TSB, since late in the early days, has primarily been the voice (metaphorically speaking) of its creator, Jeffrey D Brown. Fortunately, he’s not the only one who thinks there’s a more interesting side of the business that, at best, has been under-reported… if at all. And we’d like to tap into that vast common mindset and invite others to participate on Tradeshow Blues.

This is certainly a unique opportunity… but it’s not for everyone. How could it be? But, we’re required to state the obvious. So… if you think you’re interested, express that notion by contacting us. We’ll take it from there.

Visit the new Wall at classic.tradeshowwall.com

Differentiating from the standard square block wall (as in the flagship Tradeshow Wall), The ELITeXPO Wall utilizes a Seamless Asymmetric Wall Space design that provides a more abstract flow to the space. In the process, their Wall calls attention visually to multiple areas of their business including Exhibit Shipping and Storage, On-line Inventory Management, Install & Dismantle Services, Exhibits for Sale and Rent, Graphics and Flooring.

According to Brown, “There are many ways to use one of these Dedicated Walls. Except for a few parameters, we can design a wall just about any way we see fit… it’s a very creative platform. But the emphasis is always on the quality of the visual experience.”

Visit the new ELITeXPO Wall at http://elitexpo.tradeshowwall.com.

“The annual award is not a product of a committee decision or an in-depth analysis of magazines within a publishing cycle. It’s an award that’s built up over time,” said Lynn Keillor, a freelance writer for MMPA’s Fine Print newsletter.

In addition to winning this year’s Magazine of the Year Award, EXHIBITOR received a dozen individual awards, honoring the magazine’s editorial, design, and online excellence. Among those were five Gold Awards, presented for Best Cover Design, Best Editorial, Best How-To Article, Best Feature Design, and Best Special Issue.

“I know this is called the Magazine of the Year Award, but it’s less about what we’ve accomplished over the past 12 months, and more about what we’ve accomplished during the last three decades,” said EXHIBITOR editor Travis Stanton, during his acceptance speech. “Next year marks EXHIBITOR’s 30th anniversary, so this award is really a reflection of countless writers, editors, designers, art directors, sales reps, circulation coordinators, webmasters, and everyone else who has worked hard to make this magazine what it is today.”

This is the kind of thing that raises the tide for all ships… And we salute, applaud, cheer and congratulate Lee and all the fine folks at Exhibitor! Now… let’s party!

The creative team at Hill & Partners brought the innovative retinal imaging company to the industry events with a custom built 40×40 exhibit designed to resemble an eye, through the use of two spherical shaped fabric walls. The interior utilized genuine retinal scans from the Optos product line, adding to the authenticity of the exhibit.

Abstract simulation of the iris and pupil was artfully created by an overhead circle within a circle design. The impression was successfully complemented through the use of carpet to vinyl coin flooring changes. A string curtain denoted light passing through the iris, providing yet another element of surrealism to the imaginative booth.

The combination of exterior walls emblazoned with corporate branding and an interior that conveyed images of retinal scanning spoke to the core of Optos’ medical devices.  The central area of the exhibit delivered a multimedia destination for attendees to learn about the company and its products through demos, speeches, informational graphics and audio-visual displays.

“The booth looks even better in person than in the rendering,” said Roy Davis, Chief Executive Officer of Optos, noting the dynamic environment generated by the well-received exhibit.

The AAO meeting in Boston offered the perfect opportunity for Optos to launch Daytona, the company’s next generation ultra-wide field retinal scanning device. The proprietary product is designed to offer optometry customers higher quality images of the retina through use of a device much smaller in size than alternative scanners. In addition, the new device offers improved reliability and a superior patient interface and software for image review.

Hill & Partners further assisted Optos in promoting Daytona at a special event held October 13th at the Boston Museum of Science where invited guests, including medical students attending the American Academy of Optometry Annual Meeting and trade show were introduced to the new product.

Optos, with offices in North America, Europe and Australia is recognized as a leading provider of devices and solutions to ophthalmic professionals for improved patient care.

“It is our belief that through the use of texture, color, style and architecture we have created a booth that will help propel Optos to the forefront of the retinal diagnostic industry,” said Michael McMahon, President and CEO of Hill & Partners, Inc.  “The use of resplendent imagery is certain to attract all eyes and vault Optos to the top of the list of booths to visit.”

More information at hillpartners.com

The Tradeshow Wall will ultimately house multiple walls and provide a simple, easy-to-use “visual tool” to discover all kinds of products, services, companies and organizations… just by staring at the wall.

The Wall concept is very simple. Stare at the wall… see something you’re interested in? Just mouse over a Wall space and a tooltip-like popup will give you some additional information. Want more? Click the Wall space to be taken directly to the landing page or website for that spaceholder. That’s it. While you’re at it, when you click a wall space, a non-scientific vote is cast for that space and you’ll be able to see the results on the Search and Vote Results Page.

Because the Wall is a “visual” vehicle, each spaceholder is asked to produce creative, high-quality wall space artwork designed to capture the attention of visitors. This is in their best interest, but Brown has an ulterior motive, “The walls also have a “work of art” flavor to them. We’ve learned over nearly five years of building walls that this adds to visitor engagement. The Wall is an experience and it’s not uncommon for visitors to spend long periods of time staring and clicking on the Wall.”

For those Wall spaceholders who may need that extra “creative punch” for their space, a high-end professional design service is available for only $25. Brown is also creating a network of dedicated Walls where he builds an entire wall platform for a single company or organization.

A producer of the show contacted Zig Zibit shortly before the project began in June and asked them to create the media room in a new house for Barbara Marshall, a 15-year Navy veteran and former chaplain. Marshall had opened her house to homeless women veterans, offering them support and resources to get back on their feet. At any given time, Marshall, the mother of two sons, housed up to three veterans in the modest, 1,500-square-foot home.

While Extreme Makeover sent the Marshall family and several veterans at the house on a Disney World vacation, Zig Zibit and the other companies and organizations created a new home for Marshall. The media room doubles as an office and resource room where the veterans can search for jobs, educational opportunities, housing and online resources. The room can be converted into a play area for children and can be used as a conference room.

Zig Zibit’s contribution to the 320-square-foot media room includes three 12-foot-long-by-8-foot-high movable walls in the center of the room. The three outer side walls are equipped with slide-out computer desks, and square, padded benches that tuck away into the walls. When the desks and chairs are retracted, these walls can be pushed to the outside walls within the room.

One of the projects was creating a play area for residents’ children. The room contains an acoustic glass wall with a sliding door that divides the office area from the playroom. While the mothers are working they can also keep an eye on their children. The opposite sides of the 12-foot computer hutches are equally functional. They house a flat screen TV and game console mounted to a custom wall that was designed and painted by Casey Robertson of Zig Zibit. The center wall also features a screen to be used during lectures or games. “We created pieces on wheels and built tracks on the ceiling for bookcases to slide,” added Matthew Hylkema, vice president of Design and Operations.

The new house is now more than three times the size and able to accommodate more families and services. “It has been an honor for our company and our employees to contribute to this magnificent project to help military veterans and their families,” said Jake Merzigian, president and founder of Zig Zibit. “Barbara Marshall is a true hero for all she does for these families. We’re proud that Extreme Makeover recognized our work and craftsmanship to produce a high-quality product rapidly – things we do every day. But it’s not every day that we get a chance to make a difference like this.”

For more information, visit www.zigzibit.com.

Erschik’s current presentations include an “accelerated learning session that was designed by an exhibitor, for exhibitors that want to engage booth visitors efficiently, generate qualified sales leads aggressively, and achieve 100% lead follow and ROI effectively.” Also, we can testify that Rich is a pretty entertaining guy which adds to the engagement power of his programs.

Adding a little drama to the story…  it turns out that the new website was designed and produced by Jeffrey D Brown (who just happens to be the creator Tradeshow Blues). Hey, you’ve got to plug your own every chance you get.

More info at http://richarderschik.com

The creative team at Hill & Partners designed and managed the booth, which was located near the entrance of the tradeshow floor and held the distinction as the largest exhibit at the prestigious industry event. The sophisticated booth provided unique brand presence to a variety of General Cigar’s leading brands, including the introduction of CAO, award-winning Nicaraguan cigars named “one of the foremost premium cigar brands in the world.”

Hill & Partners created “a booth within a booth” to showcase the extensive CAO product line capturing the essence of the  brand and included a bar area designed to replicate the CAO logo.

The Macanudo brand was promoted through a colorful retail display that created a lot of buzz with the appearance of several Playboy bunnies. General Cigar partnered with Playboy to raffle off a weekend at the Palms Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

The La Gloria Cubana brand station simulated the look of a Dominican Republic street, complete with a custom cigar roller to add an extra element of interaction with trade show attendees.

Hill & Partners brought the Punch brand to 2011 IPCPR with a patio deck design, where visitors could sample the product line.

The Cohiba and Excalibur brands were also well represented within the distinctive booth, which featured an area set with 35 tables manned by 35 sales representatives from General Cigar.

The booth also included a refreshment area, offering breakfast, lunch and beverages to appreciative visitors.

More info at hillpartners.com.

We’ve been meeting with our staff for that last six months and now that the sky is clearing, the ice is thawing, the snow is melting and spring is turning everything green and beautiful… we’re going to take a little break for lunch. We’ll have a sandwich and be back with some really interesting stuff.

So what ever happened to Tradeshow Week?