--
Trade shows are an ordeal.
Trade shows can be the very definition of work hard, play hard . But they are a priceless opportunity to get your product out there, get known, make contacts and, most importantly, generate leads and sales. It's tough but incredibly worthwhile and that's why we're going back to Las Vegas this year.
This year is the second time Aframe will be at NAB Show but we're all hardened expo veterans. We've been there, done that and got the promotional T-shirt, pen and stress ball. We've got the experience and the scars - mental and physical.
Here's our tips to surviving a trade show.
1. Be ready for business No matter how quiet it is, don't sit down, don't play with your phone, don't stand in a group chatting. Your next potential lead could walk by at any moment and if they don't think you're available for a chat, they'll walk on past. Stay looking active and alert. It's a good idea to have a plan for how you'll try and generate traffic when the stand goes quiet.
2. Make your booth stand out In a sea of hundreds of booths, you need to stand out. Not everyone has Adobe sized pockets but you can still make an impression on a small budget. Have strong branding, make sure everything is integrated and smart. Make sure your demo laptops have clean and branded desktops and screensavers. Try and do something that makes you stand out from the crowd.
3. Be distinctive Being distinctive doesn't just end at the stand. Our orange and black Aframe shirts may not be what we'd wear through choice, but they catch the eye and we get remembered. Our CEO, David, was recently talking to a journalist who remembered the Aframe shirts at NAB2012. For a small company in a big show, that kind of recognition is all important. Anything that makes your product more memorable to leads who've spent all day talking to people is helpful. With such a tight schedule, chances are you'll end up wearing them to social events too which just helps make you all the more memorable.
4. It's 24 hours Business doesn't end when the show closes. Some of the best sales are done off the show floor over dinner and drinks. Evening social events are an opportunity to meet more leads and chat in more relaxed circumstances. And make sure you have a process in place to follow up with any leads you get. Once you have a lead you need to keep it. Hit them with an email or follow up call as soon as you can.
5. Be kind to your feet Wear comfortable shoes. When you're at a fair you'll walk for miles and stand forever. If you normally spend your day sitting at a desk, you'll be very quickly reminded just how little time you spend on your feet these days. It's surprising how tiring it is so wear your most comfortable-yet-suitably-smart shoes. This is not the time to be breaking in a nice, new pair of shiny leather brogues.
6. Fuel up Have a big breakfast. There will be no time for lunch and there is NOTHING worse than someone eating their sandwiches on the stand. It looks messy and you can't answer a question with a face full of meatball sub.
7. Keep your water up You'll be standing all day in a large air-conditioned conference hall (hopefully) talking to people all day. OK, it's not running a marathon, but you can still end up surprisingly dehydrated. Make sure you drink plenty of water. Don't mainline coffee all day - that just adds to the dehydration (and gives you unappealing breath issues!).
8. Beat the lull The final afternoon at a trade show can be deathly. Delegates are already heading home, your energy is low, you already have a large stack of new leads it's very easy to ease off. But there's still business to be done. Have a plan for generating traffic from the last remaining delegates and try and get those final leads. It may be time to do something attention-grabbing!
9. Get social You can bet that the majority of delegates will be tweeting, facebooking and linking-in from the show, so make sure you do too. Make sure they know you're there. Post pics, comments, make sure you use the official hashtag and be part of the event conversations. Mention other exhibitors and hopefully they'll mention you back, putting you in front of their followers. It shows you're active and it also lets the team back at base know what's going on.
10. Last of all, have fun As all the best football managers say, just go out there and enjoy yourselves. Trade shows can be a full on and exhausting few days, but they can also be a terrifically good time and the more relaxed you are, the better your sales pitch will be. Just remember you have to be up early and on top form each day. No-one wants to chat with a hungover exhibitor with the stench of last night's tequila on their breath
About Aframe Aframe's cloud video technology helps people connect and collaborate, making them more productive and improving execution in their video projects.
The ability to access high resolution rushes and production footage from anywhere in the world via a web browser enables companies to save time, money and focus on producing better video.
If you're going to be attending this year's NAB Show, why not drop by and say hi. We'll be in the Cloud Computing Pavillion in the North Hall (stand N-CP 13/14/15). See you there!
Related posts:
What's Next for the Trade Show?
3 Big Trends from NAB Show 2013
Are Tradeshows Still Relevant?
Edit Flow comes to the NAB Show 2013
Comments are closed here.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
13/05/2026
New Adobe Premiere Color Grading Mode Accelerated on NVIDIA GPUs
Joel Pennington May 13, 2026
0 Comments
New NVIDIA RTX-accelerated features streamlin...
13/05/2026
Grass Valley announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside broadcast (OB) trucks for Cloudbass, featuring Grass Valley LDX 100 Series cameras a...
13/05/2026
Ikegami will exhibit the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast production cameras, control units, viewfinders and monitors on stand 5D3-1 at Broadcast...
13/05/2026
FISE, working with the founding members of the XR Sports Alliance (XRSA), Accedo, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and HBS, have collaborated to develop an immersive...
13/05/2026
Canon Unveils New EOS R6 V Full-Frame EOS Camera and RF20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ Bu...
13/05/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Beth Morrison and Moses Pendleton at Comme...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...
13/05/2026
A definitive portrait of one of Ireland's most influential musicians
New TV documentary airs Monday 18 May on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
Watch the...
13/05/2026
Agentic AI is changing the way users get work done. Following the success of OpenClaw, the community is embracing new open source agentic frameworks. The latest...
13/05/2026
Reinforcement-learning agents - AI systems that learn by trial and error - can c...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
-- 
