Trade shows can be incredibly successful for your business, but they can also be a colossal waste of your money and time.  Here are some tips you can use to make the most of your trade show experience and ensure that you’ll get a return on your investment.

1. Ask the question, “Why would we want to exhibit at Trade Show X?”. Since the marketing dollars at most companies are not in plentiful supply these days, it is vitally important to determine which trade shows are going to give you the most value. This may seem like a no-brainer, but you do need to do your homework before you commit.  Sometimes we get in a rut as well, where we just assume that we’ll be exhibiting at Trade Show X again this year.  However, even if you exhibited at a show last year, that does not mean you should exhibit this year.

In addition to the main question above, ask yourself these questions as well:

• Does the show we selected attract the correct audience for our products or services?
• Does it have the proper attendance to justify our anticipated expenditures?
• Can we get a list of previous trade attendees from the trade show organizer?  If you can, try contacting a few of the ones that fit your target market to see if they will be attending again this year.

2. You’ve decided to exhibit at Trade Show X- now determine your main objective and strategy, and keep it simple.  If you know your objective, you will have an easier time determining your strategy to accomplish that objective- from the announcements and booth messages to the promotional products and other giveaways to the overall booth design.

3. Let people know that you will be at Trade Show X.  One option is to use a direct mail piece that lets target companies know your booth number and how they will benefit if they stop by your booth. If you have a strong social media presence, you will also want to announce your plans online several times, specifically noting how attendees can benefit if they come to your booth.

4. Ask an expert to help you create a clean, clear and impactful booth. Since you don't get a lot of time to make sure a show attendee understands your message, keep it simple.  Remember your key objective for exhibiting at Trade Show X and ensure that your visitors easily receive the information they need to make a decision about what you offer.

5. Create a booth that makes it easy for booth visitors to enter your area and get the information that they need. Visitors should feel welcome and comfortable.  Consider a U-shaped trade show space, if possible, with visuals and information that will draw them in to interact with you.

6. Ask an expert to help you select promotional products that fit with your objective.  It’s better to have one carefully considered product than several throwaway products. With the availability of thousands of promotional products in hundreds of categories, selecting the best ones can be daunting.

7. Incorporate some social media- both before and during the trade show. As we mentioned above, it’s a good idea to announce on your social media profiles that you’ll be appearing at Trade Show X.  Also consider making a brief video announcement that you post to YouTube as well as share on Facebook and Twitter. Run a contest where the first 25 people who tweet a photo of your booth and mention your Twitter account or unique hash tag will get something for free or are entered into a drawing.  Tweet and update Facebook while you’re at the show, letting people know what you’re offering and why they would benefit by stopping at your booth. Make it even more convenient by creating a QR code that will make it easy for them to share out your information when they stop by your booth- and they’ll receive some sort of award for doing so. Get creative and make it fun for people to advertise for you.

8. Record conversations that you have with people immediately after they have left. After you have a conversation and receive a business card, jot down what you talked about on the back of the card if possible, or attach a note to the card.  This will help you with the next step, which is following up.

9. Follow up, follow up, follow up. You must follow up after the show on all the leads generated to effectively optimize your trade show investment. Most trade shows are expensive, both in man-hours and up-front costs.  Make it worth your while by figuring out how you are going to follow up with prospects- BEFORE the trade show even starts.

So with so much technology being driven to our mobile devices, what is usable today by the typical business enterprise that does not have a team of programmers ready to invent the next Facebook? We believe that basic QR Code technology  is easy and relatively inexpensive to use and in many business's can provide significant benefits for users. The growth in the technology seems to support the acceptance as more and more users become comfortable with the technology.

So lets look at some Best Practices when it comes to QR Codes. First and foremost a QR Code is a web address that is going to be visited by a phone with a scanner. DO NOT send users to a traditional Desktop Website. The formatting of a traditional website will provide a frustrating, poor experience and users will be unhappy. Websites that have been "reformatted" for mobile devices are usually equally poor as the reformatting is taking 800 pixels in information and reducing it to less than 200. You need to use a Mobile Web Site which is available for very low monthly costs and allow you to develop a "Mobile Brand & Presence". Here is a link to the Alta Graphics Mobile Website Package pricing.

The next step is to re-think your "Mobile Web Presence" as not a clone of your Desktop Website". Mobile users frequently need to interact differently with your company when they are on a phone. For example they need easy access to all contact information for after hours communication. Product information if included might be in summary form. You want to think if my users are interacting with our company on a mobile, what information would they need. Then organize this in a very intuitive easily accessible way in your mobile web site.

Some great examples are a Realtor's mobile site can have a brief listing of featured properties with the QR Code on the for sale/lease sign. Scanning the code takes the users phone to a micro site with property details and simple buttons to contact the agent via phone, email or text. When the property is off the market, the same sign and QR code can easily be assigned to a new listing. All the details available about a property on a desktop site might not be desirable on a phone but basic information and photos together with contact buttons can make a mobile users experience with your company enjoyable and productive!

So normally a QR Code on your business card would take the user to your personal contact (home) page. The information on this page can be captured as a "V-Card" which is added to the users contact information without them having to type anything. So take the plunge - Rethink Mobile engagement, Get a Mobile site and start interacting!

So lets take a look at a new program that can offer savings up to  70% compared with  traditional direct mail.  The US Post Office introduced the EDDM - Every Door Direct Mail program  in late 2011 which has been so successful they hope to generate over $1 billion in revenue in 2012. So whats the big deal and who should be looking at this program as a potential marketing tool? This brings us to our question  regarding demographics versus geography.  EDDM can offer one of the best marketing values available IF you want to target a specific geographic area. If on the other hand, you need to target your messaging to only a specific demographic target market, this program might be less appropriate.

So if you are in the group needing to market to a defined geography, what are the benefits to this new program? The answer is it is a fraction of the cost and complexity of traditional direct mail. Lets look at how the program works; You create a mailer up to a 12" x 15" Postcard, select a postal carrier route shown in online route maps, drop the batch off at the local post office and pay ¢14.5 each. You do not need a list, do not need to address , do not need a permit. A typical carrier route averages around 700 deliverable addresses so your total cost for that route would be 700 * ¢14.5 = $101.50 plus the printed cost of the 700 postcards. Need a steady stream of new prospects? Print a larger number of postcards and send out several routes per week based on budget.

Benefits of EDDM for Geographic Marketers

1. The single rate of ¢14.5 delivers a 12" x 15" postcard which is  "massive ". This is three times larger than traditional "Jumbo Postcards" allowing for powerful creative, multiple offers and will stand out in the mail box.
2. The simplicity of selecting a route and dropping a batch off at the post office with no address data or addressing expense make it very easy to do regularly. Traditional mailings involve many more steps have significant costs for list management and postal discounts were dependent on volume encouraging larger scale projects.
3. Testing offers is very inexpensive by sending different promotions to different routes. Digitally printing can be used for short runs with specific offers and higher volume offset runs once you dial in an effective campaign.
4. You can select some demographic characteristics by looking at the route statistics which include all basic demographic variables. If you don't like the routes "makeup" find a better route.

Think this might be something to consider for one of your marketing initiatives? Contact our Customer Service at order@alta-graphics.com to learn how we can structure an EDDM program designed for your organizations needs.

The comparison looks at the cost of placing your brand in front of people to increase awareness. For example, while writing instruments are the most popular and widely used gift, The logo is only viewed by and average of 437 people per month. A branded bag while used less frequently than a pen is viewed by an average of 1078 people per month. The study compares the average life, cost and number of views to arrive at an average "cost per impression" which is then compared to other forms of advertising.

While the average cost per impression of $.018 for prime time TV, compares poorly to the average for advertising specialties of $.005, there is a lot of information to improve a corporate gift strategy and ROI. The best performing gifts included pens and bags with average costs of $.001 per impression. This means gifts provide a great opportunity to promote your brand for a very low cost.

So how do we design a program to maximize ROI that is consistent with our corporate and brand positioning? As with most advertising strategies, its not as simple as choosing the lowest cost item we can find for the budget. While we can afford a lot more $.25 cent pens, an important customer may not feel truly recognized or appreciated by that choice. At a trade show where qualifying prospects is difficult in  limited time, it does not make sense to distribute higher value items. In addition to the fundamental gift cost considerations, there are many other critical factors that will effect the success of the campaign;

1. Different gifts perform very differently in different demographics. It is important to identify who the target of the campaign is in selecting the items.
2. Consider the brand and any associated message in selecting the gift. If you are launching a new product, its hard to communicate the advantages on a pen.
3. Consistency with corporate look and image should be considered in the selection including colors, styles, recycled content, build quality, etc.
4. Reserve budget for higher cost items to give to a select group of prospects & customers.
5. Determine your budget for the year and a plan for  the different items, and occasions. Try to use a campaign where the items build on one another.
6. Get professional assistance in applying these tips. Use our Alta Graphics Gift Search  site to look for items then schedule a visit to meet with our specialists who can guide you in your promotional campaign!

With today's technologies for connecting with one another, many companies are attempting to redefine the role of the business card.  Used as early as the 15^th century in China and the 17^th century in France not much has changed in terms of technology. Information, is printed on a small piece of paper and exchanged. Today with the evolution of Social Media such as LinkedIn which boasts over 135 million users in 200 countries, and Smart Phones, many are trying to redefine how people exchange information.

One example is Bump Technologies www.bu.mp that offer an app to automate the exchange of traditional business card information between  smart phones. While the company reports 53 million downloads, research shows it has not being used as intended. Despite its design as a business product, it is primarily serving an after-hours function as a social tool. When asked about this, Nathan Shedroff, design strategist at California College of the Arts said:

“The act of theater surrounding the exchange of a business card allows for flirtation, self-expression, and recognition,”

This is in many ways similar to the experience of business card sharing in Asian Culture where the act of the exchange is surrounded with centuries old etiquette.

What this seems to imply is that we are still represented by our business cards in terms of paper, design & layout, printing process and the use of technologies such as QR Codes and links to Social Media.

So while we continue to track the arrival of Business Card 2.0, lets review how we create a "Killer Card" using Revision 1.9 technologies! There are two main areas that require consideration. First and most important is what  is included and how it is presented to allow the reader to quickly know what you do and how they reach you. Secondly is the process used to make the card which includes paper and imaging processes which might include more than basic printing. Common  today  is the use of  process including; embossing, accents with Foils or Spot UV coatings and die cutting to add rounded corners or custom shapes.

While you can get business cards for  "Free" from some online printers, many people still need professional assistance in creating a great card considering  variables such as number of employees, budget, turnover, as well as the companies branding and positioning goals. Here is our list of tips  when designing your card.

Things to DO:

• Logo and Company name needs to state what you do. If the company name is not clear in defining your product or service, consider incorporating a tag line.
• Consider all the elements that need to be on the card and refine the design ensuring that the most important information is legible.
• Design should have a "Look and Feel" consistent with your industry as well as continuity with other company promotional material.
• Decide on a card style and special treatments consistent with your "Look and Feel" AND budget - Don't choose a $200 card for a short term hire...
• Consider adding a LinkedIn account or QR Codes to take you to a mobile website.
• Use "Focus Group" comparisons to get input on design options. Solicit input from customers, vendors, friends and colleagues and employees.
• Consider getting professional input on your business card plan and design.

Things to Avoid:

• Many cards have  information that is to small. If your phone or email  is not legible, you risk losing business.
• Do not use a popular email domain like Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail or MSN.
• Do not use free cards advertising a printing company on the back.
• Do not use QR Codes that take the reader to a traditional desktop website.
• Don't use outdated pictures from 20 years ago.
• Don't use generic clip art.
• Do not use poor design techniques like too many fonts, poor color contrast, or bad graphic balance.

"The International Safecracker" a tribute to the Deering Estate at Cutler by Rocky McGiboney & Benjy Caplan. This book, a selected collection of stories from the upcoming complete version was printed by Alta Graphics this week. The book will be presented at the SoBay Festival of the Arts taking place at the Deering Estate at Cutler in South Miami today.

Here is the announcement:

At the age of nineteen, Rocky McGiboney was trained and mentored in the art of cracking a safe by the famed CIA operative and Watergate burglar Virgilio Gonzalez. Although McGiboney chose to use his skills for legitimate purposes, he experienced enough harrowing adventures and hilarious encounters over the next three decades, to inspire him to share the tales publicly in his recently published book, “The International Safe-Cracker.” Meet the author at the SoBay Festival of the Arts “Icon of a Moment” event.

The historic Deering Estate is directly connected with the safe cracker, because it is he who opened Charles Deering’s prohibition-era vault. In 1985, before the transfer of ownership of the property from the Deering family to the State of Florida, the family requested that the sealed vault door be opened. Early one hot August morning, McGiboney and his assistant, Jose Carminate, met the Estate caretaker and together descended a narrow staircase of the Stone House and found the cleverly hidden vault behind a bookcase. Illuminated by a single light bulb, McGiboney and his assistant began what became three days of intense work trying to solve over one million possible combinations.

“It was a work of art,” said McGiboney of the 1899 nickel-plated outer door. He described the black crane hinge, the Diebold safe and lock and intricate scrollwork decorating the vault. When he tried the dial it moved but was stiff, and he spent the first day just turning the dial, spraying it with lubricant and feeling for the tumblers.

In his book, McGiboney’s descriptions take you on a journey through some of Miami’s most infamous wild west DEA raids and homicide cases that took place in the 1980’s with the Cocaine Cowboys, to meeting the real ‘Scarface’ whose life was the model for the film character Tony Montana. Today, he still travels the world opening safes and vaults for the Fortune 500 companies, the cruise line industry, law enforcement agencies and wealthy clients with private art collections and yachts anchored in the luxurious Greek Islands.

Take a tour with McGiboney when he shares the incredible story of how he cracked the Estate’s vault and learn what treasures were uncovered during the author’s presentation and book signing.

Alta Graphics looks forward to working with Rocky on the upcoming complete version!