Rachel Wimberly

Wake Up and Blog!
June 5, 2007

Last year, for the issue of Tradeshow Week that was distributed at the Intl. Assn. of Exhibitions and Events’ Expo! Expo! in San Diego, I wrote an article on blogging. At the time, what I thought would be an easy search for tradeshow blogs in the industry was actually, at the end of the day, pretty paltry.

It seems that while many industries, including the media, are increasingly aware of the value of blogging - it’s a great marketing tool and a way to create an even bigger audience - the tradeshow industry overall still doesn’t get the amazing added value it has of extending the life of a show past the few days a showfloor is actually open.

One company does get it – Nielsen Business Media. One of their shows, Interbike - a massive bicycle show held in Las Vegas every year - has a fantastic blog. Honestly, kudos to whoever is responsible for the content, frequency of posts and overall quality. Interbike obviously understands the importance of creating a year-round dialogue about the industry in general. They also get that a blog on a show’s site shouldn’t focus solely on the show itself – there just wouldn’t be enough interesting stuff to post – but instead the focus is on various aspects of the bicycling industry, including advocacy, gear, racing and, of course, attendee and Interbike news.

And, Nielsen is taking blogs a step further. They now appear on the sites for Outdoor Retailer and ASR.

Good for you, Nielsen, and to the rest of the industry – I hope you get on the blogging bandwagon sooner rather than later.

Posted by Rachel Wimberly on June 5, 2007 | Comments (2)