We Came, We Saw, We Conquered, We Made a List.
For some reason, yet to be determined, the trade show Gods decided to make the week of February 14-18 the week of giant events – namely Mobile World Congress and Toy Fair. As a result, our power team here at VPO worked around the clock to manage press releases, online press offices, clients’ needs, etc. You name it — we tackled it.
Now that we finally were able to sneak in a few hours of sleep and sanity, we took a moment to reflect on last week’s craziness and take away some of the positives:
1. The fantastic timing of Starbucks new “trenta” size
2. For all of us single ladies in the office, having a perfect excuse for why we just couldn’t possibly celebrate Valentine’s Day
3. Our mini break out dance sessions – particularly to the current Cee Lo Green Song…
4. Free reign to order lunch, dinner, breakfast on the company card
5. Being able to wear looser and more comfortable clothes than usual (please refer to #4)
6. The funny VPO/client quotes we decided to keep track of throughout the week- so much funnier to read after the madness!
7. Owning the term Muli tasker.
8. Being able to convert any time to CET in 10 seconds flat. (try us!)
9. Our Christmas list is already done, filled with all the latest toys, apps, and mobile devices
10. We now answer our personal cell phones saying “Virtual Press Office” out of habit. (Always a good thing in case it’s a client sneaking up on us!)
All in all, some pretty great things to take away from the craziness of last week. So we say: Bring on February 14-18 2012! We’re ready for you.
Start Your Engines: How to Drive Traffic to your Online Press Kit!
You’ve gone through the trouble of writing news releases, preparing product images, case studies, etc. In our opinion, your Online Press Kit rocks!
Now start your engines, it’s go time.
Here’s how we recommended driving additional traffic to your Online Press Kit:
Tweet It!
- Shorten your press kit link by using a URL shortener. VPO provides vanity URLs to exhibitors with press kits. The vanity URLs are shortened links, which include the company and show name.
- Find the correct hashtag for the tradeshow by searching in Twitter. (hashtags for some upcoming shows: #TF11, #MWC11.)
- You can now tweet your shortened link and add the hashtag for the tradeshow.
Tip: Keep the tweet under 120 characters, so that it can be retweeted again without the risk of a link or hashtag being cut off due to length limitations.
Facebook, LinkedIn, and Blogs
- Post your shortened link to your Facebook page.
- Add your link to a LinkedIn group discussion for the tradeshow.
- Add your link within comments on blogs related to your industry
Other tips:
Add your vanity URL to business cards and hand them out at your booth.
Make sure to include your vanity URL in any press releases sent out over the wire. This is an easy and effective way to drive additional traffic to your booth.
VPO Goes to Vegas!
Where is the one place you can learn about the coolest, most innovative tech products, meet a fake Michael Jackson, watch a Taser demo, and see Chris Matthews a few feet away from Bravo’s Housewives?
Yup, VPO went on a company trip to CES. While some of VPO’s employees have been going to the tradeshow for the past 10 years, it was the first time for the Operations Team. As a member of the Operations team, this was not only my first trip to CES, but also to Vegas, which made it that much better!
For the VPO employees familiar with the long airport, taxi and hotel lines due to CES, their visits to the tradeshow were already pre-planned and set up. The Operations Team made their first visit to the tradeshow floor the second and third day of the show, so they could see the setup one of the biggest tradeshows in the country.
Walking around the show made me wonder if the design process for some of the booths began the day after 2010 CES ended. The bigger companies with larger budgets were able to embed the images of their products and company name into my head by building two-story booths and taking up a major part of the tradeshow floor.
CES is a huge show, so it was a little overwhelming for a first-time visitor, but after I realized you have to exit the North Hall to get to the South Hall I began to appreciate that I am in the location of the newest tech gadgets that have yet to come out in the market. It also doesn’t hurt that I received some free stuff and almost (but I chickened out) took a picture with many types of celebrities.
Check out VPO’s pics from CES!
Share with us your favorite moments from CES!
Champagne, Sushi, and Presents! Oh, My!
Yesterday VPO celebrated the holidays with delicious champagne, mouth-watering sushi, and some Dirty Santa. You probably think that at the end of the game someone ended up with an empty cardboard box, but the presents were all great. Don’t believe me? Then check out the pictures. Everyone walked away stuffed, bubblier, and holding on tight to their present.
Perez Hilton Teaches a Thing or Two About Business?
The other day I realized that I needed to catch up on my celebrity news updates/new combined couple names, so I went to visit Perez Hilton’s blog. For this is the place to go to get the “juiciest celebrity gossip.” However, to my surprise I found Perez Hilton’s blog to be less crass then the last time I had visited, and more informative rather than opinionated. I then decided I needed to know the reason for this change, because this was not the blog that I had visited in the past.
After some research I learned that Perez Hilton is an advocate for anti-bullying and that his decision to change his ways began after he learned that others thought he was a bully. I guess it is a little hypocritical to draw on celebrities, call them names, and call them out on their dirtiest secrets while fighting for anti-bullying rights. His revelation was announced on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. I watched the video of this episode, and one of the things that caught my attention was Ellen asking Perez if he was not worried about losing money. He responded by saying that he was not motivated by money, and that he was being sincere about turning over a new leaf.
Even though Perez Hilton’s blog receives millions of views a month, he risked/risks losing money from not being able to charge as much for ads on his site. I think the major problem he encountered and could have avoided was that his values did not fall in line with his business. His business was built by mocking Hollywood, but his personal beliefs were anti-hate and acceptance of all, which became a dilemma. This proves how essential it is for your business to match your personal values, because at some point they may collide and it will benefit you for them to go hand in hand. In the end it is great that Perez chose his integrity over money, but it could have been avoided if he began his business by being true to himself (cue the cheesy music).
I know I may be a little late on this, but congratulations on growing up, Perez. I will continue reading your blog, because I like the sassy without the mean.
The NEW Virtual Press Office for CES!
VPO is really excited to reveal its new page for CES 2011! This page is every social media expert’s dream. Alongside all the latest headlines and press kits, the site will stream real-time tweets, blog posts, quotes, and multimedia. The page is easy to navigate and you will find every piece of CES show news you need on this one site.
Take a look…http://news.vpoinc.com/page/2011CES
What’s Twitter and Facebook?
It is official, we are going back in time. I am sorry, but if you want to hear what your favorite celebrity had for breakfast then you are just going to have to make a donation towards a great cause. Celebrities are giving up Facebook and Twitter until $1 million is raised for the Keep a Child Alive charity. Some of these celebrities include Alicia Keys, Justin Timberlake, Kim Kardashian, Ryan Seacrest, and many others.
Digital life has not only become an important part of everyday life for many, but it is also one of the many addictions for celebrities. Ceasing all forms of digital life until $1 million is raised is a wonderful idea for several reasons. Of course, the primary reason is that it is raising money for HIV/AIDS. Another great reason is that it may be a wake-up call for those who constantly try to prove that Facebook and Twitter are not that important to them. You’ve heard it before, “I have Facebook and Twitter on my laptop, iPod, iPad and phone, but I don’t use it that often and I can definitely go without it.” People have different reasons for using Twitter or Facebook whether it is for business or entertainment purposes, but regardless, you will find that most follow at least one celebrity. Taking those celebrity posts and tweets away helps people stop and realize how attracted they are to digital life. In addition, it may be nice to temporarily go back to 2003 before dinner choices and workouts were announced to the world. I really like what digital life has to offer, but I also like the idea that for a short period of time people can stop to appreciate life pre-Twitter/Facebook. In the meantime, this project will be increasing awareness for World AIDS Day.
Ok, I am going to go now and check if Kim has tweeted yet.
VPO wants to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!
Maybe You Need a Little More Than Passion…
I told myself I would see The Social Network the day it came out, but unfortunately my viewing of the movie had to be delayed. I finally saw it a couple of days ago, and I am not sure if it is because I haven’t seen too many new movies lately or what, but I really enjoyed the movie. Even though the movie does not portray the creation of Facebook 100% accurately (right, Mr. Zuckerberg?), some of the details still remain the same. The most intriguing parts of the movie for me were the events that sparked the creation of Facebook. Passion, anger and booze were the three main causes for why Mark Zuckerberg decided to make Facemash, the site that crashed the Harvard servers. It was this little situation that gave him the necessary push to work on his next project, Facebook.
I think enthusiasm and fervor can a lot of times be the main reasons for why the greatest companies or ideas are formed. Many major ideas require a great deal of risk and a limited amount of time to put into effect, therefore, not all the details are always thought out. It may seem like Zuckerberg’s rapidness to create Facemash worked to his benefit, but seeing what it helped generate six years later may help explain why not every project/idea can be built on passion alone. Since Facebook’s development there have been many complaints launched, and many of them relate to lack of privacy. Zeal is a large component of launching a company/idea, but I also think it is always important to do the necessary research and analysis. It is similar to a gorgeous car being built, but the proper examination not being done to see if the brakes work correctly. I would love to drive a Maserati, but if you tell me the brakes don’t work then I am only going to keep it in my driveway with a sign that says, “Polina’s Ride.”
Even if research may not seem like a big component in the creation of a great idea, it cannot be omitted, because sooner or later it WILL catch-up with you (right, Mr Zuckerberg?).
Featured Artists at Macworld 2011
Our event partners over at Macworld are holding a four-day event that educates about the unlimited capabilities of Apple products. A new program has been added to the Macworld 2011 conference, which will present four Featured Artists using Apple technology for their own creative purposes. Of course, everyone may use an Apple product for enjoyment reasons, but these Featured Artists surpass the confines of these technological products, and are able to turn their interests into a full-time job.
One of the Featured Artists, Kyle Lambert, is able to finger paint more detailed images on an iPad then I would be able to if I were drawing on paper with an artist guiding my hand the entire time. His portfolio is breath-taking, and absolutely worth checking out on his site: http://www.kylelambert.co.uk/gallery/. Lambert even welcomes people into his world by contributing a video that brings a portrait of Beyoncé to life with an iPad and a finger. I have posted the video below for everyone to experience.
