Trade Show Marketing 101 with Skyline Inland Northwest

May 7, 2010
7:30am - 9:00am
Gonzaga University
McCarthey Athletic Center, Herak Club Room
801 N. Cincinnati St.
Spokane, WA 99201

RSVP and pay for this event online by Friday, April 30th.

Please join us at the May meeting where Jeff Backstrom, Owner of Skyline Inland Northwest, will share his expertise in trade show and event marketing through a discussion of successful trade show marketing strategies. This discussion will focus on techniques that any business or organization can use in their event marketing program to help improve overall return on investment at their next trade show or event. Topics such as pre/post show marketing strategies, budget guidelines, what to think about in exhibit design and execution, as well as staffing strategies will be covered.

For over seven years, Skyline Inland Northwest has been creating exhibit solutions for the Spokane and surrounding communities. Skyline provides their clients with exhibit solutions ranging from large island structures to portable displays such as pop-up displays and banner stands. They can assist with everything from exhibit design, graphic design, show service orders, exhibiting rental to shipping and storage. They create powerful brand messages that their clients can take to their next trade show or event. For more information about Skyline, please visit www.skylineinw.com.

Meeting location details: The Gonzaga University McCarthey Athletic Center is  located at 801 N. Cincinnati St. Free parking is available on the south side of the building. From the parking lot, follow the sidewalk and row of  lights leading to the double doors on the south side of the building labeled  “Herak Club”.

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2009-2010 Year in Review

Serving as President of the MarCom Board of Directors this year has been a rewarding experience. It hasn’t always been easy and I admit that it was more work than I expected, but I wouldn’t change my decision to accept this role. I’ve learned a lot – about myself, working with others and how to lead our talented board members who have put in countless hours themselves.

Before the MarCom year wraps up, I’d like to share a couple of highlights we have accomplished as a board this year:

Programming

• Coordinated nine MarCom Breakfast meetings featuring speakers with expertise in SEO, communications, social media, basic writing, networking, personal and professional growth, and other integrated communication topics.
• Brought back our February workshop featuring brand leader Alina Wheeler. We recruited 10+ new members following that meeting!
• Moved our meetings to Gonzaga - excellent food, convenient location and free parking!
• Introduced new breakfast sponsorships that raised $900. These funds will go towards MarCom internships.

Internships and Spark Awards

• Funded three internships totaling $6,000 for local students that will be announced at the Spark Awards.
• Coordinated a memorable Spark Collection party at Dean Davis’ studio, collecting nearly 100 entries.

Communication, Membership and Networking

• Increased our membership to 130 members, including 11 student members during difficult financial times. Additionally, we began offering discounted student breakfast rates ($5) for students who signed up as members.
• Developed MarCom stationery and business cards that cover the benefits of membership
• Created and maintained MarCom Facebook and Twitter accounts.
• Coordinated a successful summer social that raised $550 for our internship fund.

Board Achievements

• Continued to strengthen our financial foundation to help ensure the future success of MarCom.
• Donated two huge garbage bags full of toys to Toys for Tots.
• After losing three board members to circumstances beyond anyone’s control, we recruited two new board members: Nichole Betts and Breanne O’Doherty.
• Updated the board by-laws for the first time since they were written in 2003.

These accomplishments were not achieved by me alone - and could not have been done without the hard work of the 2009-2010 board. They spent countless hours planning, organizing and implementing projects while also balancing work, family and life obligations. Our board meetings were productive yet fun and I mostly appreciated the relationships that developed as we accomplished the goals we set out to achieve. Thank you to our awesome board of directors:

• Ashley Martin
• Jeff Thomas
• Alyssa Ando
• Dean Davis
• Denise Echelbarger
• Leslie White-Hebert
• Nichole Betts
• Breanne O’Doherty

Enjoy this beautiful spring weather and I look forward to seeing you all at the Spark Awards!

- Alli Benjamin

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Don't forget to RSVP for the 2010 Spark Awards by April 22nd. We'll see you there!

Event Information:

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Lawton Printing is proud to sponsor the May 7, 2010 Spokane Regional MarCom Association program. Lawton has been providing solutions to it’s customers within the context of marketing and communications for 70 years. Tactile print solutions remain relevant and are the cornerstone of effective marketing & communications projects. Print solutions are successfully combined everyday with One2One and direct marketing tools to enhance communications and improve results. Using advanced technology combined with extensive experience, Lawton assists you in bringing significant benefit to your client. Let us show you some of our solutions that are designed to address your client’s ROI expectations. Lawton currently is comprised of four (4) divisions; Commercial Printing; Index Tabs; Publications, Chamber of Commerce Directories and InnovAging, a resource directory for Seniors and their families and a sister company File-Ez Folder, Inc.

To Contact the Experts at Lawton Printing, Inc, visit www.lawtonprinting.com or email at sales@lawtonprinting.com.

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In the Spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours. - Mark Twain

(Editor's note: Sounds like Spokane, doesn't it?)

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IN THIS ISSUE

2010 MarCom Leadership

2010 DIRECTORS