Informex2011

Why Social Media Matters

2010-09-02T15:32:30Z

The core function of the Informex brand is to bring you networking; our roots are the Information Exchange of the chemical industry, so we are constantly looking for new ways to bring more networking opportunities to the marketplace.

With this in mind, as I am sure you have seen, we put a strong emphasis on the benefits of being a member of our LinkedIn Group, Facebook Fan Page, and following our Twitter feed. If you have been to any of our events lately I am sure you have met our resident networking expert, Marybeth Petescia, who is also only too happy to help you get started in social media.

You probably know you need to be on social media but it’s not always easy to get started. After creating your account, it can be rather confusing how to use it optimally and get the most benefit for your brand. Never fear, we have the solution! We would like to help you understand the ins and outs of social media better through our webinar Navigating Social Media: A Step-by-Step Guide for Promoting Your Brand . The session is a fully interactive workshop which will examine social media strategies and tactics tailored specifically for chemical industry professionals. The webinar will be conducted by social media and chemical industry expert Mary Canady founder of Comprendia.

With the increasing popularity of social media, more and more businesses are placing importance on the adoption of comprehensive social media strategies. As these routes to market continue to grow and become more influential, companies not engaging in social media, or executing it poorly, are potentially missing out on major opportunities for their brands and businesses. This exclusive webinar will help attendees adapt social media strategies for their own companies

Here at Informex we see the benefits of using social media everyday. We will tweet with customers and give information updates during live events, we have special limited time discount codes posted throughout the year to our LinkedIn group, we encourage exhibitor and buyer interaction through LinkedIn posts, we listen to audience questions and concerns in Facebook, we always encourage feedback, and we can introduce our events to a whole new market though any number of different avenues. It’s terrific; we see a huge return on our investment as our group numbers increase along with the flow of networking conversation within them.

So join us at the webinar Navigating Social Media: A Step-by-Step Guide for Promoting Your Brand September 21 2-4pm ET.

Please click to register now. And get started ahead of time by joining our LinkedIn Group, Facebook Fan Page, and following our Twitter feed.

And as always, let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Please feel free to post here or email me at jjessup@informex.com, and connect with me on LinkedIn.

Boa Vinda a Informex América Latin

2010-08-27T18:45:47Z

We hosted the inaugural Informex Latin America show this week in São Paulo, Brazil. To tell you the truth I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Launching in a new country is always a bit nerve-wracking as you never fully know what to expect. The UBM team based in São Paulo kept telling me ‘não se preocupe’ – don’t worry – that everything would turn out great. However when we left Newark on Friday evening we were still feeling a little bit nervous.

When we met up with the team the next day they immediately put my fears to rest. Our pre-registration numbers for the exhibition had increased by nearly 500 people in just one week, so we were now tracking close to 1,000 attendees, and the conference numbers were close to 100 people in each room for each day. The team assured me that there would be last-minute registrants and big on-site registration demand as well. (I don’t have the final numbers yet, but stay tuned to the blog and I’ll post them soon.) Suddenly, São Paulo seemed a whole lot brighter in addition to the delicious food and friendly people I met!

The two-day event went off quite smoothly. We are especially grateful to Abiquim for helping us put on such a spectacular Green Exchange Program. Sustainability is vitally important to the Brazilian market, as I learned during the trip. Brazil is quite unique because it is able to be so self-reliant for many products including most of their food and manufacturing. It’s incredibly heartening to see that the Brazilian industrial sector has a very serious commitment to responsible and reliable business and they keep the interests of the people of Brazil at the forefront of their decisions.

The exhibition floor was unlike any I had seen in other countries. Typically we see an exhibit hall at its busiest on the first morning of the show. However late afternoon on the second day of the event the floor was buzzing even more than when we first opened the show. The floor was open much later in the day than is typical and we saw an uptick in traffic even after the work-day finished.

All in all the show was incredibly successful both the local and international visitors were able to make new contacts, and hopefully will create beneficial partnerships. I hope that Brazil has piqued your interest and you’ll join us for Informex Latin America next year!

If you attended let us know what you thought! Post here or send me an email jjessup@informex.com.

We're going virtual with the ACS Virtual Career Fair

2010-08-19T13:56:45Z

Looking for the perfect employee? Or need a job?

For a few months now I have been just dying to spread the news about the latest Informex development, but I couldn’t until now! The American Chemical Society, Informex, and Chemical & Engineering News are going to host the ACS Careers Virtual Career Fair on November 2-3. We are thrilled to be working with these two amazing groups!

The ACS Careers Virtual Career Fair will give companies the option of finding new employees from a vast pool of ACS members – over 161,000 of them. The ACS Membership is comprised of chemists, chemical engineers, and industry professionals in all stages of their career – from PhD students to bench chemists to sales & marketing. The career fair is complimentary to attend, so anyone looking for a new career challenge can upload their resume or simply browse what options are out there. The virtual nature of the career fair will allow job-seekers and potential employers expansive opportunities to meet and interact. Honestly, who wouldn’t want to at least take a peek at the opportunities available in our industry?

The Virtual Career Fair will take place over two days, November 2-3, and will be live from 9am – 6pm EST with an archived version available through the end of 2010. The format of the career fair will include an open exhibition floor with booths staffed by chemical companies, hiring firms and recruiting agencies. The attendees for the event will be both chemical industry professionals and students.

Along with the exhibition hall we will be running webinars. Each day will have a keynote webinar and 3 other webinars throughout the day. We will be focusing the content for these webinars on two themes. The theme for November 2 is Outlook in the Chemical, Pharma & Biotech industries and the theme for November 3 is Career Development.

The other facet of the virtual event will be a networking lounge were exhibitors and attendees can have time and space for more informal chatting. In the networking lounge we will have space for open chatting as well as some more structured themed chat areas.

Additionally, during the first week in November, C&EN will be publishing its annual Employment Outlook edition. The content of this edition of the leading scientific publication serving the chemical, life sciences, and laboratory world will closely tie in with the ACS Careers Virtual Career Fair in the webinar content.

I can’t wait for you all to get the opportunity to experience this event. It is going to completely change the way you think about searching for jobs and candidates.

Also, if you are going to be attending the ACS National Meeting this fall in Boston, MA make sure you stop by the ACS Career Fair and say hello to Tom Leahy and Devin Hader from the Informex team.

Webinars Make Their Way into the Next Wave of Informex Events

2010-08-04T15:20:39Z

As I am sure you have seen by now Informex has announced its first editorial calendar. We started adding content to the Informex brand about a year or so ago now, and it has been so well received by the audience so we thought it was about time for an official editorial calendar.

We have conducted breakfast briefings for the last two years at InformexUSA, and they are always well attended. Rrecently we decided to significantly increase our efforts to provide more thought-leadership to the brand that is current more closely aligned to networking and new business development. Don’t worry, we are not going to lose our core focus, we are just adding more value!

Part of the campaign to increase content for the Informex brand is going to be adding monthly webinars. Before we made the decision to branch into webinars there was quite a bit of debate about the project. We needed to know if people liked webinars, what sort of topics were on interest to them, who they’d like to see present, what format would be most beneficial, should they be audio only or should they have a video component as well, and so forth. Primarily though, we needed to come up with a way to bring critical information to the chemical industry in an easy and appealing manner.

I am very excited to tell you that I think we really did it! We are so excited about our upcoming webinars. The first webinar we are going to present is going to take a look at using social media to increase your brand’s virtual presence. It is going to be a workshop where we will go through a step-by-step process of how to increase your brand’s marketing using social media with special attention on a timeline for how you can utilize social media to increase customer awareness of your brand at trade shows.

I’ll keep you updated with more details as we get closer, but make sure to check out our calendar and please let us know if you have any topic ideas, if you’d like to speak during one of the webinars, or if you’d like to be a sponsor. We are always open to your suggestions.

PS – If you are going to Informex Latin America in Brazil Aug 23-24^th let me know and we can meet up!

Chemicals are Tweeting

2010-08-01T19:16:31Z

Dear Chemical Industry Connoisseurs,

It has been a little while since I have attacked with one of my online networking spiels, so I thought is would be a perfect time to submit another one. Of course, after my last explanatory blog of the unbelievable advantages of LinkedIn, every one of you went immediately online to join LinkedIn and are now superior experts! ( A chemical-social-media girl can dream can’t she?)

But in all seriousness, we had quite the spike in membership and discussions in the group have increased! (Check us out: Informex LInkedin Group) If you aren’t taking part…you’re missing out!

Now back to today’s topic. I would like to introduce and advocate for the one and only (and admittedly a little confusing at times)…TWITTER!

Some things you should know about twitter to start off:

- It is made up of short messages of only 140 characters

- You “follow” someone to see their tweets show in your feed

- You can see who your followers are following by looking at their page of messages

- Its easy, viral, and not as scary or pointless as you may think

*I used to hate Twitter…strong word choice, let me rephrase:
I really, really, really, disliked it.*

But that was because I didn’t understand it. What was the point? I don’t want everyone to know what I had for breakfast and I’m pretty sure no one would care. This stands true except if you work for Eggo Waffles. Suddenly, if someone ate Eggo’s for breakfast and LOVED it, you’re going to want everyone else to see that about your product. Or if they didn’t like them, you’re going to want to publically address the reasons why so your brand is not tarnished by a well-connected and opinionated waffle-eater.

It is the same for all of us. The services you offer, the products you may produce…Twitter can get these short messages about you around the world in seconds. So being on Twitter, even just to listen, is important.

Then there is the interaction piece of Twitter. It’s so viral, that by participating in conversations, you can establish yourself and company. By becoming an active member of the twitterverse, news that comes out about you or your company have a better chance to be picked up, and potentially reach brand new customers. We are all in the same industry and will want to connect with chemical companies who in turn have their own network of people. See the networking web growing?

Also, as you may or may not be aware, google has restructured the way they search. They are now bringing up sites with the freshest content, including social media activity! So the more followers you have or the more you are actively participating in social media, google will rank your credibility and up your results. Everyone wants new business prospects to come to their website and view their services, right? Why not plug into an already existing chemical industry network and start raking in the traffic?

So start the conversation before InformexUSA 2011. We will be offering special promotions to our followers and group members before the show so stay tuned. Check out our Twibe - a group we started on Twitter with members specific to the chemical industry to help shrink the vast amounts of twitter accounts out there & you find the relevant professionals you are looking for.

Start tweeting about where you will be on the Informex show floor and what type of business you do. It’s free booth advertisement for you and a common place to find out who else will be there. And don’t forget to use #informex in your messages so when people search the key word “Informex” your message will come up!

Happy Networking!

Informex a History

2010-07-16T20:52:13Z

Informex is very proud of its long standing history. The InformexUSA show will celebrate its 27^th birthday in 2011. If you ever have a chance, I would encourage you to speak with one of the Informex founders. The founders are a group of about 25 SOCMA members who decided the natural progression of what SOCMA could offer to its members should include a networking event where they could meet, learn about each others capabilities and do business together to benefit themselves, SOCMA, and the overall chemical industry.

The Informex show started out as a few table-top exhibits in a hotel ballroom and has grown to be an entire global brand of chemical industry related events. We are still very protective of that core founding idea which is why we have stayed so closely aligned with SOCMA and with the founders. Every year at the show you will see a large presence of Informex founders, and you will also see the current SOCMA / Informex Advisory committee members.

We meet with a committee of very dedicated industry professionals at least once a quarter to discuss the general direction of the show, and to make certain that we are continuing to serve the needs of the greater chemical industry. Without these two distinct groups of people we wouldn’t have been so successful for so many years. We truly value their dedication to Informex. It’s very rare in the event industry to have so many people who are so devoted to a show, and we really appreciate how lucky we are to have this strong foundation.

In the upcoming months you will be hearing about many new Informex initiatives. We are planning to exponentially increase our virtual presence, we are hoping to add more stand-alone conferences throughout the year, and we are beginning to develop Informex shows in other regions of the world. However rest assured that we are going to continue to uphold the tradition started so many years ago with InformexUSA.

- JJ

Informex History Trivia Questions:

Do you know the origin of the name Informex?

Where was the location of the first Informex?

Who was the SOCMA president when the first Informex was held?

Strategy for the Future

2010-07-02T16:02:54Z

Recently we held the first part of the annual internal Informex strategy meetings. Every year in June the Informex team sits down to evaluate our most recent US show and to discuss new programs for the next year - what needs to be improved, what we need to get rid of, and what we should just leave well enough alone. It is an essential process to make sure we keep the show current and growing. Once our internal meetings take place we have the opportunity to meet with our SOCMA Informex Advisory Committee and new ideas by the industry experts.

One of the most important portions of the strategy meetings is the phone calls the Informex team conducts with recent attendees. Every team member is responsible for contacting 20-30 customers and asking them how they liked the show and what is their feedback. These responses are integral to our strategy. I wanted to share some of those findings with you, faithful blog readers. You are part of the Informex team and we need to know what you think is important for the upcoming year.

One of the major recurring themes we heard was there should be more content added to the show. Attendees enjoyed the breakfast briefings very much, and would like to see even more educational sessions. The thought is that more content will bring in more attendees and give more value to the current attendees.

Another frequently mentioned topic was having some sort of structured networking sessions. Don’t worry we won’t take away the bar, we’ll still have the receptions at the end of the day, however the feedback was that people wanted something more controlled. A more ordered environment with the opportunity to meet a large quantity of potential buyers and sellers. I think this is a terrific idea. Many shows have speed networking where people can sign-up to spend a short amount of time making connections with a large number of people.

One of the more surprising findings from the phone calls, at least in my opinion, was that people really missed the poster sessions. We had numerous people ask why we no longer had posters around the hall. If people would like to have posters, that is not a problem, we can bring poster sessions back. Would you like to see technical posters? Or marketing posters of exhibitors? Or research posters?

Now it’s your turn to tell us what you think? Would you like to see more conference sessions held along side of the show? Would you participate in a structured networking event? Do you like having poster sessions? What else are we missing that would make the event must-attend in your opinion? Let us know! Leave a comment or send me an email, jjessup@informex.com

- JJ

Online Networking is for YOU

2010-06-30T20:30:05Z

Join our Linkedin Group!

Many times when I bring up the social media topic at our events, I run into a similar response. It is usually along the lines of “that’s not for me, that’s for my kids!” Subsequently, I am pawned off almost immediately to a “younger” colleague who “gets that stuff.”

Social Media seems to have this label attached to it that says it is of no value to generations above 20 years of age. In that case, I am going to refer to it as Online Networking just to erase that chilling theory for the rest of this blog.

Online Networking is absolutely and 100% an activity you should participate in. It does not have an age limit and in fact, more seasoned professionals are on and using LinkedIn as much as anyone else. This is because it is a PERFECT tool to continue relationships post events and discover new people to meet at future ones.

Here is a scenario:

You meet 25-30 new professionals at a trade show. After collecting their business cards, you may write down a note or two on them but most of them you will forget. Unless you immediately follow-up, you are likely to forget who they are or what you talked about within a week’s time.

By using LinkedIn, you can search for each individual, bring up an entire profile about their professional experience, and usually a small picture. It will not only jog your memory, but also organize your contacts into a digital, easy-to-search, database. The same can go both ways, the people you met might be interested in connecting with you and will be able to view your profile/information, and have the ability to contact you immediately.

Profile example:

(As you continue down the profile there is an area to describe all your past working positions and responsibilities not shown here in this screen shot)

Our Informex group has a network of 800 people within the same industry. Why not take advantage of speaking with these individuals and participating in discussions so they see your name and connect with you? Why not post a discussion with a description of what you sell/buy or the type of clients you are looking for? Online networking is most definitely for you and not just for your kids. Join our Linkedin Group

Another response I receive is when I bring up online networking is, “I don’t have the time.” This is understandable. There are days you hardly have time to finish your daily tasks let alone chat online, right?

Wrong. The great thing about online networking is it is immediate and fast. LinkedIn and twitter status updates only let you put in 140 characters. This is perfect to type the most immediate thoughts or updates about what your company is doing. Every time you write about upcoming business deals or meetings, you are announcing activity to other potential clients who may then take the time to look at your services.

I do most of my online networking endeavors in the morning. As my computer is warming up and I am finishing a quick yogurt, I update the Informex status, read new posts in groups, and sometimes begin a discussion in our own group as well as others. Online networking can take up as little time as you want and is definitely worth the effort.

I will continue to blog about the best practices and methods to keep up with your online networking and receive the best results. Please feel free to contact me at any time with questions as well. (Marybeth.Petescia@ubm.com) I hope to see you in our group if you are not already!

Get on. Get connected. And happy networking!

-MB

Linkedin

Twitter

North Carolina Filled with Possibilities

2010-06-10T13:59:59Z

Day 1 – June 2

Highlights:

1. Checking into the Westin Charlotte hotel, only about a 20 minute ride from the airport. The Westin Charlotte is new, clean and has a fantastic lobby bar. I know the lobby bar will be the place to meet come next February!

2. Visiting potential welcome reception venues with Gary Wareheim of Dixie Chemical.

a. Mint Museum – front runner of a venue choice. One block from convention center – brand new, beautiful building with the potential to start the mixing and mingling for Informex week off on the right foot.

b. Nascar Hall of Fame – not to be missed for race car fans! Oh my, there is SO MUCH history behind this very American obsession. Great for visiting, not my first choice for a welcome reception. I’m afraid y’all would be so engrossed in the exhibits that you would forget to network! Oh, and the fact that you can’t take food or drink off the bottom level not good.

3. Dinner. Bonterra. If you like to eat, you need to go during Informex. 200 wines by the glass. Beautiful setting in a restored church. Private dining for 6 in the wine cellar.

4. After Dinner. Strike. Bar in a bowling alley. Sound questionable? I was a skeptic until I experienced it live. Fantastic setting for a private party of 75 ppl – with a separate room with 4 lanes. Very classy indeed.

Day 2 – June 3

Highlights:

1. 40 people – how great is it to spend time with exhibitors when they aren’t anxious to get back to networking with their customers? I personally have never had such a great time getting to know my clients. I wish you all could have been there!

2. Lunch @ convention center. Surf & turf – filet, shrimp in a clam shell with white wine sauce. Hallelujah, great food in a convention center!

3. Proximity. Westin and Hilton hotels across the street from convention center. Dinner spots another block away. Oh, and did I mention the light rail that serves the downtown and can by used for finding other dinner spots? How cool will it be to be back in a city where you know everyone on the street after hours?

4. Epicenter – collection of bars, restaurants, Aloft hotel, even a CVS – 2 blocks from the convention center. Bars include one owned by Dale Jr, outfitted with a mechanical bull. Never know who might take a turn next February!

5. Dinner. Chima. Meat. Brazilian meat. Dinner with 19 of my favorite work friends. Afterwards rolled over to Dale’s bar. Live band to help get the dancing going and work off 2 meals filled with steak!

Walking back to the hotel late at night, the streets were filled with people! Who knew that downtown Charlotte could be so happening? I loved it!

Thanks for reading –

PS – if you would like more details about any of the bars or restaurants please feel free to contact me, jennifer.jessup@ubm.com.

The Buzz from Brazil

2010-05-24T17:47:07Z

Those of you who have been following the blog will know by now how seriously the Informex team takes customer feedback. We are always looking for it, and we are constantly trying new ways to tap into the core thought leaders of the industry.

Since UBM bought the Informex show we have maintained a strong advisory committee in conjunction with SOCMA. The committee has been a wonderful source of information and guidance. We really rely upon them to help us understand the needs of the industry.

So far, in 2010, Informex has launched, or is launching two inaugural events. The first being the Informex Specialty Chemical conference held in Houston, TX and the second being the Informex Latin America event taking place on August 23-24 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Caitlin Devlin, our content specialist based in Princeton, went down to Brazil last week to meet with the advisory board that we have put together to organize the conference program for the Latin America event. The committee is made up of people from Associaquim, Abiquim, Abpol, CRQ, Petrobras, Purac, Kemira, Sasil, and the UKTI.

The Latin America committee turned out to be incredibly vocal. We barely got though introductions when the members started discussing their thoughts for the program, who they think should speak, and explaining in great detail how the chemical industry works in Brazil. It was amazing! Everyone came to the meeting prepared with so many ideas and suggestions. They were so incredibly helpful, much more so than we ever could have expected. It only took about 3 hours to nail down a really solid event program.

The Informex Latin America event is truly going to be brought to you by the chemical industry. The Informex brand is so much stronger when we get excited responses from the industry. We really want to design events that are tailored to you. So please tell us what you think! And if you are interested in being part of an upcoming Informex committee, please send me an email jjessup@informex.com

Oh, and if you have recommendations of things to do in Singapore, let me know! I’m there right now, up way too early, and itching to find the perfect restaurant for tonight. More about my trip next week…

By the way, the comment function on this blog is finally working, so please comment!

Thank you for reading!

Informex Specialty Chemical Conference EQUALS Success

2010-05-18T16:19:57Z

We’re back in the office today after the inaugural Informex Specialty Chemical conference. The conference was a success! The participants were so up-beat. I had numerous people come up to me during the course of the event saying how much business they were able to achieve – in just 8-9 intense hours! I’m sure the espresso glazed flat iron steak helped a bit. Oh, and just in case you travel to Houston, their pecan pie is to die for.

The setting of the conference made it easy for people to connect. Having such a targeted event meant everyone who was there wanted to talk to everyone else. It’s so gratifying as an organizer to see that when the right people are together it doesn’t take more than coffee, bagels, and a room to chat in to get the crowd networking with one another – and of course it helps to transition to cocktails later in the day!

The day was a great balance of networking and conference sessions. We had 5 sessions in total, and fantastic speakers. It was very pleasing to hear so many of the speakers quoting one another. Knowing that even the experts found interest in what others were saying changed the sessions from presentations to discussions. Attendees, sponsors, and speakers had a forum where they could be part of something bigger than their individual session. These people were the key players to the specialty chemical industry, they were representing how the industry actually functions on a day-to-day basis, and they were all talking together.

During the Q&A of the “Capitalizing on a New Market for Your Products” session a question was asked to the panel about the recent Gulf Coast oil spill and the panelist made some interesting remarks about inventive ideas for the clean-up and prevention. However what was really unique was a representative from BP stood up and said that she specifically came to the conference looking for answers to questions about the oil spill. Little moments like that make me realize the significance a face-to-face event can bring to an entire industry.

Informex will definitely be hosting a Specialty Chemical conference again next year, and would like your feedback about where would you like to have the conference, what time of year, what topics would you like to see presented, and anything else you would like to tell us. So send me an email and let me know what you think, jjessup@informex.com.

Thanks for reading.

Feedback is Golden

2010-05-11T13:28:07Z

As I sit on a packed plane on my way to Houston for the Informex Specialty Chemical Conference I can’t help but wonder….

Do you ever feel your voice isn’t being heard or your opinions don’t matter – every once in a while I have a funny feeling mine don’t. For example when I book a flight and there is a new crazy fee, or when my favorite french shoemaker discontinued the world’s best sandal, or just as I get hooked on a new TV series it gets cancelled. It really makes me wonder how businesses keep their audience happy. If you don’t listen to your customers what sort of service are you providing?

If we didn’t listen to our audience at Informex, we wouldn’t have a show. It’s quite obvious that in the chemical industry you need to be flexible and change as your audiences needs and wants change. The chemical business is heavily rooted in tradition, but it is also incredibly fast paced and constantly transforming. So to keep Informex a must-attend event we depend upon your feedback. It’s really your opinions that make the show.

We sent out a survey immediately after the San Franciscoshow to get feedback, and the results were really fantastic. The overall show satisfaction rate went up 15%, we had a higher presentation of people that said they were likely to exhibit again, and we had more people say they found good leads than they had in 2009. It really validates the show, and our jobs, to hear that our audience was able to conduct productive business.

We are also calling around to attendees and exhibitors and asking them for more anecdotal feedback from the show (so if a friendly voice calls and says they are from Informex, please talk to them!). The team has made about 30 calls up to this point and they report that people have been so gracious to talk with and that they’ve received very useful feedback. We have even had people returning voicemails, which is something that just doesn’t happen in most industries. The main trends we have heard so far: people would like to see more structured networking events, that we should have more chairs around for people to have a seat (it gets tiring walking around the show floor all day!), the VIP program was a terrific way to get in new buyers, attendees would like an easier way to find out what exhibitors are selling prior to the show, and that the showcases need to run more smoothly.

Any feedback of that sort is completely priceless to us. So speak up! Let us know what’s on your mind. Drop me an email jjessup@informex.com. (Hopefully one day soon you’ll be able to comment on this blog --- I’ll keep you posted)

Thanks for reading!

Informex Goes to Washington

2010-05-03T15:15:24Z

I went to Washington, DC this week to meet with SOCMA and the ACS. I work for UBM, just in case you would like to know another acronym. Little bit of background –

SOCMA: Society of Chemical Manufacturers & Affiliates. SOCMA founded Informex over 25 years ago and made it the single most successful US trade show for fine & specialty chemical manufacturers. UBM purchased Informex from SOCMA in 2005, and I had the fortune to join the UBM Informex team shortly thereafter.

ACS: American Chemical Society. The ACS is the world largest scientific association and publisher of Chemical & Engineering News, C&EN. C&EN have been our partners in producing the Informex Show Daily for many years, and they have a fantastic group of editors we have come to depend on as we launch new conferences.

UBM: United Business Media. Big media company – 5000 employees, 50 countries, lots and lots of trade shows, conferences, publications, PR Newswire, and online products.

I took the train to DC, which I love, except this time I got kicked out of the quiet car for taking a conference call. The train was really crowded, what was I supposed to do? Other than that minor incident and the people on the other line thinking I had fallen off the train as I walked from one car to another, it was a very pleasant trip.

I met Larry Sloan, the new President & CEO of SOCMA, for lunch as Smith & Wollensky. We had great big lunches and for a while it was nice to fantasize about being part of the political scene that hangs out in DC steakhouses. We talked about the upcoming Informex Specialty Conference in Houston, TX, which Larry is going to chair (check out his interview with Informex about Houston here), and the SOCMA Golf outing this fall. He is a pleasure to work with because he is so open to new ideas, new opportunities, and tackling new challenges. Larry arrived at SOCMA with a clear strategic vision and the energy to implement it. He respects the traditions that have made SOCMA a strong association with an eye towards creating new programs and services to strengthen the membership value proposition.

After lunch, pleasantly stuffed, I walked over to the ACS office. I had the address, but I wasn’t exactly sure where I was headed. When I got to where I thought the building should be I started looking around trying to gauge if I was in the correct place. When I looked up I saw in huge letters on the building, “American Chemical Society.” Right spot!

I knew the ACS was the largest scientific organization in the world (160k+ members), but I didn’t realize the magnitude of what that would mean for the daily operations. The ACS has two buildings in DC and about 2,000 staffers split between Columbus, Ohio and DC! Rudy Baum, the editor in chief of C&EN, came to escort me up to his office, and I was feeling pretty impressed by my surroundings.

I met with Rudy Baum, Ken Carroll (vice president of advertising sales), and Denise Creech (director of the ACS division of Membership & Scientific Advancement). Although Informex and the ACS have been working together for many years, there are so many opportunities for more collaboration moving forward. As the Informex brand develops and expands into new areas such as conferences, online and new geographies we need strong partners to guide us on what the chemical industry needs. What better way than working with two premier associations with an understanding of constantly shifting chemical environment?

Rudy was particularly excited about a recent interview with Paul Anastas, see the article in the April 26 issue of C&EN. Paul is one of the founders of the green chemistry movement, and was recently appointed as the new assistant administrator in charge of the EPA’s office of Research & Development. With his appointment comes a fundamental shift of not just understanding the problems and challenges in environmental health, but teaching people and companies how to address them. Very exciting times for sustainability policy.

The only sore spot of the whole meeting was that unfortunately, Rudy and Denise are Duke fans, and as a Carolina alumna that’s just not something I can get behind.

So be on the look out for new Informex/ACS/SOCMA partnerships!

Oh and Go Heels!

The Texan Wheeler

2010-04-22T18:31:06Z

It’s three weeks until the specialty chemical event we are putting on in Houston, and we are in full swing of the preparations. If you read last week’s blog you’ll know that our keynote speaker changed, so I thought today instead of my usual thoughts, I’d give you a little preview into our new keynote speaker, Wheeler Crawford.

Wheeler Crawford is a chemical consultant with over 40 years in the industry. He spent the majority of his career working for the Texaco Chemical Company, stayed on when it was acquired by Huntsman, and now he consults with everyone, on just about any chemical topic you need. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone more knowledgeable about the Gulf Coast region chemical industry than Wheeler.

Wheeler is also incredibly personable, funny, and considerate. He has no pretensions whatsoever. When asked how he wanted to be billed on the Informex marketing materials, he laughed and said, “Just put Wheeler, I’m informal, only used my title and PhD if you think it’ll help.”

After having spoken with him we are quite excited for his speech on May 11, so here is a little sneak-peak from Wheeler that I hope will get you as excited to hear from him as we are.

As always, if you have any questions or you’d like to comment, send me an email jjessup@informex.com.

What’s going to make a company successful in 2010 and beyond?

This is a two-edged sword. What’s up (or down) with the economy and what should we do to improve our business regardless of the economy. Recessions aren’t officially over until the referee calls time out. In this case the referee is the Business Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research. The NBER is the nation’s leading non-profit economic research organization. Its credentials are well established. They say it is premature to call an end to this recession. On the other hand Haver Analytics, which maintains over 550 databases from both government and private sources, says it ended last June. I don’t know who is correct but based on the stock market, things look rosier. My personal fear is the lag in job growth. When people are working they have income to spend and this drives the economy. Where have all the jobs gone and what can we do to jump start this? My other fear is the National Debt. Servicing this will probably require higher taxes and higher taxes have a dampening effect on the chemical business.

What should we do ourselves? We can’t afford to expend our energies worrying and wring our hands. We have to run our businesses. Stay focused on the customer and communicate with him, foster innovation in all our business processes and maintain our sales and marketing presence.

How does the specialty chemical market look in Houston?

I really don’t think that there are any differences here to distinguish Houston from the rest of the nation except my perception that we are a different breed. We handle adversity better and probably have an economy that is directionally stronger than that in other areas. Our State is pro-business which is a real advantage. We have to work to keep it that way. In the post-recovery cycle we should focus on customer relations, stress innovation in all our business processes, and remember that marketing is key. All else is a cost.

Why are conferences like Informex useful for the industry?

This is easy – COMMUNICATION and INFORMATION. No one can be successful in business, particularly in down cycles, if they have their heads in the sand. When an ostrich does this you know what is exposed. Ego sometimes gets in the way and we act like the emperor and his new clothes in the fairy tale. Conferences allow for a sharing of problems and solutions. Someone’s problem could be an opportunity for you. Look for opportunity everywhere. Mutual concerns call for mutual aid (within the limits of the law). Business is conducted between friends. Here friendships are made and re-enforced.

Conferences are an information gold mine, especially those with product exhibitions. Information on competitive activity is literally staring you in the face. Potential customers attend to see what is available. Everyone goes online to search but the serious buyers take the time to come and kick the tires.

One last benefit should not be overlooked. Conferences like Informex are cost effective in reaching a large concentration of customers and potential customers as well as a source of market intelligence.

Thanks for reading!

Conference Trials and Tribulations

2010-04-16T13:54:38Z

As some of you may have already heard Lee Mikles, President and CEO of FutureFuel, suffered with some health complications last week. We are very relieved to learn that he will make a full recovery. The reason I am bringing up such personal information is because Lee was schedule to be the keynote speaker at the upcoming Informex Specialty Chemical Conference we are hosting in Houston, TX.

Of course, I feel incredibly sympathetic for such a terrible thing to happen to Lee, but I also began to worry for my own reasons. We went from having a fully pulled together conference to missing one of the central components overnight. I immediately had to pull the brochure mailing that was about to go out with Lee’s name, and just let it sit until we could figure something out. Many of the marketing plans for the conference went from an excited buzz to a silent halt.

The next morning the team and I all got on the phones and started calling people we knew. We thought of several people to speak, but in such a short time frame the responses tend to be “sorry, I’m already booked for that day” or “if you’d only told me sooner…” I even ended up interrupting Tony Bastock in the middle of buying a new kitchen!

It was a pretty quiet Friday in the office last week when Caitlin Devlin, our content specialist, got a phone call from David Dusl @ ICIS magazine. David said that he had heard what happened and that he had a recommendation that he thought would be just perfect for the Houston market, Wheeler Crawford.

Caitlin had contacted Stephen Burns and Al Greenwood from ICIS to see if they had any recommendations of people to ask to keynote, and they had spoken to David who ended up calling Caitlin about Wheeler. (Got that telephone chain straight?) Wheeler Crawford has been in specialty chemicals for about 40 years. He began his career with Texaco Chemical Company and stayed with them when they were acquired by Huntsman. Currently he works as a consultant and professor of chemistry. There are very few people who are more entrenched and knowledgeable about the Houston area chemical market than Wheeler Crawford. He was the perfect candidate to fill our keynote slot.

Both Caitlin and I were just blown away by the helpfulness of the ICIS team. For multiple people to go out of their way to help us out was so moving. There aren’t too many industries where people would be so ready to lend a hand.

That being said, if you have keynote ideas for any upcoming Informex events, whether for Latin America, Charlotte 2011, etc – please let me know. We are always on the lookout for a good speaker!

Thank you for reading!

Basking in the sun while thinking about chemicals

2010-04-13T19:50:01Z

I was in Miami a couple of weeks ago to meet with UBM colleagues to discuss upcoming international chemical industry events. At home the weather was rainy and cold, but when I stepped off the plane in Miami it was sunny and 80°. I landed in the evening and never having been there before didn’t even realize that I could see the beach from my hotel balcony till the sun work me up the next morning. What a great way to dry up my sinus infection!

I met with two colleagues – the Senior Vice President of UBM Asia in Japan, Chris Eve, and the Managing Director, Michiel Kruse, of UBM’s offices in Singapore and Thailand. Chris is British, but has lived in worked in Toyko for 20 years and Michiel is Dutch but has lived in China then Bankok for the last 10+ years. We met to discuss the chemical industry event opportunities in Asia – Miami just happened to be the most convenient location for us to all be in the same room. In a setting like this I am always a little amazed that this is my profession. It’s so fascinating to be able to be part of such an international, culturally diverse business. I am really privileged to have the opportunity to travel the world and have really unique experiences. How cool is it to be in a meeting with three people who are from different cultural backgrounds and now live in different geographic regions? (I’ll count myself in this mix just because I am married to a Frenchman!)

We also discussed the upcoming events that my colleagues are working on such as Food Ingredients, in Jakarta, and Cruise Shipping, in Singapore. Ooh and a tropical fish event in Singapore where the exhibitors set up thousands of fish tanks (yes, there is a trade show for everything.) Other topics included flight length from Thailand to Singapore, time difference from New York to Shanghai, which government officials need to be invited to the ribbon cutting ceremony, and how many dragons is the right amount of dragons for an event in China.

UBM puts on all types of shows and events all over the world. Miami is where we met because Chris and Michiel manage Tissue World America, which was held in the Miami Beach Convention Center. I walked the show floor before heading to my meeting and was surprised to see an exhibitor whose booth was filled with rolls and rolls of half-moon shaped stickers. I couldn’t figure out what they were, so I had to ask, and he told me that his company makes the stickers that seal the pocket-size tissue packs. And he had just sold millions of them to another company from Argentina! Another exhibitor created the design stamps they use on rolls of toilet paper. It’s always interesting to find out what people focus on, and especially at events like this, how different their field is from my own. Plus the show was super-convenient for finding a new pack of tissues for my sinus infection!

Where to next?

JJ

Social Media Musings

2010-03-31T15:57:36Z

Lately social media has become an important focus at UBM. We have internal conference calls, chat boards, and brain storming sessions on how to better use digital networking platforms. We come up with great ideas on how to better utilize digital networking platforms. Plus it’s pretty fun to be encouraged to tag photos on Facebook and try to find new connections on LinkedIn for work purposes.

The blog you are reading right now is an example of trying to better connect to our audience through social media. We just need to get all of you readers to actually comment! I’m thrilled by the number of views on each post, but would love a tiny bit of feedback too…please?

You can also see Informex is much more active on Twitter and LinkedIn than we were last year. You can find our events on Facebook, watch clips from the show on YouTube, and see pictures from Informex2010 on our website.

Ironically though the best ideas we have for using social media come out of face-to-face meetings. When the whole team is together we are better able to feed off each other, express our ideas, and learn new things. There are some things that just don’t translate over the phone, like trying to explain Twitter.

One danger with social media is the temptation to get sucked in. If you aren’t careful you can spend hours researching who is connected to who on LinkedIn and asking yourself is this person a potential customer, speaker, employee? Plus it is so cool when you find acquaintances or friends are connected through ways you never envisioned. Hey wait, why is my old San Francisco neighbor connected to my sister-in-law?

I love social media, and I think it can do great things for the chemical industry, but it will never replace live events. There is always going to be a need to get together with customers, colleagues, and competitors. You can get so much more accomplished sitting together for an hour than through countless emails and phone calls.

So while you will be able to find us virtually through Informex Virtual Events, tweets, videos on YouTube, and connections on LinkedIn, come February you’ll always be able to find me on the show floor at Informex.

Thanks for reading!

The Beauty of DCAT

2010-03-31T15:57:58Z

The Informex team attended DCAT last week, which I always enjoy because the location is spectacular, the food is delicious, and I get to see so many people without the pressure of having to put on the event myself. Also, I love the DCAT gala dinner. It is nice to get dressed up once in a while. I feel very lucky to be invited to such a graceful event. It feels very refined to be in beautiful eveningwear at such a historic and lovely event in the Waldorf Astoria.

The format of DCAT is so different from the structure of Informex. For those of you who don’t know, DCAT first started with a gala dinner, and over the years has built in educational sessions throughout the week. Unlike Informex there is no trade show portion of the week. The business side of DCAT happens in private meetings set up in suites throughout the hotel. It is kind of cool / odd to knock on a private hotel room door to meet with a client or supplier in their suite. Has anyone ever answered the door in their bathrobe?

The Waldorf is a brilliant location for an event like DCAT. You can’t walk through the lobby without running into a familiar face, and there are dozens of little seating areas for impromptu meetings. DCAT also provides wifi throughout the building so you can grab a few minutes of email if you need to. This can be seriously helpful as a decompression tool after being in one intense meeting after another.

Informex on the other hand is set up to keep more of a public mass of people together for the entire week. We plan many social events in the exhibition hall so that attendees and exhibitors have the most amount of time possible to network with new contacts. Starting with breakfast every morning through drinks every night we cater to people staying together. We do have private meetings room, but they are situated within the same location as the exhibition, and usually on the show floor, so that as little extra time as possible is spent getting in and out of these meetings.

We encourage the exhibitors to stay on the show floor because you never know who is going to stop by your booth. I had an exhibitor tell me this year he had a CEO walk by his booth looking to do business. That caliber of walk-up traffic is what it is all about! We also host receptions most evenings so if you don’t get a chance to get walk the floor to network because you’re manning the booth all day there is still an opportunity to get out. You can walk around and chat without having to worry about missing anything at your own booth. There is nothing more rewarding than when at the end of the day the convention center staff is kicking people out because last call was over an hour ago, and they need to start cleaning up.

I am glad that there are many different event formats because it keeps things fresh, and different arrangements suit certain crowds better than others. What type of event do you like best?

Thank you for reading,

Fresh Beginnings

2010-03-31T15:58:24Z

Last week we opened registration for the first Informex Specialty Chemical Conference in Houston, and immediately after the registration system went live I heard a cheer go up in the office. We had our first registrant just seconds after the system was activated. Our staff was literally giddy to see our new effort taking off so quickly. During the InformexUSA show we get so preoccupied with tracking statistics from previous years that sometimes it is to forget how much fun it is to start something new.

Having the opportunity to put on a new type of event is really exciting. All of the sudden every attendee, speaker and sponsor feels like such a win. I love having the opportunity to meet new people, and to make new connections. Informex as a trade show hasn’t had an agenda driven by content, and launching new standalone conferences is a completely different challenge.

In a way focusing on a conference/networking event is very liberating. We don’t have to get involved with all of the technical details of a trade show – there is no need to subcontract electrical services , rigging, etc. In this instance it is all about finding the right speakers, oh and of course, choosing the right menu! Hmm, Texas, will lunch be strip steak, filet mignon, rib-eye? It’s all about the beef!

Choosing conference speakers is incredibly difficult. We are starting from scratch and don’t have a historical pool of potential speakers to choose from. And how do you know who to target? Sure, we would love to have the top chemist from the top chemical company, but can he/she really speak? Will the audience be captivated and want to stay after the session to ask more questions? We rely on your recommendations – so please don’t be shy! If you would like to recommend speakers for Houston, or for our breakfast briefings at next year’s InformexUSA in Charlotte, please let me know.

The conference has so much potential waiting to be realized, and I am pleased as punch to be putting it on!

Thank you for reading!

JJ

Join us June 3rd to find out why Charlotte!

2010-03-31T15:59:13Z

Since we announced that InformexUSA 2011 is going to be held in Charlotte, NC we have received many questions about how the location for Informex is selected. It’s rather a simple answer really, it received the most votes. We posted a poll on our website early last year to vote on the next location and Charlotte was the winner.

Of course, it’s not really quite that easy, we don’t arbitrarily choose cities for our short list. We give serious consideration to the options that are presented to be voted on each year. We also consult with our SOCMA Informex Advisory Committee as to where they think would be the best location for Informex. It's quite difficult to find an appropriate location for an event of this size in January or February!

So why was Charlotte on the list? Well for one, the state of North Carolina is the 4^th largest chemical producer. The only states with more chemical production are Texas, New Jersey, and Louisiana. Charlotte is also only 2 hours from Research Triangle Park. North Carolina boasts 528 bioscience companies, which employ about 57,000 people. Also North Carolina is one of the leading states in plastics, rubber and related chemical industries. For just those sectors North Carolina employs about 44,500 at more than 650 facilities.

However all of those things are just stats. If you are anything like I am you need to see it for yourself. So why not come down to Charlotte and see the city for yourself? We are hosting an exhibitor site visit on June 3^rd. The Informex team and members of the Charlotte visitor’s bureau will be on hand to show you around the city, and to help you to make plans for Informex 2011. There will be a tour of the convention center, visits to the host hotels, and a trip to the Nascar Hall of Fame, which will potentially be the site of one of the evening receptions during Informex. We will also have a lunch during which GES will talk about how you can save money on building your booth, and a cocktail reception in the evening.

See Charlotte for yourself, do some pre-show networking with other exhibitors, and let the city of Charlotte convince you that it’s a good place to do business.

Lastly, if you are going to be at DCAT next week let me know! I’ll be there all week and would be happy to meet up!