One element that is very critical in exhibition is visual merchandising. It is the look of the the total booth in accordance with the product and service branding assigned by the company.

As I have said, budget is never an issue in creating a stimulating and WOW visual merchandise that will magnetize the buyers and sellers to go inside your booth.

What is lacking in financial resources can be remedied by being creative and innovative.

In my experience, SMEs are guilty of just placing their products and services in the booth without much thinking. But there are also times that I rejoice because some have used their creativity to WOW the visitors of the exhibition, although this breed is very rare.

There are two learning events happening this week that is worth your time and money.

One is Stephen MR Covey's Speed of Trust at Makati Shangrila this February 23, 2011. Another one is the 9th Annual National Conference of Entrepreneurship Educators's Association of the Philippines by ENEDA, at the Royal Mandaya, Davao City from February 23 to February 27,2011.

Events like these promote Leadership and Entrepreneurship two areas that we need to catapult further our economic conditions.

So if you have time be in this two events that will be worth our while.

Do you have a goal when you start something ? I guess your answer is yes. But apparently most of us just start something because they just want to.

The driftwood that wanders aimlessly in the ocean becomes one because it fails to be part of a boat, of an objective.

The same is true in joining expos, tradeshows and exhibitions, you must create objectives, deeper one not just to amass a specific amount of money - it is important but it is shallow.

In our modern times, we have GPS or Global Positioning System that guides us to where we can go to reach our destination faster. I have my GPM as a counterpart of this system, GPM stands for Goal Performance Metrics. It is a guidepost to what I should achieve.

I think it is time for all of us in the exhibition industry to be consistent in having GPMs whenever we join expos, tradeshows and exhibitions.

It is Monday and there are a lot of things to be thankful for in the past days. For one, a huge crowd visited different events in Metro Manila and the turn-out is very encouraging for future events and organizers.

Another good news, Nonito Donaire, our very own Filipino Flash, showed his potential by winning last Sunday against a fierce and experienced competitor. But instead of a win that Donaire must work hard, his win is something AWESOME. He knocked out Montiel in the 2nd Round. A scene reminiscent of Pacquiao's Hatton knock-out.

Now going back to event management  , Seth Godin wrote a very clear message on how to be successful in tradeshows and exhibition. I cannot help but share this to you so read and enjoy it :




I'm talking about trade shows, SXSW, street marketing...

There are two ways to be glad you went:

1. An overwhelming show of force. When you have the biggest booth, when you are the buzz of the event, when you are everywhere people look, you reinforce your position as the leader.

2. Powerful personal interactions. Not with everyone. Just with people who want to talk with you, who will benefit from a powerful exchange. Not mass, but high in value. Even better, designing these interactions (and your product) so that this small number of people set out to evangelize their peers on your behalf.

The mistake almost everyone makes is to do both. Or to believe that they know a cheap shortcut on their way to #1. Or to get too busy chasing (and failing) at mass that they don't have time to do the personal.

Years ago, the company I worked for spent millions at various venues of the Consumer Electronics Show. We were there, we were sort of big and we sort of won. But not really. Too much noise, too much competition, we were neither. By trying to reach as many as we could, we were never intimate enough to generate conversations that mattered or ideas that spread...

Once again, it comes down to scale. If you staff and invest appropriately, you don't have to 'win' the show to make it worth the trip. On the other hand, if you're setting out to win and investing at the appropriate level, you better win.

As I said for a million times there are symbols that need to be created in order to show our progress. There are symbols that needed to be built in order to give and nurture confidence in our people and country. Our government must heed this call and try, even if it is a gargantuan task, to build this symbols.

In the tourism industry, an Airport that will be competitive with our neighbors. An airport that defy the logic of business in the short term but will be profitable and will leave an indelible mark in our consciousness for a very long period of time.

Having said this, I am sharing this news by yahoo about the best airport in the world of the 6th straight time.



South Korea's Incheon Airport named world's best for 6th year




Seoul (The Korea Herald/ANN) - South Korea's Incheon International Airport was selected the Best Airport Worldwide in Airport Service Quality in 2010 for the sixth consecutive year, beating rivals Changyi Airport of Singapore and Hong Kong International Airport, the country's Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said.

It is the first time that an airport has won the award six years in a row. Dubai Airport won the award for three consecutive years from 2001 to 2003.

The ASQ is a comprehensive set of awards granted by Airports Council International, an association of around 1700 airports worldwide.

South Korea's major gateway also won first places in Best Airport in Asia Pacific and Best Airport with annual passenger traffic between 25 and 40 million, the ministry said.

Ministry officials attributed the airport's notable success as a Northeast Asian hub to its constant efforts to seek innovation.



The list includes expanding its international routes, improving the airport's accessibility by establishing a railway and Incheon Bridge, which conne

It is a great sign that a long term plan for tourism will be crafted in order to create a strategic positioning for our country.

However, I must say that one thing a plan cannot do is to make it a reality. A plan is a piece of paper and sooner that plan is finished and is put into ACTION the better.

Action that is judiciously crafted is better than a haphazard action that is only meant for PAPOGI like the now famous case of “Pilipinas Kay Ganda” branding.

Action after a well thought our plan is the solution to our ailing problems in the tourism and MICE industry.

Action coming from experts not as what Cito Beltran’s article today a bunch of Student Council leaders running a National Government.

I picked this up from a tweet and hopefully this is true for our tourism industry. The press release was from the Department of Tourism

Interestingly, this is a true story and it shows that if a man accumulates a lot of positive memories in his/her mind and heart he/she can survive any obstacles or difficulties he/she may be in, even if it is a life and death situation.

This gets me thinking, in events management an organizer as a company will survive any challenges, even if it is a life and death situation, if it has successfully provided good memories (profitable included) to all of its clients and partners.

If this is the case, the challenge and the process continues to everyday develop a relationship and create memories that will outlast any competition, most especially when the going gets tough in this very competitive industry of events management.