A Trade-Show Attendee Tells All

Photo by quinn.anya

When I hear a really good idea at a meeting, I draw a little light bulb in the margin of my notes. And after attending the 10th annual Exhibition and Convention Executives Forum (ECEF) in Washington D.C. on June 1, my notebook was well illuminated.

But one idea in particular deserved a lightning bolt: ECEF producer Sam Lippman invited Amy Nichols, CEO of Dogtopia, to come and talk  about face-to-face marketing -- namely trade shows -- and the role it has played in the rapid growth of her business, an upscale pet-care company.

Nichols talked about her experience attending exhibitions and meetings at different stages of her company's growth, from one she attended in 2002 just as she was founding Dogtopia, to a meeting she and her staff organized for the company's franchise owners. (Nichols plans to outsource the planning for the 2012 meeting, because it was so grueling.)