Congrats to our American Idol Elliot Yamin

Yes, I’ve become an American Idol nut, I’ve watched the show on and off since the first year because of the love for music that I have, but ironically I never voted. I didn’t vote until I learned that one of our own, that is, a Richmond, VA native, was in the competition. Many of you may now know of Elliott Yamin and his souful voice and incredible performances. I personally think Elliott represents the best of what a person should be. Elliott is humble, very talented and very appreciative of those who have helped him get to where he is today. I have a feeling that he’s one of those kind of guys who would never let you down. I don’t think anyone showed the grace, appreciativeness or celebrated his accomplishment after he was voted off the show much to our demise. In the end, all of the top five contestests were extremely talented, however, I’ll venture out on a limb and say that our Elliott will have the biggest impact on the music industry for Season 5 of American Idol. That trend and the recognition of talent has already started. For example, just read the reviews of the compilation album on Amazon! Everyone comments that Elliott’s song hands down shows how talented he is…FYI: for those of you who don’t know Elliott is 90% deaf in one ear which can dramitically affect how well you can sing.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/B000FIM2EO/ref=cm_cr_dp_2_1/102-0177256-6082517?%5Fencoding=UTF8&customer-reviews.sort%5Fby=-SubmissionDate&n=5174

All in all, we are very proud to have Elliott represent us Richmonders! Way to go you “Funky White Boy” as Paula Abdul so aptly said!

P.S. – In order to give this post some relevance of display related content. American Idol uses LOTS of pop up displays with Mural Graphics as backdrops when they hold auditions all across the country.

China ready to compete in US?

I just received the first of many possible calls in the future. Many of us view China as a place where things are produced at highly competitive prices, but lack the customer services available to make enrods in selling directly to US companies. Most Chinese products are purchased by wholesalers who then add on that “Customer Service” component and make a profit. Today I received a call from a woman in China who spoke very good English and the company she works for is looking to sell display products to us. They would produce and ship the display directly to our client. These companies will have a challenge in selling to the US market. I have no idea the quality of their display, which is utmost importance, nor do we know how problems are handled or shipping times and costs, but when Chinese companies start cold calling US companies the market will change. Most impressive is that this company plans to offer customer support during the hours we are open in the US. That means they will be open from 8 PM to 5-8 AM depending on which US coast your on. The world just got a whole lot smaller!

Microsoft Visitors Center Exhibits and Displays

My big brother happens to be one of the smartest computer geeks, I’m mean tech-heads, at Microsoft’s World Headquarters in Redmond, Washington. My wife and I finally had the opportunity to visit with him this past week and tour the Microsoft Visitors Center and Company Store. Below are some pictures of the Visitors Center and a few exhibits that can be found within. My favorites were, in order of importance.

1. MSN Search Engine Computers – I was quite stunned to find that all four computer stations had Smash Hit Displays on their computer screen. I didn’t know we had such big fans of our company at Microsoft!
2. We See a Future Leader / Web Cam Stations – There are 3 Web Cam stations where software recognizes a face and then overlays an image. All of these overlays tie into Microsofts marketing message. “Our mission is not just to unlock the potential of today’s new technologies. It is to help unleash the potential in every person, family, and business. “. You can view some of these related commericials on the following page.
3. Minority Report / Seattle Area Map – In an earlier post I discussed how a projected image could be manipulated by hand with IO2 Technology. At the visitors center they have a map that can be moved by sliding your hand across the screen. It’s kind of like holding down the left mouse button on you mouse and moving a map around in Google Maps except the mouse cursor is you hand.
4. Pocket PC Wall – What happens when you take 160 Pocket PC’s and displays them on a wall? You get an ever changing video that really speaks to the power of one of these mobile computers.

All in all the it was really neat to see all the cool stuff that Microsoft was involved with, however, the best part was seeing how happy, talented, respected, knowledgeable and yes geeky my big brother has become. I’m pround of you Bro.

For those of you who want to learn a little more about what my brother does at Microsoft you can visit his blog at Windows Media Center Blog.

 

“Skin” Sells, but at what Cost?

At many trade shows, scantily dressed models parade around to get attendees attention. It’s always been a part of the Auto Show circuit, but in the past few years a couple of show organizers have dramatically enforced the appropriate behaviors of exhibitors and their models. A few of these include the SEMA show (last November) and this week E3 as referenced by the LA Times and EXPO Web below.

E3 – Expo Organizers Say No to Scantily Dressed Models

E3 (and SEMA) cracks down on booth babes

So is this good or bad for these respective industries and shows? In my opinion it’s very good. Hey, don’t get me wrong I’m a hot-blooded male and enjoy seeing a beautiful woman, but both of these shows do attract children and we do have to be concerned with what these children are exposed to. Exhibitors should also be selling their products/services and when attendees start going to the show for the skin the show and exhibitors suffer. I’m sure that these organizers have also heard their fair share of complaints and concerns and whenever an organizer has to enforce their rules with strict penalties then I’m sure exhibitors, in the past, have gone way past what was allowable.

Really Cool 3D “Star Wars” Projection System

Remember when R2D2 played back that famous recording of Princess Lea pleading for help in mid air way back in 1977? Well, that technology exists and can be used as a unique way to showcase products or brands in your trade show booth. The company is called IO2 Technology they can be found on the following website http://www.io2technology.com/. Their technology even allows users to move objects within the projection area reminiscent of the movie Minority Report where information was grabbed in mid air and moved around by operators.

Hey, do you think George Lucas and Steven Spielberg get royalty checks? Those guys have active imaginations. Hey, you ever wonder if they are really aliens sent here from an advanced world to help us inferior humans to develop new technologies. I’m guessing that their “prime directive” (ala Star Trek) is they can only show examples on new technologies in movies, not actually make them for real. Whoa, I’m way off on a tangent now.

Starbucks (Threebucks), Disney and Trade Show Experiences

I read an article today discussing that the vast majority of trade show attendees don’t remember the booth spaces they visit. The article, published on BtoBOnline and titled The personal touch, also stated that trade shows aren’t about the number of leads, but the networking opportunities and qualified leads that a company gathers at the booth space. In the ever constantly changing world of “business lingo” this doesn’t sound that new as it’s always been my opinion that any company who doesn’t have a clear cut plan always uses “number of leads” as an indicator of a successful trade show. In other words, if your only measure of success is “number of leads” you were lazy and didn’t prepare for your show in a way that would maximize ROI.

I do agree with this article as it states that creating unique experiences helps attendees remember you…..well DUH! For any of you who are married or have witnessed your child being born can attest that these “experiences” are forever imprinted on your brian because thay are extremly unique events in your life. So how can you create unique experiences at your next trade show? Here are a few places to start.

The Experience Economy: Work is Theatre & Every Business a Stage – by B Joseph Pine, James H Gilmore – Harvard Business School Press. Read excerpts online with Google Books. Buy Online at Amazon.

This book is AWESOME and a definite read for any business professional. The book details the progressive steps of a product or service from Commodity, Wholesaler, Distributor, Retalier and finally Experience. An example would be Stabucks, or as my father likes to call them Threebucks. The coffee grower is selling a Commodity (whole bean coffee) to a converter who grinds the coffe and sells as a Wholesaler to a Distributor who may repackage or add additional features like flavors, etc. The distributor sells to a Retailer like a fast food restaurant or gas station who sells to the end user at $0.75. That same coffee may be served at Starbucks for a much higher price (hence the name calling by my father). Why can Starbucks get a much higher price? Because they have created an experience. Other “Experiental Marketing Masters” refrenced in this book include Disney.

Jack Morton Worldwide – Experiental Marketing Agency. According to their website…..”As a leading experiential marketing agency, Jack Morton helps the world’s best companies build brands, sales and success by creating experiences that engage and transform employee, business and consumer audiences.”

Experiential Marketing : How to Get Customers to Sense, Feel, Think, Act, Relate – by by Bernd H. Schmitt - Description from Amazon – Experiential marketing, a decidedly turn-of-the-millennium form of corporate persuasion that strives to elicit a powerful sensory or cognitive consumer response, is rapidly superseding the stodgy features-and-benefits approach generally in vogue since the gray-flannel ’50s. In fact, says Bernd H. Schmitt, a professor of marketing and director of the Center on Global Brand Management at Columbia Business School, leading enterprises ranging from Gillette and Martha Stewart to Amtrak and Oprah Winfrey are already using such emotionally loaded techniques successfully to develop new products, communicate with customers, create business partnerships, build innovative cyberspace and brick-and-mortar sales outlets, and boost profits. Experiential Marketing presents Schmitt’s insightful and thought-provoking examination of this growing trend, along with a series of suggestions (for example, how to create an “us vs. them” atmosphere) for implementing similar efforts. By dissecting a series of relevant campaigns undertaken at the leading-edge firms mentioned above, along with those at other major players such as Harley-Davidson, Volkswagen, Celestial Seasonings, and Taster’s Choice, Schmitt demonstrates its effectiveness while deftly pointing out salient techniques that readers might adopt. –Howard Rothman

A Great Problem To Have! Mega Traffic in your Booth!

We all dream of the day that we are so busy at a trade show selling our products and services that we are 100% absolutley and positively sure that a return on investment has been achieved for the show…..in a matter of hours. Not many of us can share a first hand experience and it’s possible we’ve witnessed something of the sorts, but it’s a story not often heard.

I did come across an article about XtremeMac that had 4 lines, 30 people deep selling accessories for iPods when they first went on sale. 120 people around a 10′ x 10′ booth space isn’t something you often see. Now this guy was forward enough thinking that being the first to this market would be a goldmine so kudos to him, however, what was Apple thinking? I mean, come on, you can create a beutiful piece of art and electronics all in one but you can’t come up with a good way to store, wear or protect it? Sorry to get off on a tangent.

So what should you do if you get in a bind have 120 clammoring to get into your trade show display? Grin and bear it and smile all the way to the bank!

The full article can be found on the following page:
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-case-good-planning-/2006/04/24/1600317.htm

Hurricanes and Web Traffic – How Relational Are They?

Originally posted in October 2005

Natural Disasters, like Hurricane’s Katrina and Rita, reek havoc not only the specific geographical areas but the rest of us as well. Though traffic for your site might be at the same levels as before the Hurricane’s devastation; that hasn’t translated recently into direct sales. Take for instance the month of September. One would have thought after the first two weeks, September numbers would have blown away same store sales the year prior. But, business dropped off the map the last two weeks of the month which speaks volumes for the repercussion forces of mother nature. The Hurricanes kept trade show display customers at bay. Traffic to sites remained high but the sales did not. That was in direct correlation to Katrina and Rita. One would speculate in the next couple weeks the forces of both storms would dissipate and customers would appear again in the form of orders. But, until that time we are all in a wait and wonder situation.Natural Disasters, like Hurricane’s Katrina and Rita, reek havoc not only the specific geographical areas but the rest of us as well.Though traffic for your site might be at the same levels as before the Hurricane’s devastation; that hasn’t translated recently into direct sales. Take for instance the month of September. One would have thought after the first two weeks, September numbers would have blown away same store sales the year prior. But, business dropped off the map the last two weeks of the month which speaks volumes for the repercussion forces of mother nature. The Hurricanes kept trade show display customers at bay.Traffic to sites remained high but the sales did not. That was in direct correlation to Katrina and Rita. One would speculate in the next couple weeks the forces of both storms would dissipate and customers would appear again in the form of orders. But, until that time we are all in a wait and wonder situation.