how to get ahead in show business

3
Insight We all know that a day spent out of the modern office is no longer the junket it used to be. The emails and delegated tasks continue to pile up in our electronic in-trays whilst we are away, so attending a trade show has to be a truly effective use of one’s time. Ah, you say, but whose time? Your business time? Your personal time? Your employer’s time? Let’s not beat about the bush here – we’re talking about the effective use of your organisation’s money. But with a bit of forward planning, you can also raise your game professionally, score more than a few brownie points, and return to your office with your profile raised and CV quality suitably increased. Oh, and having completed a smidgen of worthwhile activity for your employer. Badges of honour Extracting the best possible value with the obligatory minimum amount of effort from trade shows is something of a black art, requiring the cunning abilities of a fox, the planning abilities of a military commander and some of the bare-faced cheek of the vendors who run amplified, non-stop sales presentations from their stands – often apparently directed at their rivals on the stand next- door as much as customers. Planning is everything for trade shows. Check out the organiser’s website and – most important of all – register yourself several times under different titles, later using whichever one is most appropriate for the occasion at hand. You might, for example, use one badge identifying yourself as a general dogsbody for patrolling the show floor. Sales piranhas will not give you a second glance, which is good. You might then use a badge identifying you as an IT manager or analyst for gaining entry to the presentations that include free food and drink on the itinerary. Remember that every hot (and cold, for that matter) meal counts. And you might also use a badge identifying you as John Smith, managing director of Smith Industries, for gaining entry to the organiser’s wine and cheese party at the end of day one. The fact that Smith Industries is a one-man partnership you use for buying electronic goodies on eBay is entirely irrelevant. Badges, you may have realised, have a currency all of their own. The age on the train Back to the website. Check out the event dates and times, and then look at the ‘how to get there’ option, which will include details of the optimal methods of travelling to the show. West London’s Olympia, home of Infosecurity Europe, is best reached by rail. It has its own Underground spur-line – which is much quieter to join at its starting point of High Street Kensington than at Earl’s Court, if you’re coming around from Paddington. The tube stop also serves as Kensington Olympia train station, which has three trains an hour from Clapham Junction, and is also on a route between Brighton and Watford Junction. Over in Docklands, the Excel centre (used by Business Continuity Expo and RSA Europe) may be more modern, but it is not blessed with public transport links, and unsuspecting attendees can end up paying £25 a day for the privilege of parking in the nearest car park. But having a bite to eat at one of the many nearby hotels will entitle you to reduced rate or even free parking, thus saving you from the painful experience that is the Docklands Light Railway. At the Birmingham NEC, having a meal at the Birmingham Metropole Hotel, which is adjacent to the main halls at the far end of the centre, will entitle you to a cheaper parking deal than if you follow How to get ahead in show business Ever wondered, as you flop exhausted into your armchair at the end of another day’s visit to a trade show, whether you could have done things better? Let Infosecurity’s diarist Slack Alice maximise your expo efficiency HANDY WEBSITES www.laterooms.com – useful discount rates for hotels www.biztradeshows.com – good site for trade shows www.exhibitions.co.uk/xnetvenu.html – useful UK show venue guide www.eventseye.com – handy list and URLs for worldwide trade shows 34 INFOSECURITY EUROPE 2008

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Page 1: How to get ahead in show business

Insight

We all know that a day spent out of the modern office is no longer the

junket it used to be. The emails and delegated tasks continue to pile

up in our electronic in-trays whilst we are away, so attending a trade

show has to be a truly effective use of one’s time.

Ah, you say, but whose time? Your business time? Your personal

time? Your employer’s time?

Let’s not beat about the bush here – we’re talking about the

effective use of your organisation’s money. But with a bit of forward

planning, you can also raise your game professionally, score more

than a few brownie points, and return to your office with your profile

raised and CV quality suitably increased.

Oh, and having completed a smidgen of worthwhile activity for

your employer.

Badges of honourExtracting the best possible value with the obligatory minimum

amount of effort from trade shows is something of a black art,

requiring the cunning abilities of a fox, the planning abilities of

a military commander and some of the bare-faced cheek of the

vendors who run amplified, non-stop sales presentations from their

stands – often apparently directed at their rivals on the stand next-

door as much as customers.

Planning is everything for trade shows. Check out the organiser’s

website and – most important of all – register yourself several times

under different titles, later using whichever one is most appropriate

for the occasion at hand.

You might, for example, use one badge identifying yourself as a

general dogsbody for patrolling the show floor. Sales piranhas will not

give you a second glance, which is good.

You might then use a badge identifying you as an IT manager or

analyst for gaining entry to the presentations that include free food

and drink on the itinerary. Remember that every hot (and cold, for

that matter) meal counts.

And you might also use a badge identifying you as John Smith,

managing director of Smith Industries, for gaining entry to the

organiser’s wine and cheese party at the end of day one. The fact

that Smith Industries is a one-man partnership you use for buying

electronic goodies on eBay is entirely irrelevant.

Badges, you may have realised, have a currency all of their own.

The age on the trainBack to the website. Check out the event dates and times, and then

look at the ‘how to get there’ option, which will include details of the

optimal methods of travelling to the show.

West London’s Olympia, home of Infosecurity Europe, is best

reached by rail. It has its own Underground spur-line – which is

much quieter to join at its starting point of High Street Kensington

than at Earl’s Court, if you’re coming around from Paddington. The

tube stop also serves as Kensington Olympia train station, which has

three trains an hour from Clapham Junction, and is also on a route

between Brighton and Watford Junction.

Over in Docklands, the Excel centre (used by Business Continuity

Expo and RSA Europe) may be more modern, but it is not blessed

with public transport links, and unsuspecting attendees can end up

paying £25 a day for the privilege of parking in the nearest car park.

But having a bite to eat at one of the many nearby hotels will

entitle you to reduced rate or even free parking, thus saving you from

the painful experience that is the Docklands Light Railway.

At the Birmingham NEC, having a meal at the Birmingham

Metropole Hotel, which is adjacent to the main halls at the far end of

the centre, will entitle you to a cheaper parking deal than if you follow

How to get ahead in show businessEver wondered, as you flop exhausted into your armchair at the end of another day’s visit to a trade show, whether you could have done things better? Let Infosecurity’s diarist Slack Alice maximise your expo efficiency

HANDY WEBSITES

www.laterooms.com – useful discount rates for hotels

www.biztradeshows.com – good site for trade shows

www.exhibitions.co.uk/xnetvenu.html – useful UK show venue guide

www.eventseye.com – handy list and URLs for worldwide trade shows

34 INFOSECURITY EUROPE 2008

Page 2: How to get ahead in show business

the official NEC parking signs. It will also save you from the horrors of

the Birmingham NEC railway station with “fast and frequent trains”

(it says here) provided by Virgin Rail. Richard Branson eat your heart

out.

Talking of the NEC, if you haven’t parked at the Metropole Hotel

and are looking for a sensibly-priced meal – with a free shuttle bus as

a bonus – head towards Birmingham International Airport and take

advantage of the competitive range of eateries at this growing budget

airport.

This is much better value than scoffing a hideously over-priced

sandwich in one of the cramped ‘gardens’ in the hall complex

– assuming you can get a seat at lunchtime, of course. And it isn’t

raining.

Pay as you hearBack to the website, and use your printer – the office one, naturally

– to print out details of the free seminars and events at the show or

exhibition you are planning to attend.

Careful though. Many exhibitions,

particularly those at the Olympia conference

centres and halls in London, also offer a range

of expensive seminar streams for show-goers

to attend. The irony of the situation is that

many of these expensive seminars feature the

same people you will find in the free seminars

on the exhibition show floor.

The fact that you are paying for your

attendance does not always improve the

quality of the presentation concerned. The free

seminars, in fact, are one of the main reasons

that seasoned show-goers continue to attend

trade events. The information given is often

succinct and impartial – despite the vendor

branding – and the question and answer

sessions are a serious source of free advice.

But don’t forget to wear your

aforementioned relatively anonymous

dogsbody badge.

Speed walkingIf you’re planning to get around the event

quickly and efficiently, then engage brain

before using feet. At Olympia, head up to the

balcony level for speedy transit up and down

the hall. If balconies are tricky to reach, or the

event is a single floor exposition such as at

the Birmingham NEC, then move to the edges

of the show floor, map in hand, and use the

quieter side walkways.

Fighting your way though the main aisles

in a show can be one of the most dispiriting

experiences ever, as time-wasters meander in

and out of your path, doing barely one mile an

hour. These tyre-kickers, as they are known in

the US, are an expo hazard, with their propensity to change direction

on the spur of the moment and the damage their chock-full carrier

bags of trade materials can inflict on unprotected shins.

It’s also worth taking your lunch breaks at unusual times when

attending these events. This is because the show floors thin out

Register yourself several times under different titles... use one badge identifying yourself as a general dogsbody for patrolling the show floor. Sales piranhas will not give you a second glance, which is good

INSIGHT

35INFOSECURITY EUROPE 2008

Page 3: How to get ahead in show business

noticeably at meal times, as the attendees and exhibitors – who

really should know better – head off for an overpriced sandwich and

beverage at the nearest show floor kiosk.

Having said that, and armed with your most importantly-titled

badge – selected from the multiple applications you made several

weeks before the event via the show website – you should carefully

examine the range of vendor presentations when you enter the event

for the first time, to verify the free meal events.

It’s worth peeking at the media section of the event website to

glean this information. The organisers rarely ID/password protect this,

for fear of alienating the press.

It’s also worth noting that the true expo sensi will always attend

the first day of any given trade show, as this is when the free food

vendor events and generous after-show parties are at their most

frequent.

Careful planning versus being cheekyIt’s at this point we should mention that there is a wide difference

between planning ahead to maximise the benefits and your time at a

trade show and being cheeky by blagging something you don’t have

any right too.

We’re not advocating that you socially engineer your way into

events to which you are not entitled. The exhibitor’s after-show party,

for example, is purely for exhibitors and their guests.

Try to gate-crash and you will almost certainly be asked to leave.

On the other hand, if you schmooze up to an exhibitor on the

show floor as a potential customer, there’s no harm in asking to

continue the conversation after the show at the exhibitor party – most

stand exhibitors have a limited number of complimentary tickets they

can give out to potential new clients.

By the same token, we don’t advocate blagging in any sense of

the word – with a little forward planning and analysis of the event

website, you can achieve a lot, including maximising the benefits of

your time at trade shows.

Which is why you read this feature in the first place, isn’t it?

Fighting your way though the main aisles in a show can be one of the most dispiriting experiences ever, as time-wasters meander in and out of your path, doing barely one mile an hour

INSIGHT

37INFOSECURITY EUROPE 2008