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D&M launches new website
Three at NMSDC
Preston Farms portable makeover
Plan your public transit trip with Google
Susan Friedmann: Evaluating Your Efforts
Plan for Trade Show Success
Employee Spotlight: Thomas Franklin
Months in the making, our new re-designed website is up and running. In addition to an overall face-lift, we've added new tools to help you improve your trade show program, included information on our online services, and updated our portfolio with our most recent projects.
Realize that each show you attend is not a destination; rather, it's a continual marketing journey. You always want to be looking for ways to improve your efforts. Since every show you attend differs in one way or another, there's no panacea or accurate formula to plug in time and time again to guarantee results. Always look for new ways to improve your efforts. Evaluate what went well and what you know needs to be changed for the next show. Keep accurate notes so that you don't make the same mistake year after year. Solicit feedback from your team members and from visitors to your exhibit. Ask for their suggestions to improve. Remember the wise saying, "If you're not ripening, then you're rotting."
Thomas Franklin, D&M Warehouse Assistant, has been baking since he was 17. Although his father was a chef, it was his mother who taught him his favorite hobby. Thomas's wife, a fitness instructor, considers his talent for creating irresistible desserts both a blessing and curse. She usually insists he take the goodies out of the house to share at church or work.
Thomas says he is always looking for recipes and trying new things from cookies to cakes. Here at D&M, we are more than happy to be his guinea pigs.
Google Maps has a new tool, Google Transit, to help you plan your trip using public transportation. Google can generate itineraries with all the information you need including stop times, bus numbers, transfer points, etc., as well as maps and estimated fare costs.
The list of cities is limited (but growing) but it includes major cities around the world like Las Vegas. Let's say you needed to get from The Venetian to Mandalay Bay, simply go to Google Transit (http://www.google.com/transit) and enter the addresses and either a departure or arrival time. Google's walking directions lack specifics right now, but they promise it is coming soon.
If you have any questions, about what you have seen here, or if you want to learn
more about us, visit our website or call 888-501-SHOW (7469).
The D&M team and Niche Marketing worked closely to develop exhibit solutions for three different clients, all exhibitors in the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) business opportunity fair. Each had similar requirements: 10' x 20' inline displays, dynamic and functional designs, flexibility for future needs, lightweight and easy to assemble.
The exhibit for HJI, a supply-chain solution company, has clean, contemporary lines and a industrial look with aluminum truss, shelving and support for literature. HJI’s services are featured on five striking banner graphics.
CB Tech, a provider of managed services and background checks, utilized a modular exhibit, integrating a 10’ pop-up display with photomural graphics, and a panel/extrusion system to support direct-print infill panels and fabric graphics.
For the exhibit shared by Niche Marketing and Planet Mogul, a high-impact presence was essential. The exhibit uses dramatic angles and curves paired with bold graphics. It can be easily reconfigured as a 10’ x 20’, two 10’ inlines or two free-standing kiosks for special events.
Preston Farms, a grower, processor and packager of premium popcorn hybrids, needed to upgrade the functionality of their existing Nomadic 10' pop-up display and increase the impact and flexibility of its graphics. The copy taken from Preston's print catalog didn't translate satisfactorily to the trade show environment and didn't allow for updating as new products were added. Preston Farms also needed shelving for product display, a microwave and additional counter space.
D&M designed a new graphics package with both general branding and dynamic detachable graphics. The center photomural panels feature an eye-catching image of a cornfield with a barn and silo in the background, reinforcing Preston's "From seed to snack" tagline. A profile-cut identity header extends above the top of the display for high visibility. The black fabric side panels have detachable graphics easily changed from show to show to feature new products or target a specific audience.
To increase functionality, we turned Preston Farms' existing exhibit cases into a workstation with a counter conversion kit and added a detachable graphic for additional identity. Black shelves attach to the exhibit framework for product display. The microwave, nearly out of sight, is flush to the side panel and supported from behind by a collapsible stand.
"Our old exhibit was sad and in need of updating" said Erin Lamp-Coomer of Preston Farms. She said that visitors find the new graphics refreshing in a sea of cluttered exhibits, and the farm graphic creates a relaxing, inviting atmosphere.
A successful trade show program integrates with your company's overall marketing strategy, produces measurable results, and delivers maximum ROI. It is unlikely all of these things will happen by pure coincidence, rather it will take careful planning through every step from selecting which shows to attend, what your exhibit and graphics should look like at each show, pre-show promotion and follow-up after the show. Here is a checklist to help keep you on track or contact us for help putting the plan together.
Planning Checklist
6-12 months in advance
• Plan a realistic budget
• Select shows & book spaces
• Set measurable goals for the year
4 months
• Set objectives and measureable
goals for each show
• Determine marketing message
tailored to show audience and show
objectives
• Read through Exhibitor Manual for
show rules and deadlines
• Begin working on exhibit and
graphic design for larger exhibits
• Plan pre-show promotions
3 months
• Select booth staff and create booth
duty schedule
• Make flight/hotel reservations
• Plan supporting materials
(demos, literature etc.)
6-8 weeks
• Review progress on large exhibit,
begin production on smaller exhibit
• Order/produce supporting materials
• Execute pre-show promotion,
advertising and press releases
• Order show services
3-4 weeks
• Continue pre-show promotion
• Implement booth staff training
• Preview exhibit
• Confirm shipping arrangements
1-2 weeks
• Distribute travel
information/documents
• Assemble trade show tool kit
• Collect all paperwork and items to
take to the show
At the show before opening
• Confirm arrival of exhibit, product,
literature and supervise setup
• Pick up badges
• Conduct pre-show meeting with staff
1 week after the show
• Follow-up on hot leads
• Confirm return of exhibit properties,
address any damage
2-4 weeks after the show
• Follow-up on all other leads
• Conduct a post-show review and
asses attainment of goals and
objectives
• Begin planning for next year
To download a PDF of this checklist click here.
- Stephen Fry (1957 - )
British author and wit