How To Exceed Attendee Projections During COVID: A Case Study
Since September, I have been touting an event that has managed to do the impossible in these times of COVID: exceed attendee number projections. The event, focused on small magazine publishers, is Super Niche. In existence for more than 15 years, Super Niche was purchased a few years ago by a friend of mine, Ryan Dohrn. A […]
There’s Only Opportunity
I recently had a call with a long-lost friend. This was someone with whom I had not spoken in more than 15 years. He is someone whose career ran parallel with mine in the trade show space until the sameness of the experience prompted him to ‘step off the bus’ and pursue more creative digital […]
Do Winners Always Win? Thinking This Through Might Be A Necessary Wake Up Call
At a recent industry event a colleague suggested that I shouldn’t worry about the event business, claiming that it would come back as strong as it was before the pandemic. He further stated that the companies that had done well before would do well again, given that “winners always win.” I believe that the winners of the […]
Find Your Future Stars Amongst Today’s Up and Coming Exhibitors – And Turbo Boost Your Revenue
At many of your events you’ll find a number of new companies that are trying to make a significant impact. They have the energy, the interest, and the money to drive that effort. How can you harness their excitement (and their funds) to create an experience that is profitable, both for them and for your […]
Eliminating Distraction: Keeping Your Eye on the Ball When the Chips are Down
One of the things that really has helped me in life is keeping calm when all around is going wrong. This is especially helpful at events where I must solve problems in real time and it’s not always evident that there’s a solution readily available. I have seen a real difference between those times when […]
Safety and Certainty- Conveying The Right Message so Your Customers Will Return to Your Events
In the last four weeks, I have traveled to two events. Some non-event people thought I was crazy to do so, given the ‘risks’. Notwithstanding the caution that I’ve expressed in some past newsletters, my recent actions reflect how much I want face-to-face events to return – and to do so as soon as possible. Being […]
What’s the best kind events company to have?
Over the years I‘ve had the opportunity to work with many event companies and that vantage point has allowed me to how companies are organized, what drives their decision making and clues as to why some companies are more successful than others. There are four types of companies: Sales Driven – Motivated by revenues, the sales staff […]
Three Attendee Types Needed to Reach Your COVID and Post-COVID Attendee Targets
There’s been some talk of hiding your prospective attendee numbers from your exhibitors/attendees, given that almost the attendance for most events is down due to COVID-19. I don’t think that’s the right perspective and I’d like to take a different approach. What are the strategies which should be used to bring attendees back, both now when […]
Do You Know Who I Am? A Tradeshow Attendee’s Lament
I am not an ‘analytic’ on a spreadsheet. I am not merely a name on an email list to be targeted by your marketing. I receive thousands of emails from you, but none that are personalized to reflect an understanding of who I am. Though I’ve attended your event many times, I have never interacted […]
There’s No Such Thing as a Hybrid Event
Have you ever heard an attendee say, “I just attended this great hybrid event?” You probably have not. And you never will. Why? Because attendees view an event through the lens of their own experience. Face-to-face attendees don’t care about who’s online at the same show. Their participation in an event is grounded in the face-to-face experience they […]