Articles by: rogersweb
Interactive Floor Projections – Koi Pond
This is a sample of interactive floor projections: the Water Effect.
Scenes creates custom interactive effects for any kind of event, on the floor as on the wall or screens.
Case History: Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics
The Rogers Company engineers creative solution for Saint-Gobain Performance Plastic’s ONESuit® at major trade show
Maximizing booth space, engaging attendees, and staying under budget are top priorities for many clients of The Rogers Company. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, a leader in materials technology, was no exception when it faced the challenge of exhibiting its line of ONESuit® hazmat suits at 2009’s FDIC.
ONESuit is a part of the protective systems division of Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics. Its line of lightweight, single-skin hazmat suits offers chemical, biological and flash fire protection for first responders, military units, and firefighters throughout the globe.
In order to reach this target market, ONESuit exhibits at FDIC, North America’s largest firefighter training conference and exhibition. Each year, thousands of attendees gather in Indianapolis to survey the latest technology in first response. With over 900 exhibitors, standing out to purchasers on the show floor is truly a challenge.
A Creative Approach
“This year, we wanted to take a different approach to displaying our suits. FDIC is such a large show and you’re dealing with a whole range of firefighter equipment from ladders to trucks, so we needed to ensure our hazmat suits would not get lost in the crowd,” says Peter Kirk, Product Manager for Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics.
After much deliberation, Saint-Gobain settled on a 360 degree creative approach. By using three circular platforms to display its colorful suits, attendees within reasonable distance would be able to view Saint-Gobain’s products from any angle. A central pillar would display the material component of each suit, inviting attendees to become engaged by reaching out and touching the material. This approach would also maximize booth space, and allow for excellent storage within the pillar.
Making Ideas Reality
The Rogers Company was given the difficult engineering task of executing this creative concept. “Our hazmat suits are brightly colored and the idea was to present these great looking products against a very stark, white curved background,” says Kirk. We also wanted the suits to appear to be floating in their own unique cylindrical towers.”
Ralph Engel, a 15-year veteran of The Rogers Company, was tasked with making this creative vision a tangible reality. He immediately requested one of the hazmat suits so he and his team could experiment with different display methods.
Keeping an eye on the budget, The Rogers Company was able to lower the final cost of production by engineering the central pillar to serve as both a graphic display and a basis for storage inside. Connecting the suits to grounded poles -- as opposed to hanging them from the ceiling -- proved to be another cost-effective idea.
Going above and beyond the duty of engineering and booth construction, Engel and his team suggested changing the carpet and material samples to be circular. His keen eye for detail was instrumental in creating a booth that was congruent in both theme and aesthetics.
The result was a perfectly executed exhibit that received glowing responses from potential customers. Kirk adds, “Many people commented directly that they were drawn to the booth from afar and weren’t disappointed with what they found.”
Saint-Gobain’s full line of hazmat suits was visible from every angle of the show floor, taking full advantage of their island-sized booth. Drayage and freight costs were monitored closely, ensuring that the final cost came in under budget.
Outstanding Client Service
Outside of their advance work, the Saint-Gobain team was particularly impressed that Engel flew out to Indianapolis to personally oversee the exhibit’s set-up, making sure the “Rogers Method” of high standards was being implemented. “As everyone in the business world knows, tradeshow investments in this recession are more closely monitored and we couldn’t be more pleased with the service Rogers provided and the end product they so successfully engineered,” says Kirk.
About Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics
Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics (SGPPL) is a subsidiary of Saint-Gobain Corporation, one of the top 100 industrial companies in the world and a leading producer of construction products, flat glass, high-performance materials and packaging. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics produces the ONESuit® line of chemical protective hazmat products. For more information visit www.onesuittec.com or contact Peter Kirk at (603) 424-9000 or protectivesystems@saint-gobain.com.
Drayage: An Inside Look at How It Works and How You Can Save (Part II)
Part II of Jeffrey Blackwell, president of The Rogers Company and B.J. Enright, president of TradeshowLogistics offering tips and strategies for saving money exhibiting at a trade show. They also speak about ways the industry can work together to make live events more effective selling and marketing opportunities. They also answer the age old question "What exactly is drayage and why does it cost so much?"
Drayage: An Inside Look at How It Works and How You Can Save (Part I)
Jeffrey Blackwell, president of The Rogers Company and B.J. Enright, president of TradeshowLogistics offer tips and strategies for saving money exhibiting at a trade show. They also speak about ways the industry can work together to make live events more effective selling and marketing opportunities. They also answer the age old question "What exactly is drayage and why does it cost so much?" This is part I of II.
Maximizing Tradeshow ROI
I hear it all the time: Trade shows are a waste of time and money. We stand around, selling our hearts out, and what do we have to show at the end of the day? Nothing.
Well, that's the result you should expect, if you're like most exhibitors, and neglect the most crucial aspect of tradeshow participation: Follow Up.
What happens at the trade show is obviously import to your success, but equally important is what happens after the show ends. This is where most exhibitors drop the ball. Differentiate your company from its peers and wring the full value from your trade show participation. To truly benefit from all the hard work what went into exhibiting, must ensure that appropriate follow-up activities take place.
Follow Up Begins Before the Show
Research tells us that over 80% of leads gathered at trade shows are never followed up. That's a phenomenal number, especially when each lead has the potential to generate profit for your company.
Why do so many leads fall by the wayside?
It's because show leads have a reputation for having no substance – they’re either just cold business cards or similar basic information imprinted on a company lead card. There's nothing there to give already busy professionals a reason to follow up.
Even if the salespeople do follow up, there's only so much they can learn from a business card or bare bone information. For salespeople to view leads as being worthwhile for follow-up, they need quality information.
For this reason, it is vital that before the show you spend time going over the lead collecting process. Clarify exactly what types of information should be recorded on lead cards. Explain the importance of the information you are gathering. Make sure everyone knows exactly how to operate the card readers and use the printouts and lead cards.
Everyone working the show should know exactly what results you want to achieve at the various trade shows you attend. Each show should have its own set of specific, clear, quantifiable, realistic goals.
Develop a Follow Up System
To achieve and perhaps surpass your specific goals, you need a follow up system. The best time to develop your follow up system is during the planning and training stage.
Use this time prior to the show establish how the leads will be handled. For example, select a team member to take responsibility for collecting all "hot" leads at the end of each day and overnight them to the home office for immediate processing. Assign someone at the home office as a “follow-up” manager. This person takes charge of the entire follow-up process and should be someone who does not attend the show. Their job is to carry out the follow-up system that was established before the show.
Timeliness is of essence with all leads, not just the "hot" ones. Obviously you're not going to overnight every single lead back to the home office, but there are steps you can take to ensure you stand out from the crowd of exhibitors.
It is important to send something, such as a letter, email, or broadcast fax, to everyone who came by the booth to thank them and let them know when they can expect to hear from your company again. This should be done within three to five days after the show. Remember, if you don't follow up, your competitors will.
The Next Step: Accountability
Use contact management database programs to ensure your sales staff get leads that are as complete and useful as possible. Then, after leads are distributed, hold your account representatives responsible for the results.
There should be a written progress report from each salesperson at regular, predetermined intervals. This information can be used to track their performance, sales made, etc.
Some companies use performance in lead follow up as one factor in a salesperson's annual performance review. Knowing that they will be held accountable for results is a powerful motivator.
Measuring results
At the end of the day, management wants to know their money was well spent. Keeping track of your leads will allow you to measure sales directly attributable to your trade show participation. Recording this data will allow you to provide qualitative and quantitative analysis of the show.
For example, you can calculate the return-on-investment to demonstrate to management the effect trade shows have on the bottom line. To measure the cost per trade show lead, simply divide your total show expenditure by the number of leads gathered. To measure the cost per sale, divide the total show expenditure by the number of sales.
Qualitative data, such as types of prospects who visited the booth, dates and times of their visit, products/services of interest, buying intent, and results of any pre-show promotional activity often proves invaluable when planning future show participation.
The key to trade show success is wrapped up in the lead management process. It starts with knowing at the outset what you want to achieve, then continues through establishing a strategy that is user-friendly, and finally the actual follow-up operation leads to bottom-line profitability. With a little forethought and planning the results will speak for themselves.
Written by Susan A. Friedmann,CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, Lake Placid, NY, author: “Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies,” working with companies to improve their meeting and event success through coaching, consulting and tradeshow training. For a free copy of “10 Common Mistakes Exhibitors Make”, e-mail: article4@thetradeshowcoach.com; website: www.thetradeshowcoach.com
Top 7 Reasons Most Advertising Campaigns Fail
7 is kind of an arbitrary number and the use of the word "top" seems a little dubious. Is there an 8th reason that just didn't make the cut. In any case, the site is called top7business.com and I suppose it focuses the discussion. This list cites consumers but we think that it applies to BtoB as well. The fact of the matter is that email campaigns are the same as any kind of advertising: you have to grab attention and hold it and not focus on price.
From the post:
Confusing content. Successful ads don't try to tell everything the advertiser knows in one ad. The best ads are focused around one or two main ideas.
Too much emphasis on price. Most ads are written as if price were the only variable. Consumers always want a good, fair price but have no way of knowing if they got the best price. Consumers don't respond to ads because of price alone.
Unrealistic expectations. Expecting major league results in a time frame that's too short with a budget that's too small. Make sure expectations match up with budget and timing.
Too little frequency, repetition, consistency. Most advertisers stop short because they run out of patience and/or money just at the time when the campaign is about to start working. If you have a good ad, keep using it.
Too much about the product, not enough about the consumer. The most successful ads are about the consumer...why they should buy the product and how they benefit from using the product. Most ads waste too much time and space talking about the product and not enough about the consumer and their needs.
Not memorable. Not meaningful. Not sticky. Consumers can act only on the ads they remember. Most ads we encounter are irrelevant. The best ads break through the mental filters by talking our language, touching our emotions and creating imagery that resonates with the consumer.
Failure to understand and focus on the consumer. Consumers don't have a lot of patience for ads that talk only about the business or the product. No one's listening. No one cares. Speak to consumers about what they're interested in and they will respond.
JB’s Space: What Am I Getting For My Money?
Ever go to the doctor's office feeling like utter road-kill, sit in the waiting room for 45 minutes, see the doctor for five minutes only to have him tell you that you've got a virus and there's nothing he can treat it with and it will just have to run its course? Of course you have. Did you pay the bill? Of course you (or your insurance) did. But then did you ever ask yourself, what did I just get for my money? Of course you have - we all have.
Ever bought a bottle of drain opener and followed the directions to a tee (you even wore the rubber gloves and goggles), dutifully sat-by for the required 30 minutes and then had to call a plumber the following day because the drain was still blocked and you don't own a snake and even if you did you wouldn't know what to do with it? As you write a check to the plumber you silently ask yourself, thinking of the nine bucks you shelled out for the drain cleaner, what did I get for my money?
Did you ever take your wife or a client or whomever to one of those haughty-taughty restaurants where all the food comes covered in silver domes and the waiter(s) simultaneously lift-off the covers only to reveal some kind of grass sticking out from a tiny but colorful lump of food that would make a lovely serving size for your cat or ferret and then wonder, after devouring the whole plate in 3 to 5 small bites - what am I getting for my money?
You get the point. I'm sure we could start a tasty blog with example after example where folks think they're getting little return on their investment. And please don't misunderstand me - not everything in life is an ROI equation. Some things we do solely for the pure joy, pleasure, wonder and catharsis that whatever it is offers us - regardless of the cost. But there are so many areas of our personal and professional lives where this does come into play and some of these things really take away from - if not the joy in life - then the trust we have for others - and that's a bad thing for everyone.
"Buyer beware" is as old as Latin but aren't we supposed to be more enlightened today than our ancestors from 2000 years ago? Shouldn't honor today mean more than just a word within the phrase, "there's no honor among thieves"? Personally I don't like being considered cheap - so I'm not - I think it's a mean spirited way to live. However, I do question what I get for my money - and so should we all.
When I joined this industry, 110 days before 9/11, I didn't know a lot of the terminology ("what the heck is drayage", I asked), let alone what things cost. I quickly learned why something as simple as a cabinet or a kiosk, a graphic or an overhead sign could cost as much as they did. We're a "one-off" industry that requires an iterative process with our clients and staff in order to get to the final product. Behind the craftsman on the shop floor who can build, wire, plumb and then crate for safe transit virtually anything you can think of, there are consultants, designers, engineers, graphic artists and project managers. And what these folks do before any drawing gets to the shop floor requires a whole lot of time and effort as virtually anyone who has staged an event or exhibited at a trade show can tell you.
So while seven years ago I didn't know why an eight foot long reception counter could cost as much as $10,000 - today I do. That being said, even after seven years I'm still a bit bewildered, as I was from the get-go as to what you're getting for your money when it comes to show drayage (material handling fees). For example, $60.00/hundred weight (or sixty cents a pound if you prefer) isn't an unusual rate for a show contractor to charge. For those of you like me who are math challenged, that means if you have a 10,000 pound exhibit you're going to pay $6,000 in drayage. What are they paying those fork-lift drivers anyway?!
I wonder in part because our clients wonder as well, and I really can't explain it to them. I hope one day that we can have as a contributor to our Tradeshowfeed Blog, someone from one of the large show contractors who can help us better understand in the case of one my favorite obscure terms - "drayage", what we are getting for our money.
That's JB's space for now. Thanks for visiting.