The New Year is a great time to reconsider your company's priorities. It's an opportunity to examine the good and the bad of last year, changing what needs to be changed and focusing on everything that's caused good results. For many companies, it's also a time to get back into trade show display marketing after a long hiatus. As the economy cautiously turns upward again, many are turning to table top displays with renewed interest. Whether you're looking for new ideas or coming back to conventions after a few seasons of absence, there are many new elements to add to your convention strategy.

Focused Marketing Objectives

It is no longer typical for the stated goal of a marketing initiative to be 'increase sales.' Goals have become more targeted, and measurement tools have matched the pace. Driven by the need to justify every dollar spent during the recession, computerized lead generation analysis and return on investment calculation became much more common. They are a good tool to use for analysis going forward, and they can also help you determine what mistakes may have been made in the past. They will also help you define a manageable trade show display goal which can be quantified and tracked.

Shifting Priorities

If you've been off the circuit for a while, you need to make sure the same conventions you used to attend still make sense. Your company has not remained static, and you may find compelling reasons to seek out new exhibitions. Even if you've been using pop up displays during the recession, the New Year is still a good opportunity to evaluate your progress. Look at every show on your company's roster. Is it really a good match for your products? Is there another gathering that would be better?

Add Social Media

Any company that isn't currently using social media to promote itself is behind the curve. A year ago, it was common in most industries; today, it's universal. Social media is the wave of the future, even at conventions. Before you can create your own strategy, you will need to understand the role that social networking and new marketing takes in your particular industry. Because there are so many diverse ways to use it, some industries have developed remarkably distinct techniques relative to others. Discuss the field with your co workers, and consider visiting some table top displays to see how your competitors are integrating it.

2011 promises to be a watershed year for convention marketing. Attendance at exhibitions across the country is rising, and companies are finding themselves financially able to send their pop up displays across the country again. New promotion strategies await, offering a chance to see great results. Now is the time to bring your team up to speed and start making a plan.