The Trouble with Vegas
Last updated October 16, 2000

Las Vegas, Nevada plays host to over 100 trade shows a year. Ten of those shows exceed 50,000 or more attendees with hundreds and thousands of companies exhibiting. The town has tens of thousands of hotel rooms and lots of entertainment options for corporate hospitality.

Exhibiting companies face three challenges in the "Be seen, get seen" battle in town. First, there’s the background buzz of Vegas, a cacophony of noisy slot machines and bright neon that assaults the senses from the very moment that you step off the airplane. It’s always on, always there, and there’s no escaping the sounds and light.

Rising above the background buzz is the concerted efforts of the casinos as they promote themselves. Your trade show is maybe a week; their business is 24 x 7 x 365, with shareholders expecting quarterly dividends. They want you to visit and are most eager to give you every opportunity to spend money at their gaming tables, in their elegant designer restaurants, at their extravagant productions, and sleeping in their hotel rooms (But please, only the minimum amount of sleeping).

Finally, you’ve got the promotional efforts of your competitors and vendors, as they buy up advertising space anywhere and everywhere. They know that they have to catch your eye as many times as they can so you’ll visit them from among the hordes of companies spread out among hundreds of thousands of square feed of exhibit space.

It’s not easy to be heard above the noise, but with advanced planning and some checks our way, it can be done. Sure, you can do it yourself, but we've already successfully done the legwork.

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