Welcome to America - Understanding the rules and regulations of exhibiting at a US Trade Show
The outlook is positive. The global economy is rebounding and we are seeing a significant increase of inquiries from foreign companies eager to enter the US to participate in trade shows and events. What was once a difficult undertaking, filled with countless forms and red tape, has been somewhat simplified, and a full service firm such as BlueHive can help with the process.
Once the venue has been established and the exhibit property for the project has been designed (we have been doing some amazing custom rental exhibits), the next hurdle is to navigate the rules and regulations established by the US Customs Bureau for trade show participation.
Here are some of the recent regulations you should consider:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Securing America's Borders
CBP INFO Center
Trade Shows - exhibiting a product/ booths
What do I need to know about exhibiting a product, bringing or shipping supplies for a Trade Show in the U.S.?
If you are traveling into the U.S. to exhibit a product at a Trade Show/Fair, the following is a checklist of recommendations useful for the entry of the items:
· Official documentation showing date and location of the Trade Show
· Confirmation that you are an exhibitor
· Documentation indicating value of items
· Mark items "Not for Sale" or mutilate the items
· Contact the Port of Entry prior to travel
· Complete CF7523-"Entry and Manifest of Merchandise free of Duty" (For NAFTA Items only)
· Check with the government agency that regulates your product for any possible restrictions or required documentation
· Obtain the HTSUS code for your items
If shipping supplies and/or the value is over $2000, a Temporary Importation Bond (TIB) or Carnet is the best course of action. This applies to display booths or other items not remaining in the U.S. beyond your intended visit.
Information on Carnets, TIBS and the Trade Fair Program:
CARNET (click on the first link, "ATA Carnet", from this page)
TEMPORARY IMPORTATION UNDER BOND (TIB)
TRADE FAIR PROGRAM
Are the items prohibited/restricted?
Restricted Merchandise: Because CBP officers are stationed at all ports of arrival in the United States, including Puerto Rico, they are called upon to enforce laws and regulations of other government agencies.
A license or permit from the responsible agency may be necessary to import: Alcoholic beverages, animal and animal products, certain drugs, firearms and ammunition, fruits, nuts, meat and meat products, milk, dairy, and cheese products, plants and plant products, poultry and poultry products, petroleum and petroleum products, and vegetables.
There are also restrictions on the importation of certain trademarked and copyrighted articles. (For further information see Customs Publication No. 549 U.S. Customs and Protection of Intellectual Property Rights.) IPR Resources
Certain items in these categories may also be prohibited.
The following items must comply with applicable regulations of other agencies: Art materials, cultural property, hazardous/toxic/flammable materials, household appliances, some electronics products, and toys and children's articles.
Agencies that may regulate your product:
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
(202) 453-2260 (alcoholic beverages)
(304) 616-4550(arms and ammunition)
USDA Animal and Plant Inspection Service (APHIS)
(301) 734-3277 (Animal products)
(301) 734-8364 (Live animals)
(301) 734-0841 (Plants/plant products)
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Division of Management Authority (703) 358-2104
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Division of Import Operations and Policy (301) 443-6553
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
Office of Compliance 1-800-638-2772
Commercial samples
Temporary admissions
Note: Exhibitors may want to register items with Canada Customs in order to facilitate the return of the items to Canada. See Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
Jack Hally is Executive Vice President and Co-founder of BlueHive, a full service firm which specializes in the design and production of Strategic Brand Environments. Jack is a frequent lecturer and commentator on brand marketing and entrepreneurship. He has successfully launched over 300+ companies during a 30 year career. He enjoys lengthy discussions on global culture, food and history. He may be reached at jhally@blue-hive.com
This blog post has provided information about exhibiting in the United States. As the rules and regulation change on a constant basis, we urge you to double-check the information before exhibiting in the US. You may not rely on this blog post as legal advice.
Ferrari on the show floor? A 103" monitor? – No problem for BlueHive!
BlueHive recently had three custom exhibits at the RSA Conference at Moscone Center in San Francisco the end of February. Akamai Technologies, Juniper Networks and Kapsersky Lab all exhibited at this Conference with some exciting exhibit components, cool technology and leading booth props. The target audience at this event is made up of security professionals from all around the world. Senior executives, VP's, directors, team leaders and IT/IS professionals all attend the RSA Conference.
Akamai Technologies used their custom double deck structure with private conferencing on the second floor and some high end technology on display, yes a 103" monitor to demonstrate on in the theatre area.
Kaspersky Lab this year had a Formula 1 race car on display, which they have been sponsoring for some time now, representing this years theme of "fast" growing security and "award winning security solutions'.
Juniper Networks displayed some advanced technology on a KAON monitor. The KAON is a great way to clearly demonstrate their product and save space on the show floor rather than shipping large pieces of equipment. Their exhibit was wrapped in cool vinyl graphics that showed off their new brand messaging.
Worcester's Rocket Man - On the anniversary of the world's first liquid-fueled rocket launch
We all gathered around the RCA console television that occupied the living room in my grandmother Irene’s small in-law apartment at my childhood home on Jefferson Drive...."Absolutely amazing" she declared, her eyes fixated on the small black and white image that held her bewildered and breathless. She spoke of her childhood and her brothers stories of flying machines during the war in France, the Hindenburg which had flown over Denholm’s department store that autumn day and the romantically inspired flight of Charles Lindbergh. And here we were, a generation of family gathered on this warm summer's day to share an event being broadcast to the world. “One small step for man and one giant step for mankind". Yes. A man was on the moon. And millions of breathless people were there, step by step with Neil Armstrong.
I often think of this day. The memory remains strong and always will. And especially proud was I, for I was from Auburn Massachusetts. A small suburb of Worcester and we were famous for one thing and one thing only. We were the Kitty Hawk of the space age. It was in my town, actually 2 miles from my childhood home that a single man’s lifetime of work and imagination led to those historic steps. He was Robert Goddard. And he would forever change the history of modern flight.
Robert Goddard was a Clark University professor and physicist who launched the world’s first liquid-fueled rocket on March 16, 1926 at his Aunt Effie's cabbage patch on Packachog Hill in Auburn. The flight lasted just 2.5 seconds, reaching an altitude of 12.3 meters and landing (crashing, actually) 55.2 meters from the launch site.
Goddard’s flight and subsequent work received little notice and much criticism during his lifetime. In 1920, prior to his historic flight, the Smithsonian Institution published Goddard's paper on rocket concepts, "A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes." Towards the end of his article, Goddard began to hint at his thoughts for the future by detailing his plans for launching a small, unmanned rocket that would be sent to Earth's Moon, wherein it would strike the surface and explode its payload of flash powder, so that observers with telescopes could see where the rocket had landed. Goddard suddenly found himself ridiculed by the press. The prestigious New York Times dismissed Goddard's ideas and said that he didn't even possess an elementary knowledge of physics.
Luckily, aviator Charles Lindberg took an interest in Goddard's concepts and decided to help finance his work on rockets. Lindberg also convinced philanthropist Daniel Guggenheim to help fund Goddard and move his entire operation to Roswell, New Mexico. There, Goddard could test his new developments in the comparative safety and peace of the wide open desert.
Despite all this work, Goddard and his rockets were generally unknown to the American public, and many of his ideas went unrecognized until several decades after his death in 1945. Ironically, his ideas did not go unnoticed by the Germans, particularly Wernher von Braun who took Goddard's plans from various journals and incorporated them into building the A-4 series of rockets--better known as the V-2--which constantly struck at Europe in the last two years of World War Two. The Army also adopted only one major and direct facet of Goddard's concepts in his lifetime, the antitank weapon known as the bazooka. Eventually, the United States Patent Office would posthumously recognize 214 patents in all for various rocket designs invented by Goddard. Every liquid-fueled rocket that flies is based on Goddard's original innovations.
So the next time you glance into space, think of Robert and his contribution to science and mankind’s quest for exploration. He was Worcester’s dreamer. He was our Rocket Man.
This is a link to a very cool time lapse video taken from the space station. I hope that you like it as much as I did.
Earth | Time Lapse View from Space, Fly Over | NASA, ISS from Michael König on Vimeo.
Jack Hally is Executive Vice President and Co-founder of BlueHive, a full service firm which specializes in the design and production of Strategic Brand Environments. Jack is a frequent lecturer and commentator on brand marketing and entrepreneurship. He has successfully launched over 300+ companies during a 30 year career. He experienced the thrill of an Apollo launching at the Kennedy Space Center in 1970 and he loves a full moon. He may be reached at jhally@blue-hive.com .
Biographical information courtesy of Wolfram Research.
BlueHive Announces Hive Madness. Bringing Excitement to the Trade Show and Retail Community.
GAME ON, FRIENDS! Hive Madness is here and you don't want to miss the buzzer! BlueHive, one of the nation’s fastest growing full-service firms specializing in the design and production of trade show exhibits, retail spaces and corporate environments announces the launch of Hive Madness. The first comprehensive 2012 NCAA Men’s basketball bracket competition, open to members of the trade show and retail industry.
We recognize that the excitement of the 2012 NCAA man’s basketball tournament mirrors the dynamic and energetic personality of BlueHive” explained Paul Hanlon, President of BlueHive, “and we wanted to share this winning karma with our clients and friends”.
This fully automated, easy to use bracket compliments our recently re-launched website” adds Jack Hally, Executive Vice President, “We have far exceeded our initial web and social networking expectations, building a dynamic and expansive BlueHive community in such a brief period of time. It is truly amazing and we wanted to give the friends of the Hive something fun to “buzz” about”.
The competition is open to all qualified members of the trade show and retail industry. Please see the Hive Madness rules. The prizes for this year’s competition include:
Grand prize: American Express Gift Certificate ( $500.00)
Runner-up: Apple iPad (16 GB with wifi)
Third Place: Beats by Dr. Dre – Studio Edition Over-the-Ear Headphones
LAST Place: Basketball autographed by the employees of BlueHive
Play for fun, bragging rights or school pride. No matter the reason, everyone has a shot to win exciting prizes! Ready?
Once registered, we'll send you a link to your brackets. No worries, even if you have no clue how to choose brackets, you have NOTHING to lose. Entering this contest is completely free!
The bracket submission goes live on March 11, 2012 with a deadline of March 15th, 2012 at noon. The 2012 Final NCAA Game will take place on April 2 in New Orleans.
Bee bold! Bee daring! Bee successful!
On any given day you can walk through our facility and it will bee buzzing with activity. One of the busiest and most interesting sections is our 40,000 sq.ft. state-of-the-art production studio. This is where our skilled cabinet makers, carpenters and finishers take our custom designed strategic environments from blue print form to an architectural reality. Whether they are producing a branded trade show exhibit, retail environment, corporate interior or food service area one of the first things you will notice is the diversity of the materials that our production staff works with everyday.
The standard woods range from birch, oak, pine, and ash; there are hundreds of laminates and veneers with different grades and finishes, solid surfaces of natural and synthetic stones, aluminum and stainless steel metal fabrication, upholstery and tension fabrics, glass and acrylic sheet goods. Our 3D designers are constantly researching new materials that not only enhance our designs but that address sustainability for the betterment of our environment.
One of the new materials we've been working with is 3form. Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, 3form is the leading manufacturer of award-winning, eco-friendly materials and architectural hardware solutions. Their innovative 3form Varia system uses ecoresin to encapsulate color, organic materials, and textures to translucent resin panels that we are able to incorporate in many of our design concepts.
Here are some examples showing the 3form product utilized in different applications:
And here're a few examples showing them at work for our clients:
Over the years, BlueHive has developed strategic relationships with multiple vendor partners that inspire us with innovative materials and services. We value and appreciate all of them. Keep up the great work.
Generating leads through Twitter is a difficult act to balance – on one hand Twitter focuses on allowing individuals to choose what they want to follow, which can make them unreceptive to sales trickery, and on the other hand people who have chosen to follow you have already expressed an interest in your product.
The first thing to realize when using Twitter is that a successful application of the tool involves expending some time. It is not hard to start a Twitter account but if you want people to use it and track your business ideas, then you need to make it good. Concise (what else can you be with 140 characters?), witty writing, interesting image links and regular input will all affect the end result.
For a trade show, generating leads through Twitter has its own nuances. For starters, there are specific Twitter channels which follow this medium - #TradeShowName being the most obvious example. If your company is represented in such sources it increases brand awareness and the chances of potential clients coming across your product or booth.
Twitter is a conversational marketing tool, one that if used correctly, can reach a wide audience.
What to do before a show?
Before a show, build up a dialog with your followers and reply to their tweets. It is imperative that you use the medium to draw people to your exhibit. Of course, first you need to organize attractive events at your booth, but you were doing that anyway, right?
Emphasize in a positive language the exciting discoveries they will make if they stop by your exhibit. Give your customers good reasons to visit your booth, such as games, competitions, give-aways – anything to hook them in! Remember, everyone exhibiting is doing the same thing. Be sure to stand out by enticing your audience with your latest product offerings and how your products will make a difference in your prospect's life. Don't oversell and be sure to give your booth location so they can find you more easily on the crowded floor.
What to do when at the show?
At the show itself, make sure you entice visitors to follow you on your social media platforms. Encourage prospects and customers alike to stop by your booth to say Hello. Perhaps offer a prize to one lucky new follower. Update your feeds frequently, always hashtagging the show itself.
The follow-up.
Frequently comment on presentations, discussions, demonstrations and games that took place in the booth to draw people into a conversation and inform them of upcoming product launches, events etc. Don't wait til the show is over. Start following appropriate people who have stopped by your booth. It is a clear message that you respect them and will encourage their future business.
As the global usage of social media increases so does the potential for business networking and increasing your client base. Generating leads through Twitter uses similar skills to other forms of marketing and promotions; it just tweaks them for a new medium. As with any new method of communicating, the key is not to be left behind.
How do you use Twitter for your business?
Retail businesses always bear the brunt of changing economic environments, consumer tastes and the technological advances forcing it to find innovative ways to remain successful. They also need to retain competitive edge over the rival businesses. This has resulted in retail marketing leaders pinning their hopes of success on ingenious marketing ideas.
The popularity of internet based communication is a key driver of innovative marketing in general; but in the arena of retail marketing, latest trends for 2012 suggest that they are to play a crucial role in determining future course. This is seen in the popularity of smartphones and the deep impact of social networking media that have opened up new horizons in retail marketing techniques. Location based apps are the best examples of how technology is being used to attract customers to their premises.
Mobile technology is surely going to play a pivotal role in setting new trends. Many retailers are deploying new apps to enhance the user experience. For example, mobile apps are provided with scanning facility integrated with the retailer's system. Contactless payment is yet another example of how mobiles are offering new conveniences to the customers and adding to their shopping experience. Many reputed chains have already introduced this concept technology and moving to expand it in 2012 in a big way.
Location based apps will bring more customers to the retail branded environments whenever they are near them by sending them targeted messages about their favorite stores or products. Retailers are benefiting from the cost effective reach to customers whenever they have special offers by integrating with Geo-location based apps. Google Shopper is yet another technology that accepts barcodes or product names as input and comes out with reviews and best prices for the product.
Coming to social media based technologies in retail marketing, latest trends show a great deviation from standard marketing tools towards community based "word of mouth" advertisements offering cost benefits, Not only your community knows what you are buying and where, the feedback helps the retailers to get greater exposure to public. Naturally, many retail marketers are actively involved in building advertisement plans in social media platforms.
It is estimated that 97% of people stay connected through their mobiles all the time, retailers have realized the immense value in introducing marketing automation with new tools available for targeted messages which customers perceive as great value addition and build a strong brand loyalty.
Are you looking to revamp your current retail space? Check out a quick seclection of various animations of retail and corporate interiors we have been involved in.
I can still recall that feeling. Deep in the pit of my empty stomach. I was numb. It was February 14, 1970. That cold, dreadful morning when everyone was forced to line up around the neatly organized room which was Mrs. Smith’s 4th Grade class at the Mary D. Stone Elementary School. Single file, eyes straight ahead, we would march through the room depositing small 4x4 cards on the desks of friends, class acquaintances and the ones that “we knew from afar”. White envelopes with crayon names containing the likenesses of Snoopy, Scooby Doo and the baby with the arrow were scattered in piles across each desk. Was my pile big? Or small :( Oh my God. Did the pretty girl with the curly brown hair and the shy smile remember me? Did she even know my name? Yes. It was Valentine’s Day.
V-Day. The day of fear and hope for any 10 year old boy. The day when a tender life could forever be changed through the act of one simple card, a chocolate kiss or small candy heart. The air in the classroom that day was electric. A compilation of raw emotions. Some panic, much embarrassment and maybe that first warm glow of love. I will never forget that day. Never.
So you may ask, how did this glorified and much commercialized ritual of love and life begin? Who can we thank? Thank Esther. Esther Howland.
From Wikipedia we learn that "Esther Howland was an artist and Worcester businesswoman who was responsible for popularizing Valentine’s Day greeting cards in America. After her graduation from Mount Holyoke College in 1847, Howland received an ornate English Valentine from a business associate of her father when she was 19 years old. Intrigued with the idea of making similar Valentines, she began her business importing paper lace and floral decorations from England. Her father operated the largest book and stationery story in Worcester, Massachusetts and ordered supplies for her project. She made a dozen samples which her salesman brother added to his inventory for his next sales trip. Hoping for $200.00 worth of orders, she was elated when he returned with over $5,000 worth of business for her. Howland employed friends and developed a thriving business in Worcester, Massachusetts using an assembly line Her valentines became renowned throughout the United States and she was called "The Mother of the American Valentine." Her business eventually grossed over $100,000 per year, a considerable sum for that time, and she eventually sold the business in 1881 after many successful years."
So on this Valentine's Day, I offer this challenge to you. Yes, you! The world is full of lonely and forgotten people. They are all around us. Say hi to a neighbor. Remember the elderly. Go forward and make someone’s day with card or maybe two. And think of Esther. And what she has done to shape our lives and emotions.
Jack Hally is Executive Vice President and Co-founder of BlueHive, a full service firm which specializes in the design and production of Strategic Brand Environments. Jack is a frequent lecturer and commentator on brand marketing and entrepreneurship. He has successfully launched over 300+ companies during a 30 year career. He loves homemade cards and pink candy hearts. He may be reached at jhally@blue-hive.com
Wondering how social media and trade shows can interact to help your business?
Simply put, social media can enhance your trade show investment and give you more material for post-trade show interaction with potential clients. Here's how it works.
The Build-Up
You can't expect to neglect social media up until the trade show and then get any benefit from it. Develop a social media plan for your business to generate contacts. You can do this through a blog, Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, or other social media venues, but you need to build up a substantial following.
To do this, you could produce daily blog posts that elicit interesting comments from followers. When you respond to these comments, you build a genuinely social relationship with potential clients. Once these clients trust you, they'll be interested in receiving more information from you.
One to two months before the trade show, begin posting information about your exhibit at the trade show. Tweet about incentives and promotions, introduce people who will be at the booth, and provide a map so they can find you.
At the Show
You've used social media to attract people to your booth at the trade show. How do you use social media now?
Use Twitter and Facebook to post what's going on at your booth. Post pictures of the event, including interesting people and displays. Ask visitors if they'd mind being interviewed on video, and post these interviews to YouTube. Of course, you'll also post these videos to your blog later on.
It's a good idea to have someone back at the office monitoring all social media and replying to feedback and comments from your followers. You may not be able to keep up with everything from the booth.
After the Show is Over
Use your blog to report on the trade show. Perhaps you made some interesting contacts at the show that your followers would like to "meet." Share photos of the trade show on Facebook and Flickr.
The show itself can be fodder for your blog for weeks afterward if you're smart and mine it well. Tell about the prizes you gave out and the people you gave them to. Solicit feedback from visitors to your booth, asking what worked well and what they would like to see next year.
Remember that social media and trade shows can work hand in hand to better your company's PR.
2012- Welcoming Trade Shows to Boston
I travel a lot. Yes, way too much. And always have. As a Boston-based veteran of the trade show industry, I have spent the majority of my 30 year career flying coast to coast and circling the globe to support client projects of every size, scope and vertical market. Given my amount of travel, I was always amazed that very few trade show projects actually occurred in my own backyard.
For as long as I can remember Boston has been a second tier trade show city, struggling to gain its identity and position within the competitive landscape of stalwart event destinations such as Las Vegas, Chicago and Orlando. Well that perception is about to change.
According to a recent Boston Globe article: “The Boston Convention Center Authority reported last month that 2012 will be its best year since 2007, with booked conventions expected to generate more than 600,000 hotel room stays for the first time in five years.
The banner convention year shows that not only are meeting planners holding more events as the economy improves, but also that the seven-year-old Boston Convention & Exhibition Center is coming into its own, said James Rooney, executive director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority.
“There’s a pattern in this industry in which these events will wait a few years to book into a city with a new center, just to see how others experience works out,” he said. “It’s almost like restaurant behavior: You kind of wait for someone else to try it. “
Among the events coming to Boston next year is the BIO International Convention, the largest biotechnology conference in the world, which was last held in Boston in 2007. Next year’s conventions are expected to generate $625 million in economic activity, according to the convention authority.”
So we welcome you to Boston. We invite you to visit our historic city. Take in our culture and enjoy the seafood which has made us famous. And yes, we invite you to contact BlueHive regarding any exhibit requirements (check out our amazing custom rental trade show program, on-site support or last minute graphics. As for me, I’m looking forward to putting away my suitcase for a while. Yes, Boston is my home.
Jack Hally is Executive Vice President and Co-founder of BlueHive, a full service firm which specializes in the design and production of Strategic Brand Environments. Jack is a frequent lecturer and commentator on brand marketing and entrepreneurship. He has successfully launched over 300+ companies during a 30 year career. He enjoys walking the Boston Public Garden in spring and an evening game at Fenway. He may be reached at jhally@blue-hive.com.