Hi! I’m Chloe, and I’m a trade show addict.
I know I’ve said it before, but it is a new year with a new slate of cool shows. I’m only bummed that I can’t get to all of them. Between Print China, Hunkeler InnovationDays, the cool shows and seminars from the big print hardware manufacturers – I love DSCOOP! – and the association shows like AIIM (if you love content management and archiving) and XPLOR (if you love customer communication of all types), there is no end to the learning available if you can get permission to travel and find the budget to attend! I know that is the hard part. Even a PrintDiva like me can’t get to all of the shows!
If you are going to one or more of these shows, let me give you some tips for attacking the show floor and conference schedule. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in only talking to the vendors you do business with or only the conference sessions that are directly related to your job, but let me tell you, there is a whole other strategy to attacking these shows that will build your personal knowledge library and give you some great subject matter infrastructure.
Start by taking a hard look at the big picture. Look at the conference schedule. Sometimes there are multiple conferences under the roof and sometimes there are just a whole lot of tracks separated out the way the conference developers thought you should be attending. Try to look outside the box they drew and look just at the sessions and their abstracts. What are the sessions on the topics you know least about? Which sessions are just tangential to your job? And which cover the job you do every day? Take an `a la carte approach and make sure you attend some in each category. Don’t just sit in the same room, session after session.
If there is an exhibit floor it’s time to take a good look at who is there and how the floor is divided. Sadly, most exhibit managers string the smaller companies around the edges and put their favorites front and center. That means that your job is to start on the edges. Look to see how they categorized the groups of vendors for a start, but mostly plan to take a walk with enough time that allows you to read every sign. You don’t have to stop at every booth, but read the signs, see what they are offering.
If there are networking events, go! It’s so tempting to head back to the room and catch up on email, but sometimes the best education is in the networking. Who is using what to accomplish their needs? Who hates what products and why? What sessions are everyone else excited about? It’s all good stuff, and the email will still be there when you get upstairs when a bit of intelligence gathering under your belt.
I ran on too long again! I have 5 shows in the next six weeks! Watch this space for the cool stuff fit for a Print Diva. More from the Life in Print next time!
Chloe Mahendra-Fuji practices the fine arts of design critique, content creation and editing, and communication consulting. She has decades of experience working in online content delivery, print delivery, and content development. Chloe is also a gossip maven. Send your rumors and back channel notes to ChloePrintDiva@gmail.com. She says, “Have you guessed? CMF is my AKA! You’re safe with me!”
Connect with Chloe on Twitter: @ChloePrintDiva
