The coffee guy

At the American Wholesale Marketers Association's (AWMA) Real Deal Expo in Las Vegas, this innovated twist on an attention-getting device was sighted.

The exhibiting company was MeWantCaffeine and this guy wandered the aisles before show hours, tanking up exhibitors and early show walkers with hot coffee.

Really, that is a tank of coffee on his back. The gent was armed with cups and cream and sugar as well and made sure his contacts knew who he was and where to find his booth.

They did all of it right: gave their contacts what they wanted and needed at the early hour, had a consistent image, and armed their strolling soldier with the messages that met their show goals.

Nice tune, easy to dance to, I give it an 85.

TTSG

Lights

They can be a troublesome thing, but they add so much to an exhibit: lights.

An exhibit actually looks drab without a wash of lights. But this short entry is about something we all need to have: basic repair skills.

When I got to the part of the AWMA booth assembly for Retalix that involved installing the lights, I found myself having to make sure they all worked. Some of the lights came out of the box and had to be assembled so that they worked.

Wires had to make contact. Contacts had to be in place. Lamps couldn't be broken. And the "twist-ons" had to twist on the contact bar so that they came on.

These seem like little things, but in my case, it meant the difference between having 6 lamps instead of 12.

TTSG

Closing out AWMA

Closing a show can be tough--but it can be fun and relatively painless, too. The Rule of Thumb that it takes half the time to tear down that it took to set it up really does work. If we hadn't to have waited for crates we would have been finished in 3 hours (it took 6 hours to set the booth).

Things to remember on the down:

1. Call the driver before he or she gets to the hall to pick up your shipment.
2. When filling out the Bill of Lading (BOL) be sure to be literal--stick labels as you pack and count (and count again) as you fill out the bill. Be sure to note if the shipment is prepaid and, if it gets forced (your driver doesn't show up before it has to be moved off the show floor), whether you want it held or shipped by the general contractor on their carrier.
3. Fill out and sign the I&D time card with the lead. If you use general contractor labor, be sure and walk the lead to the desk to close out.
4. Don't forget to turn in your lead machine.

Oh, that was 4, not 3. I thought I thought in 3s?

A good show with some solid leads for the client.

TTSG

Set up continues at AWMA

The booth went up today. The usual stuff happened: the crew showed up on time, the electricians took a too-long lunch, it was a mystery finding all of the graphics. But in the end, it all came together and looked really good. And like the photos and initial designs.

Tip #1: make sure you have all of the photos, drawings, crate lists and guides you can have in advance. It takes you less time when you are prepared. This seems like common sense, but you'd be surprised how many people don't do this.

Tip #2: make sure you understand the labor rules. They vary from city to city and hall to hall. For example, here in Vegas, monitors, lights, and anything electrical can't be run by you or your I&D (carpenter) labor. So, when my electricians decided to take a long lunch, it left me waiting for the monitors to be hung and cables routed. The rest of the booth was set and crates sent away, while I sat with a pile of cables and monitors.

Tip #3: work with guys on the floor. Our day went quickly and incident free because the lead I&D guy worked with the millwrights running the forklifts. We had a "freight-free" aisle in front of our booth and we couldn't unload our crates in front of the booth. It was a really cool assembly line of moving-unpacking-and-hauling-away. Make friends and see things work smoothly.

TTSG

On-site in Vegas

The more you visit Vegas, the more you don't recognize it. The Hilton has been remodeled and new towers added. The car rental process at the airport has been streamlined so you only catch one bus. Off to the hall soon to see how the AWMA show is shaping up.