What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas is the tag line these days. But what happens in Las Vegas is often an economic indication which bodes well for the businesses who use trade shows for marketing. Of note, Las Vegas hosted nearly 22,000 trade shows, meeting or conventions in 2012. the highest numbers since 2008.

Las Vegas welcomed a record 39.7 million visitors in 2012, approximately a half-million more visitors than the previous high of 39.2 million set in 2007. The record visitation generated more than $40 billion in economic impact for the local economy last year.

Leveraging Social Media and Virtual Events to Connect with Your Customer is what The Social Tradeshow, written by Traci Browne,  hits at the heart of now and is the future of success in the trade show industry. Companies that do not take advantage of social networking to build their community, around their niche, and their products is missing out on the massive impact that social media can have on their business sales.

The Social Tradeshow covers:

Practical advice, realistic examples, and actionable ideas for companies of all sizes, in both B2B and B2C markets. Discover how to:
* Create goals, measurable objectives, and strategies
* Identify the tools and techniques most likely to work for you
* Integrate social media and virtual events with existing pre-show, at-show and post-show tactics
* Avoid older “virtual” techniques that have been proven to fail * Make the most of live streaming, video interviewing, mobile polling, and other innovations
* Expand and enhance your community of customers and prospects year-round
* Demonstrate the value of social media to key decision-makers

Read more: http://tradeshowinstitute.com/the-social-trade-show-book/#ixzz2E0GLtVvI

Smash Hit Displays is excited to report on the latest trends associated with the tradeshow industry.

It’s a new year, so it’s time to stick to that New Year’s resolution and get in shape. What better way to do that than seeing all of the new and exciting bicycle-related products from both local and national businesses at the Seattle Bicycle Expo, which runs from March 10th to the 11th at the Cascade Bicycle Club. More than 250 trade show booths and ten thousand attendees are expected to be present at this event.

If you are interested in updating the look of your house, offer services that homeowners would appreciate, or will be in the Pacific Northwest, then you’ll love the Seattle Home Show. This trade show begins February 18^th and ends the 26^th at CenturyLink Field Event Center.

If you are a coffee enthusiast, sell coffee products, or sell food and treats that go well with coffee, then the Coffee Fest Trade Show in Seattle is the place to be! Coffee Fest serves the specialty coffee and gourmet tea industries. The event doesn’t begin until September 21^st, 2012 but you can be sure that exhibitors are preparing their trade show exhibits now, especially since there will be thousands of attendees that will walk the aisles in search of the latest and greatest coffee and tea products.

If you work in the flower and garden industry or simply are looking for gardening ideas, the Northwest Flower and Garden Trade Show is definitely worth going to. This event runs from February 8^th through the 12^th and will be held at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle.

The SAAC trade show was held in Long Beach, CA on August 24th and 25th. This convention provides suppliers with a time-efficient way to attract new clients and maintain the distributor relationships that have already been built. Pam Caswell, account executive at Crick Information Technologies, Inc., was one of the exhibitors at the SAAC show. I had the opportunity to ask her a few questions in regards to what she observed from the show.

The Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce 2011 Trade Show took place Wednesday, May 11th and our very own Dennis Nixon and Larry Larrivee, along with 150 other exhibitors, got the chance to set up their trade show display in the Qwest Field Events Center. I sat down with Larry to hear what feedback he took away from the convention and what his learnings were from his first event..