Nyc_blogger_dinner_11508 Added a blogger dinner to the end of a busy and wildly successful trade show effort in New York City this week.
Connecting with industry colleagues from around the world that I simply would not have met otherwise? It's like jet fuel for my blogging efforts.
As we settle into 2008, I'm getting back to my steady diet of social media. Watch this space.
Store_of_the_future Heading to NYC this weekend to attend the National Retail Federation Show at the Javits. In addition to media briefings, we have two presentations and a booth so we’ll be plenty busy.
But I’m pumped to see this year’s ”Store of the Future” exhibit. I’ve covered pop-up retail here before as a great marketing and public relations tactic. The exhibit features technology that supports pop-up retail.
The exhibit will show what the pop-up might look like in the future – “demonstrating technologies such as rear projection film, use of retail scales, pedestrian traffic measurement methods, in-store design, electronic shelf labeling, custom store fixtures, high-definition display screens, user-interface shopping technology, mobile marketing devices, interactive communications systems, innovative anti-theft security solutions and more innovative products.
The M-Wallet, one of Motorola’s latest mobile phones which allows consumers to pay for their purchases with the handheld device, will be displayed. Additionally, IBM will feature a 3D Second Life experience to demonstrate both the consumer and retailer perspective of virtual retailing.
Looks pretty interesting. We’ll see.
If you’re in NYC next week and want to check it out, let me know. I have plenty of free passes.
tags | marketing | retail design | NRF 08
Uglydollsattoyfair Prior to life on the client side, the bulk of trade shows I attended were industrial, business to business shows. So the nerd kid in me really enjoys seeing Toy Fair coverage.
It’s still a trade show—it can get ugly. But the swag from this show HAS to be cool.
Images from the show are more readily available than ever this year.
NY Int'l Toy Fair uploaded by 1987porsche944
tags | public relations | PR | trade show | Toy Fair 2007 | marketing | Toy Fair
http://bp1.blogger.com/_dlAF3C8MtQU/Rb2d4obk4FI/AAAAAAAAACE/yr0_Vc5yzGY/s1600-h/bugonkeyboard.jpg Was in NYC earlier this month for a trade show and I arranged several media briefings, amongst other duties ( reg. req.).
We began scheduling appointments two weeks prior to the show. In an email exchange with a trade reporter, I sent her to a site I thought she might find interesting. It has nothing to do with my firm or any of its clients. Her reply?
“Thanks for the site...these things are great for news. I actually find newly opened stores on blogs all the time...seems to be the new media of choice for publicizing new lines, stores, etc.”
I spotted the site as part of my usual news tracking efforts. The ability to establish yourself as a source with the media is simple if you keep up with all the industry reading you’re supposed to be doing. The Bad Pitch blog details this all the time.
Know the News to Make the News
Being well-read on current events gives you insight into what the competition’s doing, what the industry’s saying and it helps you identify the issues and trends to which your client can speak.
This routine pays off in spades during a trade show. We had a busy show with some high-profile coverage coming out of it.
Whether you are a speaker, attendee or exhibitor—trade shows are a circus. You have a tight window with the media and the more you know, the better the conversation. And a briefing really should be a conversation.
At some point in the near future, we’ll provide some tips around creating an effective post-show report. Until then it’s back to work.
Brave uploaded by Szczur
:: Cross-Posted from the Bad Pitch blog ::
tags | public relations | PR | media relations | media | good pitch | bad pitch | bad pitch blog | marketing | trade show marketing
So I’m in New York, haunting the Javits at the National Retail Federation’s BIG Show. My firm gave two different presentations and, amongst other duties, I helped create some retail porn for one of them. The idea is to use some a/v to attract attendees into your presentation and create the kind of excitement the usual “podium/power point deck of doom” can crush as soon as the atypical title slide advances to the overview page.
The NRF Show had become almost completely technology-focused, but this year they created a space for retail design—The NRF Studio. My firm even has a booth.
Safe from the circus of the main expo floor, the Studio’s Five Senses Pavilion shows various technologies and their ability to immerse customers in a retail space by engaging all of their senses.
The Smell and Taste booths are the most interesting in my opinion. How many non-food brands consider how these senses might be engaged? How many food brands consider how audio might be engaged to establish their brand? Starbucks did to its benefit. I'm thinking Starbuck’s music cds and NOT its Hear Music concept.
FIELD TRIP! New York readers should check out the melee at NRF. From The Studio and the Five Senses Pavilion to the Store of the Future and the tchotchke-packed expo floor—you can get in for FREE. Just head down to the Javits and register for a free Studio Pass. Use the promotion code 1240.
tags | public relations | PR | trade show | NRF | retail design
When I attend conferences, I’m vigilant about removing my badge as I leave the exhibition hall ("You down with OCD? Yeah, you know me!"). Heading out into the public wearing a badge on is a bad idea on many levels.
CNN’s Kyra Phillips learned a hard, related lesson yesterday as it applies to lavaliere microphones. She forgot to turn hers off when she hit the restroom during President Bush’s speech commemorating Katrina.
“So instead of getting the president’s remarks, CNN’s audience got that and Phillips in some girl-chat.” Three minutes worth to be exact.
Hot Air flushes, er, fleshes the story out for us here. It was bad enough that CNN issued a formal apology:
“CNN apologized Tuesday after an open mike transmitted an anchor’s bathroom conversation with another woman live over the network as it was carrying President Bush’s speech in New Orleans.”
Back in the day, this gaffe would only see the light of day if it made it into a bloopers special. Now? Kyra is big blogosphere news less than 24 hours later.
tags | Kyra Phillips | media | CNN | President Bush
More to come on this, but thanks to Canuckflack for the Max Cannon cartoon generator. For an indirectly related segue on the topic, check out John Wagner’s take on conferences.
tags | public relations | PR
Video can give your marketing efforts a boost in a variety of ways. Here are two small, smart examples, at either end of the budget spectrum. Let’s start with event promotion on the skinny.
YouTube Makes Event Promotion Easy
In the aftermath of a successful event, Philip Young created a video wrap-up and posted it to YouTube.
”London: The Movie” was created using a digital camera, Photo Story 3 and some podcast excerpts. It’s a great way to build interest in a follow-up event without adding a line item in your event budget for a videographer (Hat tip to Neville Hobson).
GM Sponsorship is About Access
From skinny budgets to big-boned, Ad Age ( reg. req.) tells us that GM is sponsoring the Survivor Finale on-demand.
Survivor fans in select markets will be able to watch the episode for no additional charge through Comcast's video-on-demand platform. This will be the first time an advertiser has fully sponsored on-demand prime-time broadcast programming.
The program will air with only three commercials. The ads direct viewers to the GM Showroom, an on-demand destination that provides videos, along with in-depth product walk-arounds of various GM vehicles.
This is a clear payoff to the sponsorship, unlike Sprite and LOST where I had to figure out the connection/payoff on my own.
GM is doing more than cutting a sponsorship check here. They are creating customer good will and awareness by providing FREE access to VOD and tying themselves to the buzz of a popular show and VOD technology. This would be the polar opposite of what NBC created by pulling SNL’s Lazy Sunday/Narnia Rap from YouTube and turning it into an iTunes revenue generator.
tags | event marketing | YouTube | GM | video on demand | advertising | marketing | media | Delivering the New PR | Philip Young
New_product
New Product uploaded by YACHT
Using Flickr as your online image pool ensures easy access for you, bloggers, journos and passionate customers alike.
It is also a handy tool for promoting your latest news. Proper Flickr tags help ensure your images will be found by a relevant audience.
At Weblogs Work, Alexander Muse takes this one step further and targets well-known “Flickrazzi” to take the new product pics.This in turn taps into the many fans of Thomas Hawk or, in Muse's example, Laughing Squid’s Scott Beale to help amplify launch buzz. Brilliant.
tags | public relations | PR | media relations | media | Flickr | Thomas Hawk | Laughing Squid
One sure sign of summer is the up tick in mobile marketing news. The latest is from the Delaware News Journal.
I'm interviewed for the piece. It was an impromptu, phone interview. The reporter found me via a Google search on the topic, called me yesterday and we did the interview. My quotes prove this out.
In addition to the classic examples detailed in the above links, we're seeing new mobile marketing efforts unveiled fairly regularly.
Perhaps it's the time of year, but I'm curious if the increase might also be tied to the waning effectiveness of traditional advertising?
We're also seeing more examples of pop-up retail as retailers try and differentiate their brands by providing new, unexpected experiences. Both tactics generate a lot of excitement, even though one sells product and the other simply markets it.
Either way, it looks like we're in for a fun summer, brought to you by...
tags | public relations | PR | media relations | advertising | marketing | branding | brand | design | retail design
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