Tips & Tricks for your Trade Show Displays

 It's gift show season again, 

and for those of you who participate as exhibitors/vendors,

here's a re-run of a post I wrote a few years ago

For Trade Show Exhibitors

In it, I offer up some tips, tricks, ideas and information

about how to maximize your presence at shows,

using some of the marketing opportunities offered by management.

And just exactly what those 'Exhibitor Display' areas are for!

Having created exhibitor/vendor displays & seminars at the 

Denver, Seattle, San Francisco, and Portland Gift Shows,

I've seen the good, the bad, and the ridiculous -

click the link above to read all about it.

Breaking Retail Trade Show News

There is a lot happening in the trade show industry, with sales, mergers, acquisitions, and closings taking place everywhere. Locally, the Seattle Gift Show has been sold to Atlanta-based Urban Expositions - ditto for the San Francisco International Gift Faire. From what I've read, big improvements are in store. (Hallelujah). Read more here.

The Portland Gift Show has been placed back into the capable management hands of Western Exhibitors, tho ownership remains with Canadian company dmg/GLM. It has also seen a reschedule to a fall date, which will combine it with the existing fall cash & carry market. Read about that here.

For more information on all kinds of trade shows in multiple industries, check out this web site.

Portland Gift Show

Let's Make Business Personal Again!
Yep, that's me, up there on my soapbox again...
I mean, really, how many times can we hear "It's not personal, it's just business" before we just GAG? We all know that phrase is fulla' bull. If it's your small business, then ALL of it is personal. Right?

So, my seminar concept was let's take our small businesses - retail shops, service providers, product manufacturers - and personalize them. By doing so, you'll make a personal connection with your customers, and you'll succeed. And really, who wants to be the same as every other shop in town??!!!

My seminar titles was officially 'Store Design - Tell Your Story', so I explained the wine industry concept of Terrior, and talked about how that 'Pride of Place' can translate into your entire environment to tell your story. You do that by using color, texture, materials, style, and appropriate choices to express the values, mission, and purpose of your business. The two stage displays shown here morphed a bit throughout the presentation to illustrate the concepts. I discussed store layout, flow, displays, zone concept, web presence, and more. It all related to the visual impact your business has.

I am so blessed to have had exhibitors at the show who allowed me to use and promote their products in these displays. They are generous, giving, and ready to help others. People are wonderful, you know? And it really is ALL about people!

Retail is not about products and merchandise and displays - retail is about connecting with people. Designers & Manufacturers connect with buyers. Shops & Stores connect with their customers, and help their customers connect with other people through the products they buy. Delighted gift recipients connect with the giver and with the store that provided the gift. It's so simple - a 'circle of life' kind of thing. I think that especially in the face of never-ending reports on a failing economy, we tend to forget the purpose of what we are doing in retail.

I also connected with wonderful attendees at my seminar - many of whom joined me for an impromptu 'after party' when I led a walking tour on the show floor as soon as I wrapped the stage presentation. We moved at a pretty fast clip, visiting booths that I thought were great examples of expressing the story of the products. This translates into telling a story in your store - something all of the 'tourists' loved. Some booths feature displays that can be duplicated down to the last detail in any store, to maximize the presence of the merchandise. They are giving you tools to succeed - FREE! Again, it's all in the concept of 'connecting' with one another. Alone, we may not make it. Together? We all succeed!

My heart is truly in helping small businesses succeed. And no offense, guys, but women entrepreneurs are my soul sisters. Designers, handcrafters, artists, independent manufacturers who are creating jobs and contributing to their communities and local economy - oh, I just have SO much respect for these courageous people. And I have no doubt, after meeting and talking with some of them this past weekend, that THEY will be the big successes that show up on Oprah and Donny Deutsch and in glossy magazines very soon.

With quite a story to tell...

I will be speaking at the upcoming Portland Gift & Accessories Show!

SUNDAY, JUNE 1, 2008
10:30 am to 12:00 pm
Seminar: Store Design - Tell Your Story
Speaker: Debi Ward Kennedy, Retail Designer Speaker Writer

Based on my design work with wineries in Washington State, I've created this seminar to introduce the principle of Terrior - the French concept of ' Pride of Place'. Information will focus on the individual and unique story that each independent retailer has to tell. Based on your location, your products, your customers, and your business 'personality', you can create a retail environment that tells your own story.

I'll discuss and demonstrate how to make choices & changes that will elevate your visual impact, brand image, and sales:
1. How to arrange your store, including traffic patterns, architecture, and shopping habits of your customers.
2. Planning display areas based on scale, lighting, viewpoints & perspective.
3. Making design choices to build your brand image and tell your own story: color, style, materials.
4. How to take your store’s current look and add/expand it to another style or change to keep up with the changing trends (including Eco-trends), and using what you already have in the way of props, fixtures, etc. and rethinking them to serve in a new capacity with a new look.

Resources include suppliers and suggestions for finding inexpensive fixtures & props, plus a listing of exhibitors at the show who have provided items for use in a dynamic stage display.

With the new management of the show by GLM/dmg world media, there are several changes in the seminar format. One is that seminars will take place on a stage located right in the midst of the show floor - no more back rooms hidden away! The seminars will also be free of charge to attendees, which I know many people will appreciate.

If you'll be at the Portland show, please stop by the stage on Sunday morning and introduce yourself - I'd love to meet you!

For more show information, go to http://www.portlandgift.com/