Know-How Exchange : Other

Hi Peter

This sounds unbelievable, quite ridiculous. I know the place well and understand what you're talking about...

Giving them the benefit of the doubt - do they mean, maybe, just that you can't use your own laptop - until one of their electricians checks and tags the device as safe?

I presume there is a carefully selected and approved vendor standing by to hire a PC to exhibitors at a great rate? Which would probably make McCormick Place liable to accusations of third line forcing or similar, wouldn't it?

Sometimes these places use tactics that make any reasonable person cringe!

Hope it's just a misunderstanding - otherwise maybe the Marketing Association could be coerced to make some kind of official protest?

Good Luck

ChrisB

I've displayed at the McCormick. The rules are very daunting. The unions control pretty much everything, so much so that the largest show for dry cleaners has taken that facility off it's list of places to use (Sorry unions, you are now driving customers away).

As I recall, the unions must install electrical and internet connections, but they won't get into the technicals of installing computers (typical unions, they only want the easy work). Bring your laptop, and don't use the electrical if you have a battery strong enough to run all day...or borrow a plugin from the stall next to you.

Peter,
It's a miracle that Chicago gets as many trade shows as it does. I've exhibited for clients at McCormick place every year.

My suggestion is to suck it up and abide by all the rules....but keep the extra cost in mind. Trade shows may or may not be the best use of marketing funds (I'm telling you??)

Michael

Dear Peter:

I've managed trade show exhibits for federa. government contracts for 5 years in Chicago and elsewhere around the country, mostly in the the health arena.

Life lesson for your client: trade shows are *not* cheap, but they are valuable. Convention centers make and take money by making magic (that is, transforming a cavernous warehouse space into a Disneyland overnight). But it costs. Think of it as a Disneyland. The price of admission is just the tip of the iceberg.


If this is your client's first show, it is very important that you help her/him determine what would be a reasonable return on investment - is it x number of qualified leads? Is is y$ in floor sales? Make sure you get a lead retrieval machine so you can collect leads. Also, make sure that you count visits to the booth ( I use one of those hand-held clicking counters). Finally, determine what value it is to be able to (a) be in the same space with competition and (b) be able to "shop" the competition and see in a compressed time what they are offering and how.

Finally, I've found that it is helpful to pick up the phone call the show management (such as Freeman) and ask them specifically what the deal is. Sometimes there is a spat going on between the union and the center. Sometimes it is lax. Whatever it is, you need to know.

And as a postscript, if you are using a van line to ship the exhibit, check with your agent. They almost always have the inside scoop.

Regards, and Good luck.


Win

https://www.winthropmorgan.com