Why should I sponsor a trade show?

Sponsoring a conference or trade show is a great way to get your company name out there. It can really supplement your traditional marketing plan and promote your association with a specific event. Sponsoring an event is an opportunity to gain visibility in a new and exciting way.

Event sponsorship allows you to target your marketing in a way that traditional advertising does not. Many events offer a list of the companies that plan to attend their conference or trade show, allowing you to know in advance exactly who will be there. If your customers are there, then your name should be everywhere at the event!

Sponsorship can also create positive publicity and increased visibility for your brand. The local and national media often cover large events, allowing for more exposure of your company name. Check to see if your sponsorship includes mentions in a show’s press releases or advertising materials. This will give your brand name access to an audience you might not be able to reach otherwise.

Conference or trade show sponsorship also sets your brand apart from the competition. Sponsoring an event that will be attended by your customers and your competition will put you heads above the rest. Your brand and logo will be found throughout the conference, be it on signage or a sponsored item, while your competition’s might not. The attendees will remember your brand when they get home.

Sponsoring events is a great opportunity to showcase your brand to your customers. For more information about sponsoring Ticket Summit® 2014 at ARIA, please call +1.860.416.5767 or email info@ticketsummit.org.

Webinar Recap—Publicity: Boost Your Profile!

This Wednesday, publicist and media strategist Carrol Van Stone shared some tips and tricks for using media coverage to boost your company’s profile in her Ticket Summit® Plus webinar! Van Stone works to position small business brands for media coverage to have a dramatic influence on awareness and growth. Her work with a ticketing industry company has led to profiles in Forbes and regular appearances on Fox News Live, Yahoo Post Game, and ESPN Radio.

In the webinar, Van Stone said it is important to know how you WON’T get publicity. She has a few hard and fast rules: never call the media to say how great you are, never read the company brochure to a reporter, and never ask why they have quoted your competitor and not you. Remember that reporters and editors work for their company, not yours. Your mention or quote will be the result of your assistance to them, not theirs to you.

You can keep a PR representative on retainer, Van Stone suggested, or you can have a pay per placement arrangement. However, you should never expect any media coverage guarantees. Van Stone offered the old adage: “Advertising is what you pay for, media coverage is what you pray for.” Instead, Van Stone recommends gauging the media efforts of the PR rep you are working with.

Van Stone also discussed unusual or underused methods of boosting your company profile, such as paid editorial or op-ed pieces. Paid editorial will guarantee your coverage, but might be obvious to viewers/readers that you have paid for the opportunity. Op-Ed pieces and letters to the editor can provide extra coverage, but must cover timely and relevant topics.

Be sure to follow Van Stone on Twitter at @VanStonePublic for more tips! The Fall 2013 Ticket Summit® Plus webinar series continues on Wed., October 23 at 1 PM ET with How to Prevent Online Fraud. Register now for FREE!

Exploring ARIA!

The summer 2014 Ticket Summit® conference will be held July 16-18, 2014 at the fabulous ARIA Las Vegas! ARIA is home to much more than Ticket Summit®’s industry seminars, Keynotes, and trade show, though. Here’s a few of the other attractions ARIA has to offer:

·         Dining: ARIA has numerous great restaurants! Julian Serrano redefines small plate dining, while Javier’s brings Mexican cuisine to the Las Vegas Strip. For those coffee addicts, there’s both a Starbucks and Roasted Bean in the hotel.

·         Nightlife: HAZE offers the magnetic energy of Vegas nightlife and GOLD Lounge delivers charming elegance.

·         Pools & Spa: Three elegant pools and the Liquid Dayclub allow you to enjoy the Nevada sunshine. The Spa & Salon at ARIA take you away from the momentum of the Strip.

·         Shopping: As part of the CityCenter complex, ARIA is attached to The Shops at Crystals, which feature the largest collection of luxury brands in Vegas.  

·         Casino: ARIA’s stylish casino features numerous table games, slots, poker, and more! Be sure to use your M life card to receive rewards at any MGM Resort.

Explore and enjoy the luxury of ARIA Las Vegas at next summer’s Ticket Summit® conference! We’ll see you there!

Social Media Marketing Demystified Wrap-up!

The Fall 2013 Ticket Summit® Plus webinar series kicked off yesterday with Social Media Marketing Demystified, an hour-long webinar led by email and social marketing expert Ron Cates of Constant Contact. In this webinar, he provided practical tips and best practices for promoting your business across a variety of platforms.

Throughout the webinar, Cates emphasized the importance of integrating your social media efforts with your email marketing campaigns. Use a separate email to announce your presence on a social network, and be sure to include links to all of your networks in your emails, he suggested. He also emphasized the importance of making your newsletter content shareable, which will automatically increase your readership.

Cates also stressed the importance of providing content that people want to read, rather than sales pitches or grabs for shares and likes. He says to aim to “inspire trust” by providing your followers with content that is relevant to them and their business. “Everyone has content,” he says, and recommends asking yourself questions customers might ask about your product, business, or industry to generate potential content. This kind of content does not take long to write, but will drastically increase your marketing ROI.

The webinar concluded with Cates’ recommendations for tools to improve your social measurement. Personally, Cates uses Google Alerts and TweetDeck to monitor sentiment about his brands. He also recommends NutshellMail, which sends recaps of activity and allows you to respond to posts right from your inbox. Constant Contact provides numerous resources to help you build your following.

Follow Ron Cates on Twitter at @roncates or connect with him on his blog.

Get your Swag on at Trade Shows and Conferences

Exhibiting at trade shows is an important way to network and build professional relationships within any industry. It is an effective way to establish and extend your company's brand and services. Consider the hustle and bustle of the conference environment and the competition to stand out from the crowd, as you take the time to prepare a booth that will tell your company's story and highlight your capabilities.

Swag items are the little give-away items you'll take away from a trade show display.  Your choice of swag can go a long way to help you attract foot traffic during a trade show, and also create lasting impressions over time. Careful thought should be given to selecting the swag items to represent your business.

Flashy swag items at your booth are great to attract people, but if these items aren't useful over time, they will fail to support your efforts to create lasting connections with the conference attendees. People may be more impressed with the swag than with your business. Think of sensible items with enough pizazz to bring people to your booth so you have the opportunity to engage them and sell your services.

The ideal swag item should be something your contacts and potential customers will use over time, but also something relevant to your industry. For example, if you are a technology company, a useful high-tech device would be logical; if you are an agricultural company, perhaps a gardening tool, or even a pen that is designed with images or shapes of agricultural symbols.

Remember to brand your swag with your company logo and a means of contact. Printing your company website or a QR code on your swag will support communication and interaction over time. Even if your contact loses your business card, that really cool pen or flash drive with your web address will be a handy reminder of who to contact long after the show.

Stay Connected Year-Round with Ticket Summit® Plus!

Ticket Summit® may be over, but you can stay connected year-round with Ticket Summit® Plus. Ticket Summit® Plus is a series of educational webinars hosted by industry experts. These  experts will provide you with an inside look into the ticketing and live entertainment industry. They will also discuss development strategies to help you grow your business. The Fall 2013 webinar series features these webinars:

·         Social Media Marketing Demystified: Tuesday, August 20 at 1 PM ET—Ron Cates of Constant will pull back the veil on social media marketing, and provide practical tips and tricks for promoting your business across a variety of platforms.

·         Publicity: Boost Your Profile!: Wednesday, September 18 at 1 PM ET—Join publicist and media strategist Carrol Van Stone for this informative session on using publicity and media coverage to boost your company’s profile.

·         Inside Sports: In October 2013, Tickets.com’s Doug Lyons will provide an insider’s look at sports team and venue management and how markets have evolved.

·         How to Prevent Online Fraud: In November 2013, Cresta Pillsbury of Trust Guard will discuss tactics for decreasing fraud and ensuring customer confidence.

Register now for Ticket Summit® Plus for just $99 per webinar, and stay up-to-date on the ticketing and live entertainment industry all year long!

Get Ready for Ticket Summit®!

Ticket Summit® is just a week away, July 17-19, 2013 at Bellagio! Before you get to Las Vegas, be sure to take some time to review everything the conference has to offer. The Ticket Summit® schedule is jam-packed with networking opportunities, the concurrent trade show, industry seminars, and the Keynote session.  

There are plenty of networking opportunities during the conference, including the Networking Cocktail Party on Wednesday, July 17. The party is a great chance to meet and network with everyone at the conference. Thursday night is Game Night! Stop by the conference space from 9:00 PM to 12:00 AM to enjoy games, an open bar, and more with your fellow attendees! Finally, as always, the conference wraps up on Friday, July 19 with the Closing Gala at The Bank.

Don’t forget to earn your Ticket Summit® Tokens while at the conference! Earn tokens by attending a Speaker Q&A Roundtable, visiting each of the exhibitors, giving a testimonial, or playing games at the Ticket Summit® Swag Shop. Redeem your tokens at the Swag Shop for some great prizes! You could even win a free pass to Ticket Summit® 2014!

Be sure to download the Ticket Summit® Mobile App before you arrive at the conference. The app is full of information about the schedule, speakers, sponsors, exhibitors, and much more! Access all of the details about Ticket Summit® on-the-go. See you in Vegas! Don’t forget your business cards!