EDPA Exhibitor Advisory Committee; Building Advocacy & Certification Program Valueby Gwen Hill, EDPA President Emeritus

Gwen Hill
EDPA President Emeritus

The EDPA’s focus has always been and will continue to be on the builders of our industry – those who create and bring the experiences to life. One important element to all builders and suppliers are their clients, the brand managers and corporate exhibitors, who are responsible for budgets and proving the value of the events.  With this in mind, we formed the EDPA Advisory Committee in 2017 that consists of nine brand managements representing brands as such as HP, GE Healthcare and, our most recent member, Verizon, just to name a few. 

Each of the participants are very passionate about our industry and, when brought together, I always like to say that they can move mountains.  Some of them participated in previous industry committees including the former TSEA and E2MA.  In moving forward as the newly formed EDPA Advisory Committee, the following purpose statement was established in Q3 2017:  As brand managers who are responsible for maintaining budgets and measuring the success of trade show programs with the support of EDPA members, our Purpose Statement is to strive for transparent business practices, drive advocacy by working with show management and general service contractors, educate and productively communicate best practices to ensure growth and continued success of our industry.” Our first meeting of 2018 was held face-to-face at ExhibitorLIVE in late February and we’re working together to define the overall goals and objectives to accomplish together by year end.   

Get Involved in your Local EDPA Chapter!by Dave Flory, EDPA Chapter Development Committee Chair

Dave Flory, EDPA Chapter Development Committee Chair

The local chapters of EDPA embody our core values and strive to build upon them regularly throughout the year and culminating at our annual conference, ACCESS. Chapters focus on building membership not only at the local but also the national level.  Membership value is created by holding regular meetings, programs, workshops, seminars and networking events. No chapter would be complete without their efforts and successes at giving back to the community through a multitude of goodwill programs. The health and future of our industry is further supported by the chapters in their affiliation programs with local universities and involvement in promoting the industry at high school levels. Chapters also play a role in promoting our industry through their public relations efforts aimed at obtaining advocates for our goals with other associations, government, and industry partners.

The recent health and growth of chapters has been fueled by adopting a corporate sponsorship model that allows for the volunteers to focus their efforts on developing content for meetings, goodwill projects, and advocacy throughout our community. Chapter meetings are held now across the nation on an almost monthly basis and can be best be identified by going to http://www.edpa.com/about-the-edpa-1#chapters to contact local leadership for upcoming events.

Chapters are avid supporters of the communities we work in. In conjunction with the EDPA Foundation, chapters participate in a multitude of local fundraising efforts to support the Randy Smith, Exhibit 4 Smiles, and a variety of other industry and community related programs. Our chapters are consistent donors at the annual silent auction held on behalf of the Foundation each year at ACCESS.

University affiliation has been best exemplified by EDPA involvement with FIT and Bemidji State University. Chapters provide the opportunity for students to participate at the local level in meetings, design challenges, the presenters challenge, educational and networking events. All these better prepare them for the exciting career in the experiential design and production industry. Our member companies benefit by having better qualified employees as they start their industry careers.

Building advocates for our industry is another important role that the chapters play working along with National. As one example, the Midwest chapter has had consistent involvement with IExchange on Navy Pier. Participants include, MPI, PCMA, IAEE, GMIC, ILEA, HSMAI, GBTA, and local government and business leaders. There are over 1,000 attendees annually at this event.

Chapter involvement enhances the value of your EDPA national membership by affording more conveniently located opportunities for you or your employees to grow, develop and give back to this great industry that we all participate in. The more that you deposit the more you receive in return. I encourage you to invest in your local chapter of EDPA. Not only will you have the aforementioned rewards, but you will find a great group of people that know how to have fun and really look forward to getting together!

Why I’m a Member of EDPAby Jamie Zavoral-Brown, Bray Leino Events

Jamie Zavoral-Brown

Jeff Provost met my Managing Director at an IFES meeting and encouraged Bray Leino to join the EDPA and attend ACCESS the next year. Our first year at ACCESS we got a taste of an organization that although made up of competitors and suppliers sincerely worked to involve us in dialogue, networking and education of what was happening in our global industry.

Since that meeting, I’ve been a guest speaker at Bemidji State University, have joined the board and am on the International Committee. This has allowed me to really understand the benefit of being part of the EDPA and the community it represents. The organization is filled with members whose depth of knowledge and commitment to our industry is tremendous.

Our industry is full of both challenges and rewards. Being part of the EDPA and looking forward to the ACCESS meeting at the end of each year is a real incentive for me personally. To meet with a group of my peers and share the challenges and celebrate the victories. It’s an experience that invigorates me for the coming year. I know the knowledge I gain and share with my own team is extremely worthwhile.

We are all in the “experiential” business and ACCESS and the EDPA is at the  top of  the chart for a great experience.

Why I’m a Member of EDPA By Amanda Helgemoe, Nuvista

Amanda Helgemoe

I have not missed a single EDPA annual meeting since I have entered this industry in 1996.  I have experienced a few different management companies over the years which meant that some years were better than others when it came to meaningful content.  However, every year has been more than worth it to me personally and for my company.  As a supplier and now member of the board I can tell you that the content is extremely valuable and the networking is not to be missed.

At our last annual meeting in Carlsbad CA. one of the keynotes was Ben Roth an Agency owner.  I have carried the key points from his presentation into 2018 and have used his advice to change the way we look at marketing.  I wrote down this quote from his presentation regarding the future of emotion and I will share it with you, “The sometimes stark world of digital intelligence has led people to pull back and rediscover the joy of getting emotional with brands now targeting “emotional data”.  Pretty powerful stuff.

I also had the pleasure of witnessing a new member that we encouraged to join EDPA this year at the annual meeting.  His comments represent how I feel about the Association.  He told me that he was very thankful that I introduced him to the Association and he could not praise the sessions, property, food and great networking enough.

I have recently within the last two years also been honored to be involved with the EDPA Foundation and I have witnessed first-hand many of the people within our industry that the foundation has been able to help.  It brings great joy to be part of such an amazing cause for our industry.

Justifying Project Management Fees By Dan Cantor

Justifying Project Management Fees
by Dan Cantor
CEO, Hamilton

Pricing models continue to evolve for full-service exhibit houses like ours, which have been diligently facilitating small and large trade show programs for decades.  It makes sense on many levels that our historical reliance on mark-ups for project management compensation should evolve into more of a fee-based model.  This transition continues with each new client contract, and can have negative financial ramifications if we don’t fully appreciate exactly which organizational activities these fees should cover. 

It is easy to assume that the various margins generated in disparate areas of our businesses are adequate to cover the indirect costs that we incur every day.  Here are some questions that might be relevant during the process of determining and justifying project management fees: 

1. Are we charging separate fees for the strategic counsel provided by account leaders, or is that time considered to be included in project management or account management?
2. Are transportation arrangements handled by project management, or a separate logistics function that should be covered by the project management fee?
3. Are we capturing the time that designers, engineers and detailers spend on individual events (separate from discrete design/build projects)?
4. Are we capturing the time that logistics or warehouse personnel spend in meetings (separate from the physical handling of properties)? 
5. Are administrative, accounting and coordination activities assumed to be covered by the project management fee? 
6. How are we covering department managers’ time, spent in meetings regarding event execution? 

It’s not practical to behave like a law firm and track every minute of exertion in our business – but it is imperative that we maximize our awareness of indirect costs to maintain margins, as we are more compelled to rely less on mark-ups.  We should also take a lesson from our agency friends, and recognize the true market value of individual roles. 

If we are diligent about this effort, it is easy to justify reasonable project management fees, since we can be transparent about the extraordinary work that we do and who does it. 

Meeting the new challenge: a message from the President. By Donna Shultz

There was a time not long ago, when building beautiful cabinets, hanging a fancy sign and laying a nice carpet was all any of us had to do to make our customers happy.

But times have changed. Today we live in a world where there’s an app for everything. You can stream a thousand movies to your 4k screen, tell Alexa to play your favorite song, order anything your heart desires and it’ll be sitting on your doorstep tomorrow.

Donna Shultz speaking at ACCESS 2017

So when attendees show up at our exhibits, they have a whole new set of expectations. They want navigation to be easy and don’t ever want to wait in line. They need content that’s dynamic, lively and personal. And just like surfing the web, they want to be in charge of their own learning experience.

And because today’s attendees have seen and done so much, the bar for capturing their attention is much higher. They want to play a new game, design something, compete in some cool way or put on a headset and be transported to a place they’ve never been before.

And if your exhibit doesn’t do these things for them, they’ll just walk down the hall and find one that does.

As I begin my term as President of the EDPA, let me say that we will work together in 2018 to meet this important challenge. We will:

• Support each member as we step up to explore and reinvent our new future
• Come together to share our stories as one community
• Make new friends, learn from our competitors, meet new supplier/partners, share experiences and support one another to make our businesses grow and our industry stronger 
• Create focus at the board level, committee level and member level to drive this dynamic change

And please don’t let anyone tell you we can’t do it just because we’re builders. Experiential is just getting started. It’s nothing compared to where it can go. Imagine what we’ll be doing tomorrow and 10 years from now. And think of all the opportunities it will bring to every one of us.  

It doesn’t matter if you’re a designer, builder, supplier/partner or a portables dealer. Let’s go create those future experiences. Please spread the word, jump in and get involved.

After all, we are now the Experiential Designers and Producers Association. Let’s develop new ideas, share our stories and learn from one another. And together, as engaged EDPA members, let us be who we truly are—the future of face-to-face engagement!

Help for an Industry Newbie: My EDPA Test Drive.By Tom Beard

Tom Beard

After coming into the trade show industry in 1994, I was a true beginner who knew nothing about how things really worked. I realized I needed to expand my knowledge as quickly as possible. Although I had good mentors at my company, I understood that my success also depended upon a broader exposure to the industry.

This led me to search out various industry associations so I could gain more knowledge and networking opportunities. Early on I participated in local TSEA meetings, attended Exhibitor Show, TS2 Show and the HCEA annual meeting. These all gave me good insights.

However, once I started attending the local Midwest Chapter meetings of the EDPA, things really took off. I got exposed to how the industry really works by meeting the people who provide services and those who design and built the exhibits themselves.

• The connections I made proved to be a fantastic and invaluable learning experience
• Local meetings let me “test drive” the EDPA and helped me sell the value of the EDPA to my company’s ownership
• That led me to the EDPA’s annual meeting where I became involved on the national level
• All of which helped me build my personal brand and better promote my company

The EDPA, I learned, is a great organization that truly supports its members. And the local EDPA chapters are the ideal entry point for gaining exposure to the industry.

I highly recommend that any person new to the trade show industry check out the next local EDPA meeting and see for yourself. And as to any seasoned professionals out there who haven’t attended one, why not jump in and start sharing what you know, too?

Never Underestimate the Power of a Great Speaker.By Jim Obermeyer

In 2010, I was attending monthly networking/educational breakfasts sponsored by a local investment firm in my community. These well-attended sessions were excellent local networking opportunities and usually had interesting speakers.

Topics ranged from an annual economic review to sales and marketing tactics, operations and financial strategies. All good stuff for a small business owner.

And then there was the one session where the speaker was billed as an author and change agent.  Among all these serious business types accustomed to very serious presentations, this one seemed a bit out of place. But I went anyway. 

The presentation that John O’Leary gave that morning was unlike anything this group had ever heard. His message about passion, courage, and empowerment in business touched everyone in that room. I picked up a copy of his presentation and DVD and sent it straight to Jeff Provost, EDPA Executive Director. I thought this guy would be an excellent keynote for EDPA ACCESS.

As it turned out, Jeff arranged to have John present at the 2011 ACCESS Conference.

For me, that’s what I look for in the keynote speakers at ACCESS—someone who has such a strong and compelling message that it leaves the audience wanting more. At this past ACCESS in December 2017, that’s exactly what Ben Roth did in his session entitled “Transformation, Synthesis and Value: The Evolution of Experiential Marketing.” 

Ben Roth speaks at ACCESS 2017

Roth’s presentation went straight to the shift we are seeing in our industry away from a supply/service centered model to a strategic experiential model, from a focus on just efficiency to engagement and adaptability. And the audience left wanting more.

There are a lot of good educational sessions during the ACCESS conference, but the keynotes are the ones that get us all fired up and ready to engage during the conference and after. I still stay in touch with John O’Leary and have seen him speak several more times. 

That’s what a good keynote will do…