Tired of the boring break at your events? Or need something imaginative on the tradeshow floor?
Bring in a popsicle cart! It’s sure to be a crowd pleaser.
(and don’t have the hotel or convention center put them in a bucket – part of the fun is the CART!)
You can even brand the cart with your logo and messaging to add that special spark.
The King of Pop Cart
If you’re ever partnering with another company at a tradeshow, a clever idea would be to make a welcome mat with both or one company’s name on it welcoming them to your booth.
Here’s an example of what one company did at an Internet Retailers Convention in June…
A welcome mat is a great and easy way to appease both partners and let attendees know what companies are working together.
A couple of weeks ago we headed down to San Diego for a busy week full of events during the Internet Retailers Convention at the San Diego Convention Center. We stayed at the Hotel Solamar which was just a few blocks away from the convention center. The front desk staff is so friendly and the rooms were very spacious and comfortable. (An added BONUS: You can request to have a gold fish in your room…I named him Jimmy.)
This is Jimmy!
Monday we oversaw the set-up of the Yahoo! Booth, making sure everything was going smoothly.
The Booth
Once the booth was set up, it was time to add the fun elements…which included all the Yahoo! freebies: mints, frisbees, pens, and candy.
Pens and mints
F R I S B E E S ! ! !
You might wonder why we chose Frisbees…we’re in San Diego…it’s the beach…it’s fun! Have you ever chosen a giveaway for a tradeshow based on a destination? Or do you stick with the basics?
The booth was bustling with merchants and Yahoo’s.
Booth placement is key when it comes to tradeshows and being close to the entrance ensured great traffic.
Thursday night we had a party at Float at the Hard Rock Hotel. Float is the outdoor pool bar at the Hard Rock. Great venue, lots of seating, and a nice view. One thing missing…the famous purple touches. We had to make it look Yahoo!ish.
Float with Purple Touches
The last event after a whirlwind week was the Yahoo! recovery brunch. Early Friday morning Yahoo! merchants came together to discuss we had a recovery brunch at the Hilton San Diego with breakfast and networking time.
Overall it was a great week at IRCE.
Meeting Planners…do you workout if you are working a program?
Attendees…do you workout if you are attending a program?
I have to say…it’s much easier being an attendee and getting your workout in. Meeting Planners are up and ready to go by 6am sometimes and don’t get to bed before midnight.
So planners – what can you do to try and stay in shape while on the road? I wish I had the perfect answer…but sad to say, I don’t.
I do have some tips though…that can keep you in shape and help relieve some onsite stress.
workout DVD’s
go outside for a walk
hit the gym
don’t take the elevator – run the stairs
Here are some of my favorite workout DVD’s…
Physique 57
Dailey Method
Do you have any workout secrets that you want to share? What’s your favorite hotel gym? We’d love to hear.
~Caryl
When you do a lot of tradeshows like we do – you see the same old furniture. I just came across this website when looking at the Biz Bash LA website. Biz Bash is a great resource for innovative furniture, unique designs and locations. Check out FormDecor out of LA. They have some similar pieces as other vendors – but also some unique ones.
Barstools
Barstools are key especially when you have demo stations. Below are a few of my favs.
Barstools
Barstool
Vignette
I also loved this vignette they set up for a special events expo. When you are adding furniture to a tradeshow booth – it’s great to add a little something unexpected. I love the lamp and the accessories they added to the table. This is a bit more on the feminine side – but you get the gist.
Lounge Area
Great Meeting Room Set-up
Some booths have meeting rooms on the show floor. Below is an interesting take on setting up the meeting room.
Meeting Room
My New Favorite Chair
I love love this chair…going to have to figure out how to incorporate that into the next show we do. I looks comfy – I just hope it is. 
Cool Chair
Hope you enjoy!
Caryl
ROAR has been pretty crazy lately so I apologize for not updating the blog…
The Cloud Computing group at Yahoo! came to ROAR with plans of participating in their first ever tradeshow. No booth…no experience…nothing. Only the fact that they signed on as a platinum sponsor for a conference that also came with a 10×20 booth space.
Their main goals were to build awareness and to recruit amazing engineers. No one really knew that Yahoo! was in the Cloud space. After this show – and the talks that they signed up for – everyone knows now!! Oh – they don’t have anything to show…
So what did ROAR do – we hit the ground running. We worked with General Graphics to design the booth that would hit the mark…build awareness…create an experience…and get the Yahoo! name all over the show floor. What better way to have the name all over – popcorn!!
The event was a huge success. Take a look at these pictures…and welcome Cloud Computing @ Yahoo!…welcome to tradeshows. Looking forward to many many more.
~Caryl
Action @ the Cloud Computing @ Yahoo! booth
Cloud Computing @ Yahoo! Booth
Cloud Computing @ Yahoo! Booth
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