Always on My Mind: ABOUTFACE and Almost Everything Else in the World


Last month in my article The Greeks Had a Word For It, I mentioned that one of my favorite books was Homer's The Odyssey. So I was pleased when Oscar-nominated British actor Ralph Fiennes (Schindler's List, The English Patient) mentioned in response to the Proust questionnaire in the February Issue of Vanity Fair that his favorite hero was Odyseus, the principal character in The Odyssey. I wasn't certain if this was just coincidence, or whether Ralph has been reading ABOUTFACE.

So to continue on the subject of Greco/Roman mythology, I recently purchased a life-size photo of a statue of Mercury at the Getty Museum from one of Miami's top event photographers, Brett Hufziger, whom I highly recommend for any events you may be planning in the Miami area.

I just finished hanging the framed 40" photo over my bed as an inspiration for ABOUTFACE since Mercury is the Roman god of communications and commerce which also makes him a perfect icon for TSEA's MarCom Committee. So Mercury's photograph is the perfect segue into this issue of ABOUTFACE since the theme of this month's  issue is communications and the lead article is on the MarCom Committee's suggestions on how to improve your communications skills in 2012. So if you ever see OMG in any of my tweets, you will know that the "G" refers to Mercury.

Communications has many connotations. Some universities that offer communications classes have a somewhat obtuse definition of communications as "the sharing of symbols over distances in space and time" and offer classes ranging from face-to-face communications, how audiences interpret information, and the political, cultural, economic, and social dimensions of speech and language. Our communication issue somewhat follows their lead. We also look at one aspect of sharing symbols in Barry Siskind's report on QR Codes Can Create Greater Trade Show Impact.

As a former publisher of women's health and medical journals, I have been very concerned over the decline of print publications and whether there is a reasonable balance between print and digital communications for professional associations. So I invited two colleagues from Omnipress to discuss what Associations Need to Know about The Explosion of Online Content. Since there cannot be any in depth discussion of communication without addressing social media. I asked Ben Olson of MG Design for his recommendations on Essential Social Media Communications Strategies for 2012.

As we focus on the language of communications, some of us may overlook the importance of design as a critical communications tool in the trade show and exhibit industry. As Mark Aakhos points out in his monograph "Communications as Design" (Communication Monographs Vol. 74, No. 1, March 2007, pp. 112117) , "Design is a way to understand communication and an approach for investigating the social world from the standpoint of communication." So I invited Duane Hayes, the talented Creative Director of Echelon Design, to comment on Design as Communication.

Kubik is a name that you will see several times in this issue of ABOUTFACE in their Allied Member profile, and in Jeannine Becker's profile since she is an Account Executive at Kubik and a member of our MarCom Committee and our Mentors Program. Be sure to check her out her photo surfing in Hawaii.

Mike Hatch has worked overtime to produce updates on TSEA's Marketplace which will set the industry standard for virtual marketing, education, and industry communications all in one central location. Mike also has new details on the launch of TSEA's New Products Webcast which is our exciting foray into infomercials that makes Mike TSEA's answer to Vince Shlomi (the ShamWow Guy) although Mike is much better looking than Vince and doesn't talk as fast. Infomercials have been proven to be a highly effective inexpensive marketing tool which Mike has refined and perfected for promotion to our database of 60,000+ leaders in the trade show and exhibit industry.

We learned from the January 26th The Daily Whale that " During a press conference Wednesday at the Chicago Cultural Center, city officials and organizers of the G8 and NATO summits outlined the events that will place in Chicago in connection with the May summits. Officials said the summits will be the catalyst for several events around the city, including an international cooking program for CPS students, a series of talks on NATO and the global economy, hosted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, as well as a "dine around" showcasing Chicago's culinary scene. The city's theaters will also offer a special promotion during the summits. According to officials, the summits will be an opportunity for around 15,000 attendees to be impressed with the city and potentially spur tourism. "This will be our Super Bowl of meetings," said Don Welsh, president and CEO of the Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau. When asked during the news briefing how the city plans to deal with the large amount of protestors, Lori Healey, executive director of the NATO and G8 host committee, said, "We feel that we will be prepared for it."

Since Valentine's day is coming up. I asked Jessica Farlow, CMP, CTSM, our TSEA board member who is also our resident foodie, for her favorite recipe for Valentine's day. Jessica replied "They say the way to someone's heart is through their stomach, and I couldn't agree more! Which is why Valentine's Day for me, is all about a romantic dinner. My boyfriend loves when I cook for him so I recently surprised him with a fantastic dish from Giada De Laurentiis, Short Ribs with Tagliatelle.

The dish is a rich, creamy Bolognese-style sauce made with short ribs, served over Tagliatelle pasta. The best part though is that you finish this dish with shaved chocolate! My boyfriend, who isn't a foodie, was slightly skeptical about the chocolate, but after one bite he was in heaven! He liked it so much he ate ALL of our leftovers the next day without me! This Valentine's Day, I'll be making this dish again for him. It's an easy dish to prepare and the result is so impressive that your Valentine is sure to fall head over heels for you! " (Cook's Note: Place the chocolate in the fridge while you prepare the dish. It's easier to shave cold chocolate!)

Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo in The Artist

I was treated to a special reserved seat showing of the film The Artist by Elysabeth Alfano, creator of the new web series and talk show, The Dinner Party, a few weeks ago and the opportunity of meeting James Cromwell, one of the costars of the black and white silent movie that just received ten Academy Award nominations including best picture. James explained his reaction to being offered a role in a film that relied on facial expression and body language and would break every Hollywood rule for film marketing. The film serves as a powerful reminder that speech is not the only mode of interpersonal communications. Body language is also an important communications tool, something that we often need to be reminded of when training booth staff.

A 360° segue back to the opening of this column. In the Vanity Fair Proust questionnaire interview with Ralph Fiennes, in answer to the question "Who are your heroes in real life, the actor responded, "All the men and women who dedicate their lives to the well-being, education, and safety of others." That could easily applied to the TSEA members who volunteered for our Mentor's program, including Jennifer Lee who is our newest mentor.

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About the Author

Gordon Nary is Editor of ABOUTFACE
Trade Show Exhibitors Association