They had been using an ad agency that did good work, yet were consistently overpriced and late with projects. When I first sat with their VP of Communications - Steve - I asked him 'why' he had stuck with the group. The answer was 'fear'. The agency had strong relationships with the press. Saab Management felt if they pulled the account media exposure would decline. I didn't buy into that vision. I spent the next year creating tangible reasons for Saab to shift their perspective. It worked. My group started publishing Saab's owner magazine — SOUNDINGS — which was the beginning of a fantastic business relationship. We then moved onto developing Saab's web site, and ultimately delivering a full blown media campaign to support the launch of a new model year (see a sample of one of the videos we produced below). Nine years of trust, respect and great work (and the press loved us too).

As group show director for Advanstar Communications electronic commerce events, Rich was looking to showcase the capabilities of the Web to his potential customers. It not only had to be a Web site that was functional for its purpose — promoting trade shows and conferences — it had to break new ground. We connected with him to determine exactly what that meant, three things emerged:
   ► We had decrease his tradeshows dependence on printing/postage.
   ► We had to extend exhibitor market reach.
   ► We had to enhance the user experience for attendees.

Less than two months after starting we had the industry's leading web site up and running. 75% of exhibitors logged in to create their virtual booth. Nearly every one of them downloaded the documents they needed directly from the web. And a fair amount of attendees created an online itinerary to better manage their time on the show floor. Keep in mind this is back in 1996, when this type of stable web functionality simply didn't exist. As Rich put it - "These days, most anyone can put together a web site. But few can realize, and add to, a client’s vision". Over the years we've created direct mail campaigns and websites for 45 of the countries top tradeshows (see partial portfolio below).

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