Kudos to the Housing Bureau: They’ve Got Our Backs!

I’ve been a trade show manager longer than I care to admit, and consequently I have some deep-set biases about certain things in the industry.  It used to be that I shunned a show’s Housing Bureau for fear of having my booth staff spread out among four or five hotels, or having to accept a rigorous policy regarding changes.  But over the past two years I’ve warmed to the idea and today my trust in the Housing system paid off in spades. 

 

The NAB Exhibitor Advisory Committee has been working with Expovision, our Housing vendor, to negotiate lower rates with the area hotels during the show.  After years of having to accept inflated rates during show dates, this year has brought a change in the air and we exhibitors have the power for once.  The poor economy is our friend when Vegas hotels have to compete for our business in a very real way.  I have a large block of rooms at a convenient hotel where just about everyone in my company loves to stay, yet while all the other hotels were lowering their rates by seemingly more each day, this particular hotel refused to budge.  Expovision told me that I could move my entire block to a less expensive hotel with no problem whatsoever, but meanwhile they also never gave up pushing my preferred hotel to lower their rates.  Today the hotel gave in to our requests and surpassed all expectations; my staff is happy and my company will save over $35,000 in hotel costs.  Expovision made me look like a hero!

 

I strongly suggest all exhibitors work through the NAB Housing Bureau; they have more negotiating power than any of us (even the anchor exhibitors) will ever have on our own.

 

Posted by Nancy Boyd, Tektronix, EAC Representative – North Hall

Cost-Saving Option for NAB/CES Exhibitors

Reducing shipping costs is a great way to help your budget and NAB and Freeman have an option to help you to save big! NAB exhibitors that will be exhibiting at CES can utilize complimentary Freeman storage between shows. To take advantage of this cost saving benefit, contact Kathy Guerrero with Freeman for details.

Are you wearing too many hats?? If so, then NAB’s tools can help you connect with potential clients.

For many smaller companies, the exhibit manager may also be wearing the marketing and sales hats too.  If that’s you, then here are some tips.

As you know it is crucial to your trade show’s success to reach attendees prior to the show as well as to set up meetings in advance.  There are a number of tools that NAB offers exhibitors to connect with attendees – market their products and services and set up meetings.  eventLeads (formerly SmartBooth) is one great tool with intelligent matching, online introductions and networking.  The purchase of attendee lists for direct mail/email is another.  The exhibitor webinars also offer suggestions.  And there are always your own guerrilla and viral methods.  However you do it – do it.  Don’t just hope to catch the fish that happen to swim by. 

So in your pre-planning, include a budget amount - as well as time – to target your potentials however you feel is most effective.  It will make the rest of your significant investment of time and money – worth it.

Posted by Kathy Mosher-Boule – EAC representative for RTNDA

Welcome from the EAC Chair

Hi Everyone,

Ernie Belanger here, Chair of the Exhibitor Advisory Committee (EAC).

I want to take a moment to welcome you to the NAB Exhibitor Blog. Here you will find time saving tips and other information for both novice and experienced booth managers. The goal of NAB and your Exhibitor Advisory Committee is to make the NAB show as hassle free and beneficial to you and your company as possible.

Let me take this opportunity to set the record straight on a few things that almost all of us may not understand.

Many exhibitors are still under the impression that it is an “US against Them” atmosphere when it comes to dealing with NAB and show issues.  While that may have been true over the years, I can tell you from personal experience that for the past 2 years it just isn’t so.

When David Rehr took the helm at NAB, those who had been our advocates found themselves with leadership that allowed their voices to be heard. Chris Brown, Justine McVaney, Shawn Canfield, David Dziedzic, Patrick Flynn and their staffs were given the opportunity to openly change the way the NAB Show operates and they have done an outstanding job in making this show the premiere broadcast show in the world.

They listened to our needs as exhibitors both directly and those that came through EAC members. The positive changes have been dramatic and dynamic. I must also tell you how proud I am of my fellow EAC members and the countless hours they too have put in to make our show a wonderful experience both for us as exhibitors and most importantly for our customers, the attendees.

Here are several examples of positive changes that have come about in the past two years because of the cooperative spirit of NAB and your Exhibitor Advisory Committee:

With NAB’s leadership we have worked with the Unions and our Show Contractor to make changes in the Show rules. Many of these affect every exhibitor and we are continuing to push for more changes to make our lives easier and the show cost reasonable.

In conjunction with NAB and the housing bureau we are working to keep hotel costs in line. This year there was a pilot program in place that kept rates at certain hotels lower when rooms were booked sooner, prices will go up as rooms fill and the show nears. (This is similar to the way Airlines Book seats)  One of the biggest obstacles we have is that most of the hotel rooms are owned by only two major groups: Harrah’s and MGM.  We will continue to work to keep cost in line.

For the record: Contrary to popular belief NAB DOES NOT make any money on the hotel rooms we book. FYI: Other shows such as CES don’t use a housing office and hotel rooms for those show can go as high as $500 a night.

NAB went out to bid for a new show contractor and last year we saw the result in the wonderful service received and lower overall prices from Freeman. Yes, there were a few isolated situations that occurred but overall the experience of the NAB Show exhibitors was 91% positive.  Steve Anderson, Vice President, Sales, Freeman, is striving for 100%… So it looks like we will see the save level of service in 09 and beyond.

I did promise our web master this would be short, but there was so much positive it turned out longer that I planned.

Remember if you need anything don’t hesitate to contact a member of the EAC.

Enjoy the Blog.

Ernie Belanger
Chair
NAB Exhibitor Advisory Committee

Read the Show Manual, I Promise – It Will Help.

Yes I know when you first see the manual it can be daunting, but it is there to help you. 95% of the answers you need are buried in that binder (or CD, on-line PDF’s) of information.

A main document that is your friend is the deadlines page.  All the deadlines for forms, orders, and shipping are listed in one place.  When I first started doing this it was invaluable, and it still is today.

There’s other handy things like shipping label templates & maps, but most important, are labor rules for the show.  I have found that labor rules change from show to show and are not consistent.  This document demystifies and explicitly outlines what exhibitors can and cannot do on the show floor when loading in or dismantling the booths.  Reading this can save a lot of grief once you are on the show floor.

Importance of Exhibitor Education

NAB has offered exhibitor education at no cost for several years and each year the attendance remains relatively static.  We are consistently surprised that every exhibitor does not take advantage of this free service.  In a time devouring industry, education is the one area that spending an hour doing something other than work will decrease your workload significantly.  As many of our exhibitors feel their lack of time prohibits them from utilizing this education program, NAB has changed the format.

 

The new program will consist of three components for the 2009 NAB Show. 

 

• Exhibitor enhancing articles will be available for you to read in monthly newsletters and occasional postings on this blog. 
• We will continue to offer webinars, but in 2009 only two will be presented live.  The two live webinars will be recorded and posted shortly after completion. 
• We will offer 6 ecourses, downloadable when you have time. 

With all aspects of our education program available to you at your convenience, there is no reason not to take advantage of this resource!

 

Still not convinced that NAB’s education program is beneficial?  This year you can learn NEW ways to market your presence at the NAB Show, cost-effective tips to save your company money while making money, and ways to exhibit in a more environmentally friendly way.  Get insiders’ perspective on how to improve the exhibiting experience and most importantly change how you have always exhibited and get new results!  Look for more information at our education page.

PLAN, PLAN, PLAN

Even if you think you have a very simple setup on a 10×10, ALWAYS do a walk-through. Set up your pop-up or whatever in your office, and stand in the imaginary space and think what you need. Go through the whole procedure from getting off the plane, to getting back on it again a week later. That means think through everything from ”how do I get the pop-up to the venue”; through plugging in all your electronics to find out how many outlets you will really need;  to opening the boxes of brochures (this will remind you to pack the knife – and tape to do them back up again). Don’t forget contingencies either: what happens if the pop-up gets damaged – make sure Gaffer tape is in your kit. Oh and one more thing – always take spares.

 

If you carefully go through every step of the whole tradeshow before you leave,  you will find the real thing can be rather enjoyable and stress-free. Remember – it’s all in the planning!

This tip supplied by

Steve Hayes

SpeedSix Software

NAB Exhibitor Advisory Committee Member