ChemArt Blog

In Part 1 of this discussion, I explained my perspective on the difference between retail shows and industry specific trade shows. I want to offer one person’s opinion on why various people attend the shows.

Let’s take the Association for Fundraising Professionals. Every year they throw an annual conference where thousands of people get together with one main thread in common – philanthropy. Hospitals, Schools, Museums, Human Services agencies, camps, religious organizations and more are represented. The people come to listen to hundreds of conference sessions and can follow specific “tracks” in development, technology, social media and more.

Here’s what you don’t know: in order to maintain reasonable costs for the attendees, the conference people put together what they call a “Marketplace” – an exhibit floor containing hundreds of vendors from database management, to web site design, to donor recognition gifts. The vendors pay hefty sums to show their wares to the thousands of attendees that pass by. Without the exhibitors, the costs of the conference would skyrocket!

From the attendees perspective they are given a chance to see a new city, engage like-minded people in thought-provoking discussions about relevant issues, network, listen to some speeches from well-known people on philanthropic topics, and eat out for a few days.

From the exhibitors’ perspective, we’re standing between you and the guest speakers, your sessions, and your lunch.

Trust me. We don’t want to waste your time and more than we want to collect useless leads in a fishbowl for an iPod Shuffle. You have a need. We can fill it. This is the only forum where we can say that to thousands of you at a time. Face to face.

We understand that we aren’t the perfect solution for everyone (as much as our sales people would hate me for saying that). But we know we can offer you peace of mind for your donor recognition gifts, fundraising programs, and merchandise for your stores, both brick and mortar and virtual.

We believe it is these gatherings, these trade shows, which offer us the best bang for our buck. Are we right? Or are we a nuisance? Is this something on your tick list of “to-do’s” when attending a conference, or a necessary evil on the way to the snacks?

I can think of no other forum where there is a congregation of so many people who truly want to come away from their travels having learned something, met a new person in their professional network, and having found an answer for a problem plaguing their development team all in one short span of days.

What do you think? Tell me why YOU go to these conferences? Help me spend my marketing money wisely!

Bill Curley and Associates

As part of my job, I travel to various trade shows to set up an exhibit whereby people attending a conference or gift show can view our brass Christmas ornaments. In the past, I have been responsible for overseeing what we call the decorative side of our business at trade shows – usually referring to nonprofits, educational institutions or philanthropic minded individual looking for solutions to fundraising, donor recognition and more.

This January I was given the privilege of seeing the retail side of the trade show business. This is a side I’ve experienced in previous companies that I have worked for. But I think it is no more apparent than at ChemArt to point out the very different audiences that attend each type of show.

At a retail show, your audience is made up of buyers, who are tasked with finding off the shelf product for the best prices, with the best quality (sometimes) with the best margins for immediate profit in a gift shop, big box store, or retail chain. These people are contact by representatives from various vendors (like ChemArt) in advance, to set up appointments to meet with the vendors to discuss their purchases for the year. Unique to ChemArt, our buyers can also discuss custom designed product that will differentiate the store from its competition, providing a competitive advantage.

ChemArt at the CASENAIS2010

At a decorative show, the participants usually represent a wide variety of job functions: Executive Directors, Curators, Gift Shop Buyers, Alumni Directors, Development Officers, Interns, Students, and more, who are predominantly in attendance for networking and educations purposes. The exhibit is nice icing on the cake: but the main purpose of attending is to sit in or participate in various educational sessions on a variety of subjects that further enhance and inform their day to day functions in their organizations. The exhibit floor is an area to congregate, get a snack, and perchance view some vendors who supply a variety of solutions from web design, database management, and, of course, donor recognition and fundraising gifts (like ChemArt).

What’s the biggest difference? In short, retail buyers are there with a purpose, have a plan mapped out, and are there to make buying decisions. Decorative attendees are there to learn and to network, and to possibly bump into some solutions for what ails them during their daily working lives.

In Part 2, I will delve more into why people attend a trade show on the “decorative” side of the business, and why those pesky exhibitors (like ChemArt) are there, too.

(for those who don’t know, that’s the Council for Advancement and Support of Education/National Association of Independent Schools)?  Whew, that was a mouthful….

First of all the show couldn’t have been in a better place, NYC!  We were in the heart of the theater district at the Marriot Marquis NYC.  By day I was talking to development/advancement directors and by night I was trying to get a role in a Broadway play.  Who knew that you had to prepare for such a thing?!

Although I didn’t make it on stage to act out my lifelong dream of staring in a Broadway musical, I did get to see one.  I saw HAIR at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre and it was almost as amazing as the free continental breakfast at the CASE NAIS Conference!  Just think endless tables of coffee, juice, danish, breads and last but not least, miniature bagels.  YUM! 

Our product definitely stood out amongst the sea of database management companies, marketing firms, etc.   All the people that I paid to stop by our booth did and to my surprise they brought some friends.   In the famous words of Murdock from the A-Team, “I love it when a good plan comes together”.    

Here’s the problem I heard at the Conference from Independent Schools:  They are going through some of the same challenges that many organizations are facing like budget cuts, decreased private/corporate donations and limited resources.   With all that going on, developing a unique way to increase donor retention, bring on new donors and raise funds is more important than ever. 

The solution:  An annual collectible program!  It’s a unique way to get donors, employees and the general public invested to the point where they can’t live without the next collectible in the series.  Trust me, we’ve seen it happen but if you want to read about it check out the Timber Ridge School  case study on our website, www.chemart.com.  Their ornaments have reached the point where they are selling on E-Bay for millions…ok not millions but definitely in the hundreds…   

The long and short of my trip to NYC is that I am NOT going to star on Broadway, however I was able to reach out to many Independent Schools and offer a solution to some of the challenges they are facing this year! 

Enough about what I got out of my trip.  I am calling out to all Independent Schools who attended…  Besides the breakfast, which I already mentioned above, what was your highlight and what did you learn from the fabulous sessions this year?