It’s Electrifying!

Do you plan events that include tradeshows? If so, you have likely encountered the fun that goes along with securing services for booths like electricity, internet, rigging, materials handling, or carpet which all include things that are not always clearly spelled out like voltage, amps, connectors, floor plans, padding, labor, and such. Because this tends to be an area that is “live and learn,” let me try to shorten the learning curve.

I will briefly mention labor. These services come with setup and teardown labor hourly rate charges. Depending on the complexity, there may be a charge for more than one person. Based on the timing of the services, you could pay straight time, overtime, or holiday pay. These vary by state, service provider, facility, or event. Be sure you understand what you are paying for labor. This can be very costly. Working with a union adds a whole other level of complexity I am not even going to talk about here.

What I really want to address is electricity. Electricity generally comes from an outside company using an electrician and not the convention center. It can get confusing because you will usually order using the Exposition Services Provider platform but are actually ordering from a 3rd party. Electric companies will charge per outlet, outlet type, hookup, extension cord, per person, and per hour. Most places will not allow you to plug anything in on your own.

When ordering electricity you will need to provide a floor plan with the electrical placement marked where the connection will either come through the carpet or where it will be dropped from the ceiling into your booth. It’s good practice to be in your booth when services are being installed to monitor the hour and length of time the laborers are there to ensure the information matches the work order before you sign it. There may be an additional cost for a permit so you might want to request a quote before finalizing your order.

Understand your power needs. The three most common power needs I have requested over the years include: 3-phase 200amp 208V (volt), 3-phase 100amp 208V, and 20amp 120V. In a nutshell, I have used 200 amp electric to power general session main stage lighting trusses, LED walls, and an industrial robotic system exhibition cell (ask me someday how I know how to do this!). I have used 100 amp for exhibit booths with smaller scale LED walls or moving displays, and 20amp connections have been used for running basic computers, TVs, and small-scale electronics.

I am not an electrician, a production equipment specialist, or an exhibition services guru, so please make sure you consult someone with expertise in this area before you order anything. I just wanted to draw your attention to the fact there is more to having a tradeshow booth than just showing up with your pop-up display.

Do you have additional tidbits around tradeshow electric?
Feel free to share here or email me.

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Failure Adds The Flavor

I came across this quote by Truman Capote, “Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.” It made me stop and think about some of the experiences from my 16 years of event planning that failed or went poorly but made me a better planner for it. If nothing else, they have provided stories which I get to share with others over dinner.

Without experiencing the occasional failure how would you be able to identify when you are experiencing success? How else do you think one becomes a seasoned event planner?

As event planners, we expect the occasional failure. When working with so many different people, details, locations, professions, budgets, contractors, platforms, and modes of transportation, there is bound to be a mishap or two. A failure can’t unravel you. If you are successful enough, you have had your share of failures. Failures often force us to use our creativity to solve a problem in the moment and can lead to improvements to future events.

Something else I take away from this quote is that failure is not the end. I mean, it could be if you give up, but it’s not meant to be the end. When you have learned a lesson the hard way, the next time you succeed at the repeat attempt, success is even sweeter.

For those of us who have already experienced the ups and downs of event planning, I feel it’s our responsibility to not only share what we have learned with those who are newer to the game than we are, but to also walk alongside someone when they fail. To help them see what they can learn from it and how to move through it.

Most importantly, we should help others identify their successes as well so they don’t miss what those taste like. They’re pretty tasty.

I’d love to hear what Mr. Capote’s quote conjures up for you!
Leave your comments here or email me!

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The Event Roadmap

The handbook. I’m sure you have seen these before. They can be as simple as a handout with the schedule and some key people listed or as complex as to have the entire event mapped out from session selections to speaker listings to advertisers. I have seen good ones and bad ones. Bad ones are poorly edited or structured, are missing key information, are uncomfortable to hold, and get left behind on the floor at the first chance. I am fortunate to be part of an organization who works hard at providing an amazing handbook. It is something the attendees look forward to and they keep for years to refer back to.

What features make for a good event handbook? Here are five things I have found make our attendees clamor over each other to reach the handbook table first:

  • Make it helpful. The handbook should provide value to the attendee. It should have things like a quick-reference schedule and building map handy. I recommend including locations of sessions, speaker line-up, and house-keeping information like where to find restrooms and get questions answered.
  • Make it eye-catching. Use the event theme or artwork. Allow it to begin to set the tone for the event. It should entice an attendee to open it.
  • Make it practical. If the attendees are taking notes in the handbook, it should lay flat. You’ve experienced the uncomfortable handbook that tries to flip closed on you while you are writing or you had to break the binding on a book so it would lay flat enough to comfortably write in. It costs a little more money, but a spiral bound book is really nice.
  • Edit page content. Take care not to put too much text or information on a given page. If we have learned anything in these last couple of years, it is that people don’t read what you give them. Make instructions brief, bullet any lists, and highlight only what is crucial to the attendee experience. 
  • Mind colors and fonts. Creativity has its place during an event, but needs to be tempered within the pages of the handbook. The fonts need to be easily read in a dimly lit General Session. The color contrast between the fonts and the surrounding page colors contribute to this experience as well.

While we all remember the grade-school, band concert, hand-drawn, ditto machine-copied program with nostalgia, it did not contribute to the experience other than to ensure the audience, through a list of songs, knew it would be over soon.

The success of our organization’s handbook was honed over time. We have included and removed sections until we got it just right. If you are interested to know what is included in our handbook, email me!

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Say Cheese!

Pictures. Lots of people these days live their lives in pictures. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Tik Tok, and I’m sure there’s already something even cooler. It used to be 110, 35mm, and polaroid film, plus a week of waiting to see if you actually captured something worth looking at. Something that tends to get overlooked at an event from a planner’s standpoint is, you guessed it, pictures.

Of course, you want to capture the selfie, social, insta, postable pictures. Everyone will be doing some form of that. These are valuable for capturing and sharing memories especially if your event is an annual association or company-related event where the attendees look forward to seeing each other like a family reunion each time.

However, after years of getting to the event debrief and realizing I was missing pictures, I now set reminders for myself to be intentional about taking them or have someone assigned to capture them as the event unfolds.

Why are pictures of the event important? Why are talking about this today? Allow me to explain.

Historical Documentation – Having pictures of how rooms are set up, refreshment breaks are done, of stage decor or set designs, exhibit hall layouts, and other logistical setups to look back on are invaluable. Also take photos of items such as exhibit hall entry units, event signage, floor stickers, banquet table setups, and the like. You will be amazed at how often you will refer back to these items as you plan other future events.

Team Building – Capturing the staff and volunteer team members in the act of performing their duties, going above and beyond, serving the attendees, helping one another, or doing something extraordinary is a great way to honor and thank them on social media or during a team dinner after the event. The pictures can also be used to show future team members the types of activities they could be participating in when they join the team.

Event Planning – How often during the planning process are you ready to decide what color pipe & drape to have in the exhibit hall but can’t remember which ballroom has what color or carpet or which crazy pattern? Having pictures of these areas, especially from the site visit when the spaces are empty, are great to reference for just such an occasion. The same goes for referencing permanent fixtures like artwork on the walls, placement of columns, distances between rooms, location of directional kiosks, what color the wallpaper is in different areas, and other important details.

Marketing – The marketing team will appreciate being able to use images and video from this year’s event to advertise to potential attendees what next year’s event may have in store for them. These images can also potentially be used throughout the year on your organization’s website, as information on membership sites, and a variety of other places.

So as you are thinking through what needs to get accomplished at your next event, don’t forget to add “take pictures” to your to-do list.

Do you have a scenario where you wished you had a photo from your event? I’d love to hear your story. Share it here or send me an email.

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Ode to Event Planners

Twas the night before event day, when all through the place
Everyone was stirring; and trying to make space;
The aisle banners were hung by the rigging points with care,
In hopes that the electrician soon would be there;
The attendees were nestled all snug in their beds;
While visions of giveaways danced in their heads;
And the chef in her “apron,” and I with my book,
Had just racked our brains for something to cook,
When out on the show floor there arose such a clatter,
I sprang into action to see what was the matter.
Away to the expo I flew like a flash,
Tore open the curtain, and breathed in a gasp.
The spotlight shown brightly on the forklift I saw,
Gave a lustre of midday to boxes in the hall,
When what to my wondering eyes did appear,
But an unexpected shipment of supplies as I feared,
With nothing to do but make a decision real quick,
I couldn’t show on the outside I just might be sick.
More rapid than bullets the issues they came,
So I shouted for assistants, I called them by trade:
“Now, Driver! now, Deliverer! now, Rigger and Bellman!
On, Producer! on, Speaker! on Exhibitor and Captain!
To the check-in counter! To the end of the hall!
Now prep away! prep away! prep away all!
As leaves that before a wild hurricane fly,
Nametags and handbooks piled high to the sky;
Then up to the stage, the performers flew
With their music in hand, and the soloist too-
And then in a twinkling, I heard with my ears,
The sweet sounds of singing I hadn’t heard in years.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the aisle the speaker came with a bound.
He was dressed in a suit from his head to his foot,
And he looked like a pro which was a very good look;
His backpack of notes he had flung on his back,
And he resembled a student just opening his pack.
Another issue came up, needs my attention, how hairy!
My cheeks were flush now, turning red like a cherry!
The event app was crashing, reboot happening now,
If this doesn’t work, old-school paper check-in, wow!
As computers fired up, I clenched tightly my teeth,
But couldn’t wait around, the next issue to meet.
There aren’t enough chairs in the general session,
Hopefully attendees are willing to make a concession.
We’re minutes from starting the program itself.
I can’t believe it’s finally here, in spite of myself.
In the blink of an eye and a turn of my head,
I knew all to well that same feeling of dread;
I spoke not a word, but went straight to my work,
Putting out fires, on my face was a smirk,
And laying a finger aside of my nose,
And giving a nod, the event we did close;
Attendees jumped to their feet and gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard an exclaim as they ran out of sight-
“What a great event to all, and to all a good night!”

~written by Tracy Baer, CMP, CFMP
More at tracybaer.com.