Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce:

Economizing 10 Share Trade Show Table

Columbus, OH - Sometimes it’s tough for small businesses to participate in trade shows because of booth space fees. But squeezing this expense into the budget didn’t stopped 10 local companies. They teamed up and rented one space together.

The trade show is an annual event for the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce. This year’s TradeShow 2002 & April Business AfterHours are one huge combined event that more than 1,000 people are expected to attend. But it costs $250 to rent table space. Although this amount is very affordable to larger companies, it can be daunting to smaller ones. So Moving Ahead Communications, a Hilliard-based marketing and public relations company “spread the word.”

“First I asked a couple of our clients if they’d like to join us. What if 10 companies shared space? It would only be $25 that way. How can you lose with that?” asked Diana Barnum, president of Moving Ahead Communications.

Quick calls to Mike Cook, vice-president of Copper.Net in Mount Vernon, Ohio, and Bobbi Sinn, Manager of Digerati Link Conference Centers in Easton, produced immediate results. Both agreed to be table partners. A mass e-mail campaign and a couple of calls later resulted in more than 10 other companies who wanted to participate. The cut-off was 10, though, as space would be tight at that.

“One of the table partners, Carol Swinehart of CKFS Web Page Design in Lancaster, Ohio, went to a trade show workshop just the day before being asked to join. She learned how to tier a table so that multiple materials could be displayed to advantage,” said Barnum.

Other partners are Karen Nemcek of Alearna in Columbus, Ellen Grinsfelder of the Inn at Cedar Falls in Hocking Hills, Maureen Mahoney of Latte' 2 a Tea, Karen Whitson of Bread & Butter, Senior Chief James Motley of Navy Officer Programs and Peggy Miller of Sunbird - Air Services, Inc.

The trade show was sponsored by PriceWaterhouse Coopers; Breen, Winkel & Company, LLP; and David Benjamin Meleca and hosted by Adam’s Mark Hotel.

Moving Ahead participates in other trade shows like MarketPro. If you’d like to team up sometime, contact them at (614) 529-9459 or visit them online at www.movingaheadcommunications.com .