conducted an experiment which included 249 university students. For one group a series of familiar classical pieces, including Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker and Bach’s Third Brandenburg Concerto was played as background to the lecture. The second heard the lecture with no background music. Each group was then quizzed to see how much information they were able to remember. The results indicate that the students who heard the music-enhanced lecture scored significantly higher that the lecturer only group.

 

While the reason for this phenomenon was not clear to the researchers, it did point to an important element to learning that organizers might consider experimenting with to see if it improves the attendees overall experience.

 

This simple and apparently effective addition to a conference or piped onto the floor of an exhibition may be an excellent and appreciated addition.

 

http://www.miller-mccune.com/culture/for-better-grades-try-bach-in-the-background-38573/

 

 

Top Ten Lists

Posted by

Barry Siskind

Community Manager

 

It’s the beginning of a new year when the media is filled with top ten lists. I came across one on The Event Manager’s Blog called 10 Common Mistakes Event Planners Make

 

http://www.eventmanagerblog.com/tips/event-mistakes?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EventManagementBlog+%28Event+Manager+Blog%29

 

The list includes: Too much social media, too little social media, too much control, no direct response, flashy websites, no live streaming, no pre-event networking, 1990’s business model, little creativity, poor registration process.

 

These ten are a good reminder and an excellent primer for all of us.

 

Do you have a top ten list? Share it with our UFILIVE readers.

 

QR Codes Can Create Greater Trade Show Impact

Posted by

Barry Siskind

Community Manager

 

Producing events that are truly green requires the efforts of organizers, facilities and exhibitors. I have long believed that sustainability amongst our exhibitors falls on the organizers’ shoulders.

The cost has been a major issue in the reluctance to adopt greener policies, and yet there are many initiatives that can have a great impact with little additional cost.  One is a broader use of Quick Response (QR) codes.

Quick Response or QR codes are that weird looking box found in the lower right hand corner of a product label. With a Smartphone or tablet, the user can have instant access to company or product information

QR codes are the way to go for the exhibitor looking to cut costs while still  ensuring their material is read as the use of codes reduces the amount of paper given out at a trade fair.  And the good news to exhibitors both large and small is that any business can easily generate a unique QR codes through the use of a QR generator. Here’s how:

Creating the code is generally free. It begins with an internet search for a generator such as Kaywa.com, QRstuff.com or 2d-code.co.uk or simply Google QR generator.  Once you have found a generator, customizing a QR code is a relatively simple task. Using the tool, your exhibitors can create the QR code that works for them. Some generators will allow them to customize the QR code with colour and format. The exhibitor then places their QR code on specific products, informational graphics, literature and business card.  The more places the better.

Then, when they are engaged in a conversation with a visitor, rather than offering a brochure the exhibitor can suggest the prosepct scan your QR code onto their electronic device.

As an organizer, you can suggest your exhibitors include information in their pre-fair invitations, letting their prospects know what they will be offering and that the information will be available through QR codes. They can also provide the URL’s for the apps that they can download. Some of the more popular reader apps are Red Laser, Barcode scanner and i-inigma. If they arrive at the stand without the appropriate app then the exhibit staff can help the visitor find the right download for their device in a matter of seconds.

For the exhibitor looking to add value to their exhibition investment, and the organizer wishing to decrease the events carbon footprint, QR technology and the benefit of having an increased exposure to information, at very little cost, leaves the decision to take the plunge a no-brainer.

 

 

The Evolution of Marketing

Posted by

Barry Siskind

Community Manager

 

I came across this blog posted on http://blog.infolinks.com/. I couldn’t resist the title, “The Evolution of Advertising: From Stone Carving to the Old Spice Guy.”

 

Infolinks had prepared an advertising timeline dating back four thousand years.  I scanned it and was not surprised to find there was not one mention of exhibitions in the marketing mix.

 

We’ve been helping companies market their products and services for over seven hundred years and yet the advertising industry pays us very little heed.

 

Perhaps we should look for a new category to place ourselves in and then see if marketing comes knocking on our door.

 

 

AUMA predicts growth from German exhibitors

Posted by

Barry Siskind

Community Manager

 

In a recent poll, the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry (AUMA) found, 30 % of German exhibitors intended to invest more money in trade fairs, 55 % the same amount, and only 15 % to reduce their budgets.

 

http://www.auma.de/_pages/e/06_Press/0601_PressArchive/press11/gb-presse19-2011.html

 

This is indeed an encouraging finding. But the report went further when it examined the larger exhibitors, those whose turnover exceeds 50 million Euros and found that 38 % aimed to increase their trade fair budgets.

 

The report stated, “This is a clear sign of the continuing ability of trade fairs to attract exhibitors, in particular companies who are experienced users of this marketing instrument.”

 

In 2012 AUMA expects exhibitor and visitor numbers to increase somewhere in the 2% range.

 

This is good news for an industry that has been battered by acts of nature, economic unrest and a host of other problems that seem to directly impact our bottom line. As we enter 2012, its’ nice to hear some encouraging news.

 

Let’s hope this is the beginning of good news for our industry in the future.

 

 

Microsoft’s Last Keynote

Posted by

Barry Siskind

Community Manager

 

 

It was almost two decades ago when I heard Bill Gates, then the Chairman and CEO of Microsoft, deliver a keynote at CEBIT in Hanover, Germany. Needless to say it was standing room only. The buzz was incredible. The keynote was one of the highlights of the event.

 

For the past 20 years major shows such as CES have used the star-power of Gates and his successor Steve Ballmer whose keynotes were the most anticipated kick-off to the event.

 

In an article in Mashable Tech all this is coming to an end in 2012 when Microsoft will host its last keynote and will not take exhibit space.  http://mashable.com/2011/12/21/microsoft-ces-keynotes/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mashable+%28Mashable%29

 

According to Corporate Vice President of Corporate Communications, Frank X. Shaw: “We have decided that this coming January will be our last keynote presentation and booth at CES. We’ll continue to participate in CES as a great place to connect with partners and customers across the PC, phone and entertainment industries, but we won’t have a keynote or booth after this year because our product news milestones generally don’t align with the show’s January timing.”

Microsoft has given CES a full year to develop alternate plans. But what if they hadn’t? Think about your keynote line-up. It is easy to be seduced by high profile brands and their spokespeople to create glitter and excitement in our events but growing dependant and perhaps complacent on these attractions can create a potentially life-threatening risk to the event when one corporation changes its strategy.

It’s a lesson for us all.