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Greetings!
January is a busy month for us at Bridal Shows, Inc.
as we are jumping into the start of an exciting bridal
show season! With the Dallas Bridal Show this
weekend, January 26-27, the Fort Worth Bridal Show
on February 23-24, and the Plano Bridal Show on
March 9, the next three months are going to be fun.
Customer Service is extremely important to us and we
want to do the best we can to respond to every call
and email immediately. However, around this time of
year that is not always realistic, so thank you for being
patient with us during this busy time.
We look forward to another great year of bridal shows
and cannot wait to see you there!
| Dallas Bridal Show Marketing Campaign |
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Dallas Bridal Show
Sponsored by Macy's
January 26-27, 2008
Dallas Market Hall
All of the shows produced by Bridal Shows, Inc.
receive the same attention to detail regarding our
marketing strategies. All advertising avenues are
critically assessed in order to achieve bringing the
brides to you! Advertising costs can be very high and
grow higher every year. We put your money
to work for you through extensive marketing
campaigns.
TV: Fox 4, NBC 5
Radio: 106.1 Kiss FM, 103.7 KVIL, 96.7 The
Texas Twister (Promotional Partner with "96.7 The
Texas Twister 20,000 Dollar American Bridal"),
107.5 Movin (Promotional Partner)
Newspaper: Dallas Morning News,
Quick
Wedding Publications: Bride & Groom
Magazine,
Dallas Brides (through Modern Luxury),
DWeddings,
Fort Worth Texas Magazine,
Modern Bride,
Perfect Wedding Guide,
The Pink Book,
Premier Bride,
Wedding & Party Guide
Websites: bridalshowsinc.com,
theknot.com,
nbc5i.com,
107litefm.com,
967thetwister.com,
movindfw.com,
dallasnews.com (Jan. 21-22),
guidelive.com (Jan. 23-24),
pmb.com,
scntx.com,
Many other vendor and industry websites
Billboards:
- I-35 E @ Loop 12 split (Lamar board) (up for 30
days)
- Stemmons Frwy ES, S/O Airport Frwy (Clear
Channel board) (up for 30 days)
- Thornton Frwy SS, E/O Ferguson Rd. (Clear
Channel board) (up for 30 days)
- Hwy. 121 SS, E/O FM 544 (Clear Channel board)
(up for 30 days)
- Central Expwy. Service Rd. WS, N/O Meadow St.
(Clear Channel board) (up for 30 days)
- Belt Line Rd. NS, E/O MacArthur Blvd. (Clear
Channel board) (up for 30 days)
- Central @ Forest, Jan. 26-27 (Dallas Daily board)
- Preston @ George Bush, Jan. 23-24 (Dallas Daily
board)
- Central @ Parker, Jan. 22-23, 26-27 (Dallas Daily
board)
Other: Posters
throughout the city at wedding
business locations, Email campaigns to registered
brides, Various Calendar Listings from press
releases sent out about the show
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| Dallas Bridal Show and the Twister $20,000 American Bridal |
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It is always an exciting time when a local media
source contacts us about wanting to partner with
bridal show exhibitors to create a magical wedding
giveaway for one lucky bride. Thanks to the
relationships with the media in the area as well as the
long-term establishment of Bridal Shows, Inc., we are
able to use these opportunities to promote the bridal
shows as well as individual companies.
Click here to learn more about the promo!
Thank you to all of the Dallas Bridal Show exhibitors
that made this possible:
A-Affordable Catering - Catering for up to 50
guests
Allies Catering - Catering for 300 guests
Beauticontrol--Just Say Spa - Spa treatments for
bride and up to 20 guests
Celebration Signature Plates - Guest book plate
and attendant gifts
Circle Park Bridal - Wedding Gown
Cole Videography - Videography Package
Delicious Cakes - Wedding Cake
Event Kid Sitters - Child Care and
Entertainment
Eventfully U Wedding Planning Services - Wedding
Planner
Femme Forme - Wellness Spa Package
Forever More Custom Design Studio - Custom
Wedding Invitation Ensemble
Heartsong Productions - DJ Service and Lights
Just for You Custom Creations - Album, garter,
pen
set, flower girl basket
Margaret Lake Photography - Engagement photo
session and 8X10 portrait
My Wedding Veil - Veil
Primerica - Financial needs analysis
Ruby & Jade - Earrings
Serenata Strings - Live music for ceremony and/or
reception
Simply Celebrations - Cake top, knife & server,
garter
set
Simply Personal - Save the Dates and Thank You
Cards
Threejays Carriages - Carriage Service
Timeless Blooms Floral Preservation - Bride's
Bouquet Preservation
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Naomi's Notes: "Be Proud of your Accomplishments"
by: Naomi Hulme |
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We have all heard about making new year's
resolutions now that the new year is here. This is a
good thing because it makes us look at maybe what
we didn't get done in the previous year that still needs
to be done. Even though we will always have a long
list that we are working on, there will be a carry over
from one year to the next for certain things.
The main thing to remember is that we did
accomplish a whole lot with that long list that
we had last year. Be proud of those
accomplishments, whether they were big or small. At
least you are moving forward. It always feels good to
be able to cross so many things off the list each day.
If we kept our crossed-off lists and could see them at
the end of the year, it would be amazing to see what
we completed.
Just imagine what the previous year would have been
like if you had done nothing-you would be way
behind, if you were still in business.
Plan ahead for making progress and check off those
items that you have taken care of. Get an "easy"
button from Staples that speaks to you and says "That
was easy." Don't look at your list as a mountain. Look
at it as small accomplishments and be proud!
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| Safety & Security: Before , During and After a Show |
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Being at a bridal show is an exciting time for everyone
involved. However, it is important to remember some
key safety tips for before the show (set-up), during the
show, and after the show (take-down).
We hope the following Tips will help you enjoy a
smooth and safe show!
- Careful Lifting.When you are in a hurry it is
easy to
get ahead of yourself and carry more than you can
handle to your booth. Put to use all of the things you've
ever heard about lifting with your legs, not your back.
Keep your back straight and bend at the knee. The last
thing you want to do the weekend of a show is throw
out your back! It is also a good idea to bring your own
dolly to carry the load. Just make sure your company
name is on the dolly so that it is not taken by
mistake.
- Have a tool kit and First Aid kit handy.
Although we will have the essential items at the show
office along with an on-site paramedic during the
show hours, there is
nothing like having what you need at arm's reach.
- Station someone at your booth and car at all
times. The best way to protect your possessions
is
to assign one person to stay at the booth, and one
person to stay at the car during set-up and take down,
then another person going back and forth between the
two.
- Be careful about hanging heavy items on
the pipe and drape. All the booths are connected, so if
a heavy object causes one pipe to fall, imagine the
domino effect that takes place over all the booths (one
of the many reasons it is great to have your business
insurance).
- Make sure all children are supervised at all
times. The Bridal Show can be a dangerous
place for small children, especially during set-up and
take down. It is best to not have children at the show,
but if you must have them there, please keep your little
ones close to prevent any accidents.
- Wear safe, well fitted shoes during set-up
and take down. Bring the extra pair of shoes to change
into--your feet will be happy and you are less likely to
sprain an ankle this way, too.
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| Wedding Professionals Business Conference |
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Planning is already underway for the upcoming
conference on November 19, 2008!
Take some time to read the following testimonial from
one of the exhibitors regarding last year's event.
I really enjoyed the conference because it was a
chance for the vendors who are normally busy with
brides at the Bridal Shows to talk with each other and
get ideas and helpful tips on how to market their
services. Referrals are a great way to get new
business, but if you don't have a chance to meet other
vendors outside of your specialty, how will you know
which businesses are the best to refer to your own
clients? I met some wonderful people, learned a lot
from the seminars and won a fabulous door prize!
The roundtables were very helpful in getting ideas
from our peers and experts on the subjects. Detective
Jeff Taylor was full of information on Identity Theft and
even brought me some extra information the second
day! Just the one seminar on Free Publicity by Jeff
Crilley would have been worth the money to get in. He
gave all of us some wonderful ideas and treated each
person he met as if they were the only person in the
room.
Your staff was absolutely wonderful! They were
very
accommodating and always smiling. They carried on
the show with professionalism and enthusiasm. I'm
really glad PicFlips was able to be a part of your show
this year. We were very pleased.
Save me a seat - I'll be there next year!
~Amy Kelly, PicFlips,
LLC
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| Dallas Bridal Show Events & Prizes |
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Listed Below are just a few of the exciting things
happening at this weekend's Dallas Bridal Show!
- Peter Merry, Author,
"The Best Wedding Reception Ever" will be
speaking at 12:30pm both Saturday and
Sunday
- Jorge Perez of Waterford Crystal will present "The
Importance of Establishing a Bridal Registry" at
2:45pm on Sunday
- Two Fashion Shows and a Grooms Cake
Decorating Contest both days
- Prizes include:
- 96.7 The Texas
Twister's "20,000 Dollar American
Bridal!"
- Diamond Ring from Dallas Gold &
Silver
- $600 certificate from Alfred Angelo
Bridal
- $500 Macy's gift card (one each day)
Tickets to "Tony N' Tina's Wedding" (two each day)
- First 600 brides each day receive "The Pink
Book" (value $24.95) as well as hourly
drawings
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Constant Contact: Protection from Spam Reports |
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For the past three years we have used Constant
Contact, an email marketing service, as our main
source for creating mass email campaigns. Through
Constant Contact we are able to send monthly
newsletters (such as this one), exhibitor reminders,
Bridal Shows, Inc. news and updates on events, as
well as coupons to upcoming shows to registered
brides. We have tried to take full advantage of this
efficient way to communicate sending out over
100,000 emails in the past three years.
Because of our success with Constant Contact,
we
regularly recommend it to our customers, and realize
that many of you have adopted this user-friendly
marketing technique as well. We are constantly
learning new things, and this article is to help those of
you that also use Constant Contact as well as those
considering it as an email option.
Junk email and spam mail are a part of all of our
daily
lives. Many of us spend time every day weeding
through the unwanted emails, filing in the junk folder,
and sending spam reports. Unfortunately this can
cause a dilemma for those of us in the wedding
industry. Many of us send emails out to brides that
have a specific use for our services. However, after the
wedding, the bride may begin to view wedding
related emails as junk and issue a spam report.
When too many spam reports are posted on an email,
your Constant Contact account, or possibly even your
web server could be in jeopardy.
Constant Contact allows 1 spam report per 1,000
emails, but what happens when the spam reports are
too high? Should 500 brides miss out on an email
because 10 choose to issue a spam report?
Speaking from experience, this can be a very
frustrating situation. It is difficult to prevent someone
from treating your email as "spam" even if they signed
up to receive information in the beginning, but there
are several things you can do to help prevent the
reports on your account:
- Watch the wedding dates: Keep track of
the wedding dates on your list. It would be a good idea
to develop separate mailing lists for different time
frames such as: "Sept-Oct 08 Weddings" and so forth.
Once the wedding date has passed, send out a
specific email asking the bride if she would still like to
receive information for future events or engaged
friends and family. Having separate lists will also help
you create more personal emails for your brides.
(i.e. "the wedding is only 6 months away, have you
ordered your invitations yet?")
- Soft Opt-In: This is a feature Constant
Contact offers to remind your subscribers about how
you got their information. You can include a short
message before the email letting them know why they
received the email and giving the option
to "unsubscribe" or "opt-in" to confirm future emails.
(some examples: "You are receiving this email
because we met at the Dallas Bridal Show and you
registered to receive additional information..." "Thank
you for contacting us through our website, this entitles
you to receive emails containing important information
and coupons...")
- Confirmed Opt-In Email The "last resort"
option is to send out an email to specific mailing lists
which requires recipients to confirm their wish to
receive future emails by responding or clicking on a
link provided. If the recipient does not confirm opt-in,
you may no longer send email to that address. Using
the COI email can greatly decrease your total mailing
list, but is the sure-fire way to weed out those that do
not wish to receive your emails (and are not reading
them) anyway.
- Call Constant Contact: In our experience,
the support team at Constant Contact has been very
helpful and patient in regards to questions about
protecting your account. Of course helping you and
your business is in their best interest so don't be
afraid to ask for help.
For more information regarding Constant
Contact's "Confirmed Opt-In" options, read the COI User Guide.
Limited Spaces Remaining!
The Fort Worth Bridal Show and Plano Bridal Show
are closing quickly with some categories already
closed. Please call 972-713-9920 to see what
opportunities are available for you in these two great
regional events!
The Fort Worth Bridal Show draws 700-1,000
brides
out of 2,200 attendees and usually hosts around 120
companies. Although the Fort Worth Bridal Show
draws brides from all areas of the Metroplex, the
majority of the brides attending are from the Tarrant
County area, making this a perfect event for targeting
that region.
The Plano Bridal Show draws over 400 brides out
of
over 1,200 attendees and hosts over 100 companies.
Although this is our smallest trafficking show, it has
gained a reputation for appealing to the high-end
bride and due to very limited space, closes out every
time.
Bridal Show Schedule
Dallas Bridal Show
January 26-27, 2008
Dallas Market Hall
Limited Space
Remaining
Many categories are closed and on a
waiting list
Fort Worth Bridal Show
February 23-24, 2008
Amon Carter Exhibit Hall
Limited Space
Remaining
Many categories are closed and on a
waiting list
Plano Bridal Show
March 9, 2008
Plano Centre
Limited Space
Remaining
Many categories are closed and on a
waiting list
Dallas Bridal Show
July 12-13, 2008
Dallas Market Hall
Fort Worth Bridal Show
July 19-20, 2008
Amon Carter Exhibit Hall
Plano Bridal Show
September 14, 2008
Plano Centre
New Posters Are In!
If you would like to display
our Spring 2008 Schedule Poster, email
info@bridalshowsinc.com with the
following information:
Your Name:
Company Name:
Street Address:
City, State, Zip:
How Many Posters Needed:
A sample picture of the poster is below.
Motivational Message
"Many a small thing has been made large by
the right kind of advertising."
~Mark Twain
Pack your todays with effort--extra effort.
~Thomas J. Watson
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