Share Your AHA Moment

Submit a video to the TS² Video Connect™ Contest by September 15, 2010 for your chance to win a FlipVideo camera or a full conference registration to TS² 2011. Submit, share and win at http://ts2.3d-mediagroup.com.

We’re looking for candid educational input from you. Share your experience, wisdom or AHA Moment from last week’s show to inspire and educate.

STEP 1: RECORD VIDEO

Film and submit a video with your webcam – or have a colleague help.

Answer the Following Video Category Questions:

1) Industry Advice: What is the best advice you ever received and from whom?

2) AHA Moments: What is the most important lesson you learned in this business?

3) Social Media: How do you see social networking tools impacting your events and exhibitions?

STEP 2: REGISTER ONLINE, ANSWER QUESTIONS & SUBMIT VIDEO

Register Online: Upload your video to the TS² Video Connect™ website until September 15, 2010. Log in, register, answer questions and upload your video at www.TS2.3D-Mediagroup.com.

STEP 3: FACEBOOK™ RECOMMNEND, SHARE AND COMMENT

Pass your knowledge on! Recommend your video with industry enthusiast through Facebook™ Recommend. We want your network connections thoughts and comments too!

Mobile Marketing 101

Mobile Marketing 101: How to build lasting engagement through non-traditional means

The Information Age has provided unprecedented opportunities to communicate directly with your target audience. Up until recently, the best and most efficient means to advertise came through standardized media (T.V., radio, print, and billboard). With the advancement of the internet and social media, these mediums have been eclipsed and marginalized. As consumers, we are constantly bombarded by thousands of brands, ads and marketing messages every day, each one vying for our ever-shrinking attention spans. The result? We don’t pay attention to most of what we see or hear, unless it somehow manages to connect with and inspire us.

So, with most advertising just adding to the noise, it’s important for us marketers to learn how to tailor our messages and strategies to different audiences. Activities, campaigns and the mediums at which they arrive to the consumer need to be relevant and thought through.

A great team that understands this and works through every little detail is Pixar Animation Studios. Pixar consistently outperforms the competition at the box office because the team has developed their own secret for success – they emphasize synergy between production and marketing – thus producing targeted, thought-through films and advertising (their killer creativity and attention to detail doesn’t hurt either).

At the Pixar campus outside of San Francisco, directors invite the marketing team into the entire film-making process – involving them in everything from script development to casting. Both teams work hand-in-hand to ensure that the films will connect with the target audience. It’s a truly collaborative, coordinated effort! Not only are the films incredibly successful, but Pixar, as a brand, is now synonymous with top-notch creativity and unforgettable films.

But this kind of brand reputation wasn’t born overnight; it was built over time, through hard work, teamwork and thorough, thoughtful marketing incorporated every step of the way.

More stories, tips and case studies will be shared during the Mobile Marketing 101 session (TS260) at www.ts2show.com, where marketers will learn how to take their brands to the road!

TS2 Presents: Archived Webinars

Missed this week’s webinars? Check them out here:

• TS² Presents: Insanely Successful Direct Mail Ideas to Use NOW: http://vimeo.com/12927291
• TS² Presents: Developing Target Personas in Marketing: http://vimeo.com/12955843

Leveraging Virtual Technologies to Deliver Dynamic Customer Experiences

Sometimes it seems as if marketers are expected to be magicians. While slashing budgets, marketing footprint is expected to expand, level of customer engagement is supposed to increase, and return on marketing investment must improve!

The ONLY way to accomplish these goals simultaneously is to focus on interactive experiences that engage your audience everywhere – at trade shows, online, and everywhere in-between.

So how do you make this magic a reality? Here are 2 quick solutions:

1. Virtual Product Demonstrations — reduce shipping and drayage costs
2. Interactive Solutions Diagrams — enhance customer engagement

And both of these tools are repurposed online and offline, dramatically reducing the costs of marketing. Making marketing magic is possible, after all!

Want more tips to help marketers utilize technology to decrease face-to-face expenses while delivering dynamic customer experiences? Check out TS180 – Leveraging Virtual Technologies to Deliver Dynamic Customer Experiences at TS² 2010, Wednesday, July 14 at 3:30pm, led by Gavin A. Finn, Ph.D., CEO & President of Kaon Interactive and Bill Casey, Vice President, Andrew Corporation. For more details, visit www.ts2show.com.

Beyond Your Booth

Didn’t make this week’s webinar: TS² Presents: Beyond Your Booth: Capturing the Complete Sales Potential of Your Event? Check it out here:

TS2 Presents: Beyond Your Booth: Capturing the Complete Sales Potential of Your Event from TS2 Show on Vimeo.

Policing Cyberspace: Social Media & The Law

Are you protected from content that may be actionable (create liability for your company) that is posted on your site?

Yes.

The Communications Decency Act – Section 230 protects Websites from liability from publication of information provided by another.

If a user posts defamatory or illegal content the network provider is protected from liability from the post. But recent case law says you may be responsible if you do not remove illegal content after you are notified of its existence.

Did you know that? What else don’t you know about social media and the law? Find out Thursday, July 15 at TS² 2010 in the session: “TS410 – Policing Cyberspace: Social Media & The Law, presented by Steve Stromberg, Account Executive, GES.

For session details and to register for the event, please visit www.ts2show.com.

Are You FAMISHED?

Today’s Post is brought to us by Christine Aquin Pope, CEO of Gunpowderbusiness, North America’s premier Lead Generation Company, who will be facilitating a conference session at TS² 2010, Tuesday, July 13 from 8:30 am – 10:0 am on this topic. For session details and to register for the event, please visit www.ts2show.com.

____________________________________________

Are you FAMISHED?

Prospecting for new business can be a daunting task at the best of times. Here are 8 steps to help you bulletproof yourself from rejection and set yourself up for success.

FAMISHED is an acronym. Here’s what it stands for.

“F” is for FIND a point of entry. This is a specific person, preferably with signing authority, whom you want to talk to, and who can move your sale forward. Ideally, you should identify more than one person within the enterprise with whom you can speak about your offering.

“A” is for ASK permission. (“Have I caught you at a good time?”) This step is optional. As a medium, the telephone is highly intrusive; there is no point in talking to a person who is not listening to you. By asking when a good time to call back would be, you may be able to get your first commitment. Make a positive impression … by respecting the other person’s time! If you can tell instantly that the individual you’ve reached has a positive attitude, you can skip this step and move on to…

“M” is for MATCH the person’s tonality and pace of speaking. This is very important. You must establish conversational harmony. Let the other person’s tone and pacing serve as the “ground rules” for this conversation.

“I” is for INTENTION. Say exactly why you are calling: “I’m calling to set up a meeting with your CIO.” Speak with confidence when you state your intention.

“S” is for SUCCESS STORY FOR CREDIBILITY. Start identifying the people and/or companies your company has worked with. Briefly and authoritatively tell the story of why they chose you and why they decided to stay with you. To gain credibility, you MUST share success stories that will benefit the person you are talking to.

“H” is for HOT BUTTONS. These are the specific benefits you identified on your research. Ask good questions.

“E” is for EXPECT THE NO. People are busy. Don’t imagine they will instantly buy into your message. Anticipate resistance; don’t be thrown by it. Get ready for it by remembering the power of three: Have at least three questions ready when you hear the “no” — and be ready with the rebuttal. This is an extremely important bullet-proofing step. We call this hand to hand combat for a reason. Be prepared, and you won’t get slaughtered.

“D” is for DO IT AGAIN. Make at least three direct, polite requests for the face to face meeting. Give different reasons for each. IF YOU ONLY MAKE ONE ATTEMPT TO GET THE MEETING, YOU ARE NOT HUNGRY ENOUGH!

CEOs take note: Practice and role-playing are absolutely essential before you allow someone to represent your brand.

You must be FAMISHED if you expect to win the meeting! And yes, that’s both an acronym and a state of mind.

From the book “Blast Open Big Doors”

Author Christine Aquin Pope

CEO of Gunpowderbusiness, North Americas premier Lead Generation Company.

Trade Show Follow-Up Webinar

From TSNN, check out this webinar:

Join us for “Trade Show Follow-up: The Ultimate Competitive Edge”

Wednesday, June 23rd 12-1pm EST

This hour-long webinar will cover:

• Misconceptions about effective lead follow-up
• Processes, plans and pitfalls in lead follow-up – regardless of company size
• Case studies from companies who are turning trade show lead management into a significant competitive advantage, including learning lessons from their mistakes
• Lead follow up collaboration tactics between marketing and sales
• Strategies to gain support from your CEO and CFO to fund your lead follow-up efforts

About the Presenter:

Joyce McKee of Let’s Talk Trade Shows has a broad perspective on the trade show and event industry starting as an exhibitor 25 years ago. Joyce KNOWS the lead process forwards and backwards. For 12 years her former firm had a call center function and she created and followed up on all types of leads for major corporations.

Her philosophy is to “be brilliant at the marketing basics.” She fully understands the basics and how your company can leverage them to create a competitive advantage and boost sales.

Joyce is the blogger for IAEE’s entities – CEIR and The International Center for Exhibitor and Event Marketing.

Face-to-Face & Virtual Events Co-Existing Together

TS² recently held a Twitter Chat session on virtual events and participant, Emilie Barta, Professional Trade Show Presenter, participated and blogged about the topic. Check it out here.

Join Emilie and several other trade show thought-leaders in the TS² IN Zone, located directly on the show floor, July 14 and 15 for interviews conducted by Emilie Barta on your most pressing trade show topics! Learn more here: http://www.ts2show.com/ts2show2010/public/Content.aspx?ID=1044&sortMenu=104005.

TS2 Presents: Beyond Your Booth Webinar

TS² Presents: Beyond Your Booth: Capturing the Complete Sales Potential of Your Event

Join us for a Webinar on June 22

Reserve your Webinar seat now at:

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/247391426

Sample the TS² 2010 conference program with this Sneak Peak Webinar! If you like what you see here, you’ll find more than 40 high-level education sessions and 200 exhibiting companies, providing the ideas and solutions to guarantee your marketing program is a success … all packed into 3 days at TS², July 13-15, 2010 in Boston. For details, visit www.ts2show.com. Despite the billions of dollars spent annually on events, most exhibitors underplay the sales opportunity created by events, settling for badge scans and literature distribution at the booth instead of appointments for follow-up meetings and focusing only on at-show activities inistead of the pre- and post-event efforts that can add so much to results. This session posits a more dynamic and effective approach to sales in conjunction with events and suggests training, planning and reporting tools that can help get it in place. Learning Objectives: Explore strategies and tactics that lead to better sales results. Understand the complete sales potential associated with events. Get new tools to help you plan, train and report on sales through events.

Title: Beyond Your Booth: Capturing the Complete Sales Potential of Your Event Date: Tuesday, June 22, 2010 Time: 2:00 PM – 2:30 PM EDT