As your buyers are challenged to increase sales with fewer marketing dollars, tradeshows and events are being cut from their marketing programs. Collectively, we can help influence and educate our clients that tradeshows and events still represent the best and most meaningful way to connect with key customers.

Face-to-face marketing accelerates the sales cycle and still represents the best dollar-for-dollar value versus other competing media/marketing vehicles.

With this movement, the goal is to collectively communicate that TRADESHOWS WORK!

As part of this campaign, we will be placing this logo on our websites, store front windows, marketing collateral and more and we hope you’ll do the same. Together we can start a trend!

Join us in taking an active role in promoting TRADESHOWS WORK.

Sincerely,

Your Friends at Focus Displays/Nimlok San Diego

How Do Trade Shows Work?
The Power of In-Person Product/Service Experiencce
91% of attendees rank trade shows as “extremely useful” as a source for product purchasing information. Source: Simmons Market Research Bureau

Meeting New Customers
97% of all qualified attendees represented a new prospect and potential customer for exhibiting companies.
Source: Exhibit Surveys, Inc.

Human Interaction
76% of attendees rate face-to-face meetings with potential new vendors very or extremely important.
Source: Center for Exhibition Industry Research

Nimlok NYC’s Paul Conway, and Nimlok Designer Tyler Posey created a stunning 10×20 inline booth that embodies the full scope of Nimlok’s capabilities.

“What makes this exhibit so special is that we truly incorporated everything we do well,” said Posey. “A combination of vivid fabric architecture, sleek new 50 mil custom modular components, custom counters, media integration–this thing has it all!”

Adding attention to detail to the long list, the exhibit’s clean looks are supported by white powder-coated extrusion, clever lighting and floating screens that present Nimlok NYC’s recent projects.

Through an exhibiting partnership with Centricity Group, a healthcare software and information solutions company, Nimlok NYC enters the preeminent health care exhibiting show with a company that offers great experience and strong relationships within the sector.

We wish Nimlok NYC and Centricity Group great success at this year’s HCEA Annual Meeting. And, congrats to Tyler and Paul for a very cool design of the week!

NILES, ILLINOIS (May 17, 2010) — On the verge of
its 40th birthday on June 3, 2010, Nimlok Company is
marking the achievement with a series of product
developments, events, and a major expansion. The
global full-service exhibit producer recently
announced the growth of its U.S. design and
manufacturing facilities. This will serve as a launchpad
for an entirely new custom modular exhibit
system to be released throughout the second half of
2010.
“For four decades, the Nimlok brand has been a leader in the development of
innovative trade show exhibits and face-to-face marketing solutions,” said Simon
Perutz, President of Nimlok’s Parent company, the P3 Group. “I can think of no
better way to celebrate the imagination that has built this business than with a
series of new exhibit systems.”
New structural components are already being incorporated into Nimlok designs,
resulting in a wave of lighter weight custom exhibits. Meanwhile, these same
elements are being integrated into a new line of smaller, dynamic in-line exhibit
kits.
These innovations continue Nimlok’s long-standing tradition of meeting evolving
exhibiting needs with a combination of product development and strong client
support.
“We credit much of our success over the years to a responsive, solutions-driven
approach to exhibiting,” said Giles Douglas, CEO of Nimlok. “Our company was
founded on working closely with our clients to develop outstanding exhibit and
display solutions, through innovative design and outstanding service.”
Innovative Roots
Beginning with a small toolkit of display components, Nimlok developed into a
global full-service exhibit house. Its 300,000 square foot U.S. facility supports a
nationwide network of face-to-face marketing firms with design and construction
of a broad range of exhibit solutions. Through headquarters in the U.S., United
Kingdom and Canada, Nimlok’s international reach includes 200 distribution
partners in 56 countries.
The company’s story began in 1970, when an English photographer named Neil
Nimmo invented a portable backdrop system based on a series of locking clips.
He turned to Gerald Perutz – father of Simon and current Chairman of Nimlok –
to help commercialize this idea. Nimlok was named for Mr. Nimmo and his
innovative locking clip. Its first office and small production facility opened on
Floral Street in London’s Covent Garden, then a low rent area adjacent to the
fruit and vegetable market. Covent garden is now one of London most trendy and
expensive areas.
Nimlok quickly evolved its tool-less method for connecting display panels, making
it perfect for portable exhibits in a developing trade show industry. Forty years
later, the system now includes an extensive library of locks, posts, graphics and
connections that have led the custom modular exhibit design movement.
Combined with a broad range of portable display products, in-house exhibit
design and graphics capabilities, and a broad distribution network of exhibit
consultants, Nimlok has grown into a one-stop solution for trade show exhibits
and event environments.

Continued Growth and Environmental Commitment
An anniversary, new product lines and expansion are among milestones Nimlok
plans to celebrate in a series of corporate events beginning this summer on both
sides of the Atlantic. The manufacturer will also celebrate the recent ISO
14001:2004 certification of its environmental management system. Nimlok is the
first custom modular exhibit manufacturer in North America to achieve this status,
recognizing an organization’s high-level commitment to environmental protection.
“In 40 years of developing trade show exhibits, this is by far our proudest
achievement,” said Simon Perutz. “Our custom modular exhibit systems offer
great flexibility and reusability, creating an outstanding green alternative to
custom construction. Environmental protection has always been among our core
values as a company, and we hope our certification will pave the way for
adoption of these standards across the industry.”

More on Nimlok
Nimlok Company is a global leader in delivering face-to-face marketing
experiences, including trade show exhibits, event environments and permanent
solutions for branding spaces. Nearing its fourth decade, Nimlok works via a
network of 200 partners in 56 countries to provide strategy and execution in
custom modular design, construction, installation, dismantle and storage.
For more information, go to www.nimlok.com

Our promotional displays feature large, easily changed graphics for maximum impact and targeted messaging. And of course they can be custom designed to meet your specific needs.

If you can dream it, we can build it. Even if you can’t dream it, we can! We’ll start the process with a comprehensive analysis of your needs and goals and end with a remarkable and memorable custom design solution that meets your budget and exceeds your expectations.

• State-of-the-art digital imaging for photographic quality graphics
• A preflight team inspects all incoming artwork to ensure exact specifications
• Color proofs, lamination, finishing, and exhibit hardware integration included
• Competitive prices, quick turnaround, quality graphics

Many on-site marketing activities can be expensive, particularly for the smaller exhibitor with limited budget and resources. Most of the “BIG 5″* exhibitors at your industry events are in a position to take advantage of these opportunities. It can seem daunting at times, but there are several simple AND effective techniques that small exhibitors can do to increase their corporate presence and traffic at industry events.

1. Press Releases

Take advantage of increased presence of the media at industry events and try to time announcements for these events. Schedule on-site interviews between the press and your senior management.

Alternatively, at major shows, your press releases can be lost in the crowd. Use clever timing; instead of waiting to release your news at a major industry event, release your news 4 to 6 weeks before the show so that your announcement appears in on-site publications.

2. Speaking

Being on the conference program can also raise your corporate profile. Be sure to coach your speaker to both include a slide and mention that your company is on-site at booth #X. You can also promote attendance at your session by announcing it on your Web site, sending reminders to customers and prospects, and putting a sign up at the booth to remind delegates to attend your session. Produce signs simply on the desktop or use a banner stand such as the SignUp Banner from Nimlok to really stand out.

Alternatively, if you can’t get on the conference program, do presentations in your booth. Even in a small 10′ x 10′ booth, you could schedule a series of 3- to 5-minute “stand-up” presentations or longer ones providing seating for a few guests at a time.

3. Sponsorships

While many show sponsorship opportunities are beyond most budgets of the small exhibitor, don’t be discouraged. Call the show organizer to see if you can develop an opportunity that fits your budget. Use your imagination and try to match the opportunity to your objectives. Carefully evaluate all opportunities and estimated return on investment. Hanging a corporate banner mentioning 2 to 3 companies can be more effective than hanging your banner with 20 others.

4. Draw Prizes

Drawing prizes can be an effective way to draw people to your booth. The prize is key. I have personally found that “business” prizes (e.g. “Win 3 months free service”) do not attract many people. Again, you need to look at your target audience and determine what they would find valuable. One of my clients was promoting digital signage. We offered a Phillips® Digital Photo Display. The prize was appropriate to its service and was a “hot” electronic item. We attracted many visitors to the booth. More importantly, I had trained staff to interact with them as they approached to drop off their cards or complete a ballot. We were able to present and position our new service and qualify leads more effectively.

5. Gifts and Food

Gifts and food are other ways to attract attendees to your booth. You can get customized food—e.g., candy wrappers, M&Ms with a message, etc.—but I have found the most effective treat to offer is chocolate. It must have brand quality and be individually wrapped. If you want to attract international delegates, dark chocolate works best!

There’s a knack to offering gifts. I’m a firm believer in offering a few quality gifts to quality visitors and having inexpensive gifts to offer to the masses. I have studied this a lot with my clients and you can actually increase/decrease traffic to your booth by how you offer your gifts. If the show is quiet, put out lots of items and you will attract people. When the show is busy, put out fewer gifts and the traffic will slow down. The more gifts you offer, the more visitors will take. For example, if you put out 20 pens, don’t be surprised if visitors grab all 20. If you have 5 to 7 items out, most visitors will take one and will usually ask permission. If you only have 1 to 2 items out, most people, like the last cookie on the plate, will not take them. This technique works with just about any food or gift item.

As with all marketing, an integrated approach works best. Try to incorporate as many ideas as possible. These on-site marketing techniques work very well to draw visitors to your booth. However, it is equally important to train your staff to understand why you are using these on-site marketing techniques and how to use them to engage and qualify visitors.

Footnotes

* – BIG 5 exhibitors are those “top 5″ companies typically with the largest booths, most staff and most marketing presence at your industry shows. They typically have large organizations and most of the market share.

Anne Barron, CME, is President of ABComm Ltd., an exhibit and event marketing firm that provides booth staff training and education.

Web site: http://www.ab-comm.com