Exhibit Concepts had the rare opportunity at EXHIBITORLIVE 2018 for five of our leaders to present during the educational portion of the conference. EXHIBITORLIVE is the trade show and corporate event marketing conference featuring an educational event second to none with 180+ sessions and workshops. The educational tracks are designed for marketing professionals to learn techniques and best practices to hone their skills and to pursue the industry’s only university-affiliated professional certification program, the CTSM, with over 3,000 candidates currently enrolled in the program.
Several sessions were focused on developing general business skills applicable to any role or function. Kelli Glasser, President and CEO of Exhibit Concepts, delivered a talk entitled Letting Your Leaders Lead – Leads to the Best Results. Kelli’s premise is that whether you are a micromanager or you are being micromanaged, there are steps you can take to improve the situation. And the key to improving the situation is to understand the unseen inner motivations driving the micromanagement style.
Ellen Campbell-Kaminski, VP of Marketing at Exhibit Concepts, shared practical techniques to better align sales and marketing teams in a session titled Sales and Marketing Alignment: How to Get-and Stay-on the Same Page. Included in her session were six (6) common situations where sales and marketing teams can and should collaborate to drive improved business results. One technique Ellen shared was the practice of conducting a Stop Start Continue exercise with Sales, Marketing and other stakeholders after any event or major campaign. She also shared critical success factors, conditions and approaches, such as “assume positive intent” that increase the likelihood of success.
Sessions more directly related to the trade show and events space included a session presented by Jeff Korchinski, VP of Sales called Rent Your Booth and Still Own Your Program? In this engaging session, Jeff shared that more and more brands are adopting a rental approach for their trade shows. The key to owning your program even when renting exhibit property is to tie in attendee engagement, product integration, and categorizing shows by priority. Jeff also delivered a session titled You’ve Been Tasked with Managing Your First New Build – Now What? jointly with Dom Conti, Production Director. These two industry veterans shared that building an exhibit is like building a house. It takes a lot of time, focus, and support to do it right. If you are missing any of these items, you may be better off delaying the project. The most successful projects start with clear goals and objectives. The Creative Brief template is a great tool to get organized and make sure everyone is on the same page.
Jeff Hannah, VP of International Services, Commercial Interiors, and Creative, again delivered four (4) sessions centered around exhibiting internationally. Traveling Abroad: Important Do’s and Don’ts is a primer for anyone who is traveling outside the United States and is organized into 4 segments: planning your trip, getting there, being there and returning home. A Trip Around the World – Must Knows for Global Exhibiting follows a “road trip” format stopping at 7 major world cities and examining what it is like to exhibit or plan events in that location. The session explores various influences impacting each city including geography, industry sophistication and culture and includes a profile of each major exhibit hall in that city.
Jeff Hannah also delivered Global Frameworks: Marketing from the Context of Culture Parts I and II. These advanced level electives are based on the premise that all business operates within the context (or framework) of culture. If you want to conduct business and successfully reach audiences in other countries, you must learn to do it within the realm of understanding that culture first. This leads to the various cultural dimensions which we use to help us understand things that each culture holds dear which are summarized in the Culture Compass Infographics.
From the show floor to the classroom, EXHIBITORLIVE is the best place for event marketing professionals to meet, network, learn, and engage in a meaningful way. Our team is honored to play a small role in the overall success of this annual event.
