UB Partners Day 2010

The University at Buffalo will be having its annual UB Partners Day on June 9th. The event will be held at Adam’s Mark Hotel and will start at 8:30 a.m. UB Partners Day is an opportunity to celebrate the partnerships that UB has with various local businesses that are so valuable to Upstate New York.

The event will include several features, starting with workshops and exhibits in the morning, followed by an awards luncheon and keynote speaker in the afternoon. This year’s speaker is James J. Walter, the Senior Vice President, Global Product Integrity, and Chief Regulatory Officer for Mattel, Inc., as well as a UB alumnus.

As a proud business partner of UB, FB Displays & Designs, Inc. will be exhibiting in the event. We will feature our new customized Multiquad display. If you are looking for a new way to market your company effectively at trade shows, please stop at our booth.  FB Displays & Designs provides full service event marketing solutions, from custom exhibits and modular displays to trade show material and design services.

FB Displays & Designs, Inc. has built up a reputation as the area’s best resource for innovative displays and graphic designs, partly because of their commitment to honesty.  As experts in the modular exhibit industry, the FB Displays & Designs team stays focused on providing the right solutions to meet our clients’ marketing goals.

For more information or to register for UB Partners Day (it’s free!), click here.

Social Media: The Essential Trade Show Marketing Tool

If your trade show marketing hasn’t changed recently, now is the time to do it. Technology has opened up networks of communication that allow us to stay in constant contact with virtually everyone, including customers, manufacturers, clients, and prospects. If you are not active on social media networks, you are out of touch with a huge segment of the population. Don’t be left out; use social media marketing to the best of advantage, specifically when promoting your company’s upcoming trade show event.

First, if you have yet to create an account on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, a blog site, or any other social media platforms, do so immediately:

• Build a strong following (include clients, suppliers, colleagues, and fans)
• Post often to keep your followers interested and updated
• Include tips you may have, upcoming events, and anything else you think might interest your followers

Once you have done this, you are ready to start pre-show marketing:

• Keep track of your upcoming trade shows
• Write a blog about the upcoming show a few weeks preceding the event. In the post, be sure to include information about your product or services
• Attract visitors by introducing new products or offering incentives, deals, prizes, etc.
• Provide pictures or videos from past trade shows so that people know what to expect
• Start posting reminders and notifications about a week before the event

There’s an interesting article written by Eric Lukazewski on ESAB North America’s effective tradeshow marketing strategy. It illustrates how important social media marketing is, even in the least expected industries. Make sure you are capitalizing on reaching people beyond the show floor. Face-to-face interaction is one of the most valuable business tools, so do your best to draw more visitors to your booth with the use of social media marketing.

Click Here To View The Article.

Next month we will be discussing using social media at the trade show and as a tool for effective lead follow-up.

2010 Small Business Matchmaking Awards Luncheon Exposition

Buffalo, NY -May 12, 2010.

FB Displays & Designs, Inc. stood out from the rest at the 5th Annual Small Business Matchmaking Awards Luncheon Exposition sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), SCORE, and Business First. That is the first goal at such a public event at a large location like the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center in downtown Buffalo, NY.

With a customized MultiQuadTM Exhibit System similar to that created for Tracking Innovations, Inc. (as seen in the April 1st, 2010 Press Release “Dealer of the Month”), FB Displays & Designs, Inc. attracted attention in a region where its operations are based and at an event attended by many of its long-term customers. SBA describes the event as a thriving exhibition where small businesses can reach potential customers and business professionals eager to do business with you.

The matchmaking part of the Luncheon Exposition allows small and minority businesses to meet with federal, state, and local government agencies, prime contractors, and national businesses. The matchmaking is a unique opportunity for small area businesses, which provides one-on-one time with exceptional organizations and companies.

This year’s event was the 18th Annual Small Business Awards Luncheon, honoring small businesses that exemplify the entrepreneurial spirit. Carpet Care Services Inc., was honored by Canisius College Women’s Business Center. Carpet Care Services is a local business, located in Williamsville, N.Y., which provides residential and commercial carpet cleaning and also is a valued client of FB Displays & Designs. Donna Scalfaro, the president of the company, has always been a pleasure to do business with and is richly deserving of this honor. We would like to congratulate her and her company on all the success they have achieved.

Another honoree at the luncheon was Janine Tramont, who was selected as the Women in Business Champion. Janine is responsible for Business Development & Special Programs at the UB School of Management’s Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership.

Janine is responsible for the coordination of the Allstate Minority and Women Emerging Entrepreneurs Program in addition to the Henry A. Panasci Jr. Technology Entrepreneurship Competition. From my personal experience being involved with the Panasci competition, Janine is one of the most genuinely nice people I have ever met. She is extremely personable and goes way above and beyond her job responsibilities to build relationships with the people she meets.

FB Displays & Designs would like to congratulate all of the 2010 Small Business Matchmaker Awards Luncheon Exposition honorees and looks forward to seeing everyone at next year’s event.