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This Just In

Deadline for Nominations for 2013 Readers’ Choice Awards is June 26

TSE STAFF

Oceanside, CA – No doubt, this is the “Decade of Innovation” for the trade show industry, and the trend towards creating a culture of innovation is intensifying in boardrooms across the nation. “Trade show executives are explorers and risk takers by nature,” said Darlene Gudea, president of Trade Show Executive Media Group. “And whether they are the creators or adopters of innovation, they have a driving desire to test, compare and share the new and the different that could have a strong impact on their business results and leadership.”

With new strategies, new software and new ways of doing things popping up everywhere in the exhibition industry, Trade Show Executive (TSE) is turning to its valued readers to decide which ones are the cream of the crop.

The editors of TSE are inviting show organizers, service contractors, registration firms, venue managers and other tech whizzes to take part in the next evolutionary step of innovation by nominating the best new ideas for Trade Show Executive’s 2013 Readers’ Choice | Innovation Awards  2013 competition.

The categories for the awards include:

1.Technology Innovations

The Most Innovative Initiatives Serving Show Management (Virtual event platforms, audience response systems, registration systems, attendance promotion, housing, exhibit and sponsorship sales tools, etc.)

The Most Innovative Initiatives Serving Exhibitors
(Freight tracking, lead retrieval, gamification, etc.)

The Most Innovative Initiatives Serving Attendees
(Product locators, RFID, message systems, etc.)

The Most Innovative Initiatives Serving All Three: Show Management, Exhibitors and Attendees
(mobile aps, matchmaking and appointment-setting software, etc.)

2. Green Innovations

The Most Innovative Green Initiatives by a Convention Center

The Most Innovative Green Initiatives by a Service Provider

The Most Innovative Green Initiatives by Show Management

3. Innovation Leaders

The Most Innovative Organization in the Trade Show Industry (show management, convention center, service contractor, registration firm or other service provider)

Nominations will be accepted until June 26 for the most intriguing and practical technology, procedures or strategies that are driving attendance, boosting exhibitor ROI, improving sustainability and generally improving efficiency on the show floor. The nominations will be narrowed down to a roster of finalists that readers will vote on July 8 to July 23.

“Innovation has been booming in the trade show industry and who better than the trade show executives in the field to determine which ideas hold the most promise?,” said Gudea. “Since the original Innovation Awards debuted in 2002, we have saluted everything from a badge reader that foils counterfeit badges to a mobile app to track service orders and freight. The Readers’ Choice Innovation Awards will use input from the entire industry to shine a light on the next generation of cutting-edge innovations coming to the show floor.”

The winning innovations will be announced August 1. The innovators behind the unique ideas may be invited to present their products to an elite audience of show organizers at the TSE Gold 100 Awards & Summit  at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort, Dana Point, CA.

The winners will also be featured in the August issue of TSE and announced worldwide via TSE’s E-Clips Breaking News, Twitter and Facebook. Recipients will receive a certificate  and a press release that can be issued to their customers along with a logo for use on their company web site and marketing collateral.

“We believe TSE’s Readers’ Choice Awards are the highest accolade and endorsement an innovator can receive because the ‘seal of approval’ comes from peers and customers rather than tech experts who may be biased or lack experience as a show organizer,” Gudea said. “The Reader’s Choice Awards are also an ideal and credible vehicle for vetting a new product or service that is being introduced to an astute user,” she said.

Nominations must be submitted on the official entry form available at www.tradeshowexecutive.com and must include artwork of the product, person or company logo. Products/services released on or after June 1, 2012 are eligible.

Entries must be e-mailed to innovationawards@TradeShowExecutive.com. Entries submitted to the wrong address or to TSE staff members will not be eligible.

A sample entry form can be found below. Please refer to our FAQs section for more information.  All of us at TSE wish you the best of luck and look forward to seeing your nominations. Nominate your company, boss, colleague or yourself.  This is no time for humility!

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2013 Readers’ Choice
INNOVATION
AWARDS

 FAQs

What is Trade Show Executive’s Readers’ Choice | Innovation Awards Program?
TSE’s 2013 Readers’ Choice | Innovation Awards 
program is the next step in the evolution of TSE’s prestigious Innovation Awards which began in 2002 to identify and nurture bold new ideas and solutions for the trade show industry. During the past 11 years, winners have ranged from RFID to freight-tracking apps and from green initiatives to the most innovative company.

Last year, there was a dramatic increase in new ideas and technology for the trade show industry. Trade Show Executive culled 44 of the best nominations to be voted on by our 5,000 magazine subscribers and 8,120 e-newsletter subscribers.  After all, who is more qualified and more passionate about sharing their opinions and ratings about new products, services and innovations than show organizers?  The end result will be the highest honor we can bestow on an innovator!

How Does the Program Work?
From June 3 to June 26, TSE is accepting nominations for both tech innovations and green initiatives [see categories below]. Based on those nominations, Trade Show Executive editors will select the finalists and publish a 1/3 page description of the product or service in the July issue and online for readers to evaluate and vote on.  During the voting phase — July 8 to July 23 — readers will vote for what they believe are the most innovative products, services, and organizations in the trade show industry. Winners will be announced August 1, 2013 worldwide via Trade Show Executive’s E-Clips Breaking News, Twitter, Facebook and in the August issue.

What Controls Do You Have in Place to Ensure Fairness during the Voting Phase?
Users must provide their name, organization and an email address to vote. Votes submitted from personal email addresses [i.e. AOL.com; Hotmail.com; Comcast.com; etc.] will be rejected. Employees cannot vote on the entry/entries submitted by their organization, otherwise large companies will have an unfair advantage. Votes are limited to one vote per award category per day. Duplicate votes from an individual on the same day will be rejected and that voter will be permanently barred from voting. We have internal checks in place to detect fraudulent voting activity. TSE reserves the right to exclude votes that it deems fraudulent.

What Do the Winners Receive?
Most importantly, each winner gets bragging rights, knowing that the readers of the trade show industry’s leading and most trusted magazine/online resource LOVE YOUR THINKING!

Winners also receive:

  • An award certificate to display in your office or lobby;
  • A write-up in the August issue of Trade Show Executive magazine, TSE’s E-Clips Breaking News and at www.TradeShowExecutive.com –plus Twitter and Facebook;
  • Extensive publicity in the B-to-B news media;
  • A press release to send to your customers, industry press, etc.;
  • An award logo for your web site, stationery, exhibits, etc.; and
  • The top innovators may be invited to present at TSE’s 6th Annual Gold 100 Gala & Summit, September 18-20 at St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort, to an elite audience of the show managers and CEOs of the largest 100 shows.

What are the Categories?

Technology Innovations 

[  ]  The Most Innovative Initiatives Serving Show Management
[Examples:  virtual event platforms, audience response systems, attendance promotion, exhibit and sponsorship sales tools, floor plan software, registration systems, audience response systems, housing and travel, etc.]

[  ]  The Most Innovative Initiatives Serving Exhibitors 
[Examples:  freight tracking apps, lead retrieval systems, gamification, etc.]

[  ]  The Most Innovative Initiatives Serving Attendees 
[Examples: product locators, message systems, RFID, etc.]

[  ] The Most Innovative Initiatives  Serving  All Three Groups:  Show  Management, Exhibitors and Attendees 
[Examples:  mobile apps, matchmaking and appointment-setting software, etc.]


Green Innovations

[  ]  The Most Innovative Green Initiatives by a Convention Center

[  ]  The Most Innovative Green Initiatives by a Service Provider

[  ]  The Most Innovative Green Initiatives by Show Management


Innovation Leaders

[  ]  The Most Innovative Organization in the Trade Show Industry

How Do I Enter?
The official entry form is posted on www.tradeshowexecutive.com/innovationawards.asp or any staff member can send you the form.

Multiple submissions as well as entering in multiple categories are permitted but you must fill out a separate form for each entry. Your entry must include:

  • Name of organization
  • Web address
  • Contact info
  • Product/service name
  • Reason why your product or service is innovative (Maximum word count is 200)
  • Artwork of product, service, company, individual or logo. (Submit artwork in a JPEG or TIFF file format with a minimum 300 dpi resolution)
  • Product/service release date (Note: products/services released before June 2012 are not eligible)
  • Award category

Avoid hype and unverifiable claims. All claims and superlatives must be substantiated with separate documentation; this documentation is not considered part of the 200-word submission.

The Cost to Enter
The cost to enter is $150 for each submission except for “The Most Innovative Organization” — that category is free of charge.  Nominate your boss! Your client! Yourself!  This is no time for humility!

Where Do I Submit My Entry?
Entries should be submitted to InnovationAwards@TradeShowExecutive.com

You will receive an acknowledgement within 24 hours. If you do not receive an acknowledgement within 24 hours, this means that your entry was not submitted properly or received,  and you must resubmit it to be officially entered as a contestant.

Trade Show Executive is not responsible for entries sent to the wrong email address.  Do not submit your entry to TSE staff members – those submissions will not be entered into the awards.  The entries must be submitted to the official entry location at InnovationAwards@TradeShowExecutive.com

The deadline to submit entries is June 26 11:59 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time

On behalf of the staff of Trade Show Executive, good luck!

TSE Data Center