What a Great Way to Meet... Yetis?
Stranger things can happen at industry events, you know. Aside from meeting some new, furry friends, the IMTS Exhibitor Workshop was a great experience and filled with a wealth of good tips and advice for exhibitors.
Networking at the IMTS Exhibitor Workshop yielded some unique connections, including my two new furry friends, Sasquatch (left) and Yeti. Turns out they were on hand to help sign attendees up for subscriptions to MMT’s sister publication Modern Machine Shop.
During the IMTS Exhibitor Workshop, there were several Knowledge Bars set up where attendees could learn how to optimize their experiences and results at IMTS 2018. Here, I’m in the Communications Knowledge Bar explaining how to write a more effective press release to grab the attention of magazine editors.
Learn. Prepare. Connect. That was the theme of this year’s IMTS Exhibitor Workshop, and that is what attendees did on January 23 in Schaumburg, Illinois. Speakers from Gardner Business Media and The Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT), along with many other experts offered great tips for maximizing the IMTS exhibitor experience.
I didn’t know what to expect when I arrived at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center, as it was my first time representing Gardner Business Media (GBM), the parent company of MoldMaking Technology, Modern Machine Shop and several other publications for manufacturing. I was pleasantly surprised. It was held in one of the convention center’s ballrooms and was set up like a mini trade show for IMTS exhibitors to connect with experts in show management, communications, sponsorship opportunities at IMTS, catering services, booth displays, and much more.
Nearly 500 attendees gathered at the workshop, which was hosted by The Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT). There were two “theaters” with longer, in-depth presentations scheduled. One theater’s focus was marketing while the other’s was operations. From preparing your IMTS budget, booth display and staff, to getting tips for lead retrieval, marketing your presence leading up to and during the show and taking advantage of sponsorships and workshops like this, there were many helpful presentations.
There were also five Knowledge Bars—booths set up for shorter but still in-depth presentations under the headings of Sponsorships, Managing Prospects Using IMTS Exhibitor Passports, the IMTS eKit, Communications and IMTS Essentials. I was one of several presenters from GBM enlisted to provide tips for more effective media relations. Specifically, I spoke about how to write a press release that will attract the media’s attention. Watch for future blogs where I will share important tips for writing headlines, introductory paragraphs, submitting photos and more that will get your company’s products and services noticed.
Not only was the IMTS Exhibitor Workshop a lot of fun, it was informative and a great way to meet personnel from companies that will be exhibiting at IMTS on a more casual level. There were representatives of companies from all areas of manufacturing, each eager to gain new perspectives for optimizing their time at this important show.
IMTS will be held September 10-15 at McCormick Place in Chicago. There’s no time like the present to begin preparing for IMTS, whether you are exhibiting or just visiting. IMTS takes up every square inch of exhibit space within McCormick Place. If you’re visiting, I highly recommend that you use the My Show Planner tool, which can be found on the IMTS website. It will help you strategically map your route through the miles of aisles so that you don’t miss anything important to you. Book hotel rooms as soon as possible, and if you think you’ll need only one or two days to walk IMTS, add another day. At a show like this, time flies and there are some amazing technologies and special exhibits to see (you may even run into a Yeti). Helpful information is available at IMTS.com.
