As a part of the workforce and financial sector, we here at Plastic Products see it as our obligation to try and understand our market and environment, even if it’s conversationally, through our blog. We’ve brought up a lot of business and marketing related topics, and offered recommendations on how to get the most out of your marketing efforts and budget, but this week we’re taking a little detour which we hope will help in our understanding of why our business realm works the way it does, and what philosophies and beliefs help drive a capitalist economy.

While the answers aren’t sitting right in front of us in a sign holder, and ready to be divulged, this week’s topic is a great starting point from which to address the impact of the American educational system on the business world and economy. In continuing our series on Education & the Changing Workforce, we pick up today with the question we posed on Monday: Who are the educators who chose not to adopt the educational philosophy behind America’s public school system, and how did they innovate the system to accommodate for new modes of thinking?

Read on for an overview of educational philosophies that reach outside the American mainstream, and are being expressed in the creation of charter and magnet schools, and a little thing called the “voucher system.”

Charter Schools

If an organization, be it a business or group of educators, believe they can make a new or established public school perform better under the same budget, they can write a proposal outlining their plans and submit it to the school’s board for approval to take control. There are many charter schools across the nation, and while most remain public, many have a private feel. In most cases, charter schools have lower student-to-teacher ratios and a cohesive educational philosophy that helps connect the dots between the various teaching methods that may be used.

For example, a charter school may eliminate the use of letter grades and conduct performance evaluations in person instead, with the student and his or her guardian present. Known for their innovative approach to learning, charter schools tend to produce more creative and freethinking students. Likewise, the charter school focus on thinking outside the box to achieve a goal has, in many cases, helped them turn around the educational success of economically deprived areas. In the end, while charter schools often have a private feel, they must have their students fulfill state and federal “standards” of academic achievement to continue their work.

Magnet Schools

Magnet schools are similar to charters in that they center their efforts upon a unique educational philosophy, but they are publically owned and operated. These schools are commonly named something “of the” something, e.g. “Cullen Ryan School of the Arts,” or the Sciences, or History. The goal of magnet schools is to educate students according to their strengths and abilities. For example, if you know your child is especially interested in the sciences, sending him or her to a science magnet might be a good choice. Since magnet schools are publically owned and operated, students are still required to fulfill the state and national standards of academic achievement that regular public school students fulfill. In turn, the curriculum of magnet schools, while rich in certain areas rarely addressed in public schools, is still holistic.

Voucher System

While the recently launched “voucher system” is not an educational philosophy or type of institution, it is still a very influential part of the American educational system. Vouchers are essentially checks that can only be cashed at schools. Every student has a price (the amount of money it costs to instruct that student per year), and that price depends on your school district. So, instead of the state paying the school if your student is to attend it, they pay you so that you can decide where you want your money to be allocated. A common occurrence amongst recipients of educational vouchers is the “cashing” of their check at a private school, paying a fraction of the much higher tuition, leaving the remaining funds to be paid out of pocket. The goal of the voucher system goal is to give parents more of a choice – to play more of a roll – in their student’s education.

On Friday, we’ll investigate the Montessori method, and maybe even address the future of our collective presence in the global economy, as older workers exist, and new workers educated in new and innovative ways take over.

Stay tuned!

The workforce is an incredible collection of once boys and girls who now dominate our all important financial sector. As members of the workforce, come in all shapes, sizes, and appearances. We’ve all got our own goals and aspirations. Logistically speaking, however, we all share more in common than our choice to work. We share somewhat similar upbringings, and, like it or not, we were all once students - students of subjects far and wide.

Well, in all seriousness, if you grew up in America, you might agree that our range of subjects was actually rather emaciated. It was, and in most cases, it still is.

Why a blog entry on education, one might ask? Fortunately (or unfortunately), there is a direct correlation between the direction of our American financial market and the way our children are taught, and, maybe even more importantly, what they are taught. It makes good sense that our present day children should be raised in a manner that sets them up for success, or something.

To do our part in addressing this issue, the Plastic Products Manufacturing Blog is announcing a series on Education & the Changing Workforce. Through a pair of plastic lenses (ha-ha), we’ll explore the connection between the changing global economy and American financial and educational systems.

The current educational system, which has remained essentially the same since inception, runs on the philosophy that students need a foundation in core subjects – mathematics, English (writing and reading), American History, and the sciences (chemistry, biology, and physics). The goal is that everyone knows or cares just as much about one of these subjects as they do about another one. In business language, this means: If you’re laid off, or if you need to switch positions, due to internal or external factors, you can procure employment elsewhere, in a different capacity, industry, or field. Example: Susan resigns from her position as a police officer. Because Susan is accustomed to knowing a little bit about everything, Susan should have no problem finding a position as a bank clerk, administrative assistant, sales rep, radio DJ, etc.

Yes, the current US educational system embraces the “American Dream,” the notion that any American, with a little determination, can accomplish anything he or she desires. Positive things can be said about this philosophy. It can even be held partially accountable for the millions of Americans deemed versatile, capable, and informed, due to their obtainment of standardized measures of achievement and success, such as a high school diploma, college degree, or good scores on the SATs. For businesses, these standardizations help streamline a portion of the hiring process; the attitude that candidates who have completed a standardized collection of “requirements” should have the requisite knowledge to perform the job is widely accepted.

Those are the positives…but there is more to it. However, before we try to explain the potential pitfalls of our current educational system, let us consider examples of those who have deviated from it – and succeeded.

Come join us on Wednesday, where we’ll be continuing our series by investigating American educators who’ve adopted techniques outside the normal scope, such as Montessori teachers, art school founders, and the like. We will also attempt to unmask some connections between the shifting global economy and the changing educational policy at home.

Stay tuned!

We meet again today to continue our discussion of new ways to advertise and market. In the last entry, we talked about how important print and digital content are to connecting your business to its community. Today we’ll show what it means to “contextualize” content, as well as give reasons why companies should make it a priority.

Here at plastic products, we know that anybody can do a fairly decent job of writing content - but very few companies today are putting their content in context. To put your content in context is to represent your business philosophy in your content. Moreover, with the sheer number of options consumers have when making a purchase these days, context is priceless and absolutely integral to success. It is no longer enough to describe a product’s features; you must be able to describe the product in its context, both in relation to your company, and your company’s target market.

Letís revisit our content example from Wednesday, this time adding some context:

Portland, Oregon recently saw yet another bicycle related injury this past Saturday. The cyclist father of four, Richard Madison, was riding in the right hand lane of southbound Harrison, a street frequented by cyclists of all ages. After signaling for a sufficient amount of time, a bystander reported, Madison’s left side was greeted by a large white sport utility vehicle. The bystander later added that the SUV, which was originally behind Madison, passed him before making a right turn. The driver of the SUV, a shaken Mr. Adam Stahm, adamantly believes he did not see Madison. Madison was seen to be lacking protective headgear.

We here at Midnight Rydahs are outraged by the perpetual irresponsibility of both Portland’s cycling and vehicular communities.  Cyclists must not cycle without headgear, and drivers must pay more attention to their surroundings. This outrage has thus fueled a campaign, spearheaded by Midnight Rydahs, whose goal it is to advocate the co-existence of cyclists and motorists, as well synthesizing and mediating community concerns to then demand policy change from our legislators.

While it is Midnight Rydah’s personal philosophy that protective headgear, while vital to security, cannot chiefly eradicate the issue at hand, we do offer a vast selection of headgear for both kids and adults. Headgear is also available from Zoom Zombies (next door to Plastic Products Manufacturing) and Falbags Sports Store, located on 7th and Harrington.

In the example above, the same content augmented with context is more effective, in terms of advertising, for the following reasons:

- Midnight Rydahs, in becoming involved with their community, will be branding their name with every person and organization they work with throughout their campaign. This both raises awareness about their store, and helps align them with a cause, which can make all the difference when a consumer is choosing a store to buy their next bike or helmet.

- Because of their effort to inform as well as connect with their community, Midnight Rydahs separates its bike shop from competitor shops by showing consumers they are interested in their well-being, and that of the community, and are taking action to prove it.

- In placing contextualized content on their webpage, they encourage visitors to engage in conversation and commentary. If the content were not contextualized, there would be little room for discussion. Contextualized content, however, starts the conversation by highlighting particular viewpoints and topics of interest.

Your personal contextualizing strategy will obviously depend on your individual market and location(s), but the idea is the same: you must let your customer know you are a company made up of real people. You must put a face to the company name.

Today, we continue our series on the often intricate world of modern day advertising and marketing. On Monday, we discussed ways companies can supplement standard advertisements with more content and context. Today, we delve deeper into what content and context mean, and how they can be applied in advertising.

Content

The term content, in the advertising market, is a piece of writing for public consumption. It can be anything from a press release, a bio, or a one-sheet on a new product. Content is a service provided by a company to educate customers. Whether it’s inside a brochure holder, on a company website, or on the side of a milk carton, content gives the reader (or customer) easy access to more information.

For example, say there is a store in Portland, Oregon called “Midnight Rydahs,” that sells road bikes and road bike accessories. The store reports on a recent cycling incident involving a friend, and they post a news article in their store, and on their website. The article might look something like this:

“Portland, Oregon recently saw yet another bicycle related injury this past Saturday. The cyclist father of four, Richard Madison, was riding in the right hand lane of southbound Harrison, a street frequented by cyclists of all ages. After signaling for a sufficient amount of time, a bystander reported, Madison’s left side was greeted by a large white sport utility vehicle. The bystander later added that the SUV, which was originally behind Madison, passed him before making a right turn. The driver of the SUV, a shaken Mr. Adam Stahm, adamantly believes he did not see Madison. Madison was seen to be lacking protective headgear.”

“We here at Midnight Rydahs are saddened to report another story involving cycling-related injuries like those Richard Madison sustained. We hope city officials and community members get more involved in the formulation of policy conducive to the health and wellness of its enormous cycling population.”

What Midnight Rydahs has done here is describe an event related to the product they sell.

Content like this is the first step in showing their customer base they are in touch with current events, and they have an interest in the important aspects of their market.

To continue along this path, Midnight Rydahs could regularly create content describing current events, and could make them available in print, in a brochure holder near the entrance and register of their stores. Equally important would be the placement of the content on their website or blog (obviously our favorite route). This both archives their information for future retrieval, as well as offers visitors the opportunity to comment, which, in a world where online participation is influential and informative, is a big plus.

Make sure to join us next time. We’ll define context and its importance, and we’ll make our “Midnight Rydahs” example context friendly.

Bad news: There’s a rather unfortunate epidemic reigning terror over our ever so important financial sector. Good news: It might be fixed with some brochure holders.

Surprisingly, we’re not here to partake in popular efforts to analyze the category five hurricane that is the recent state of the housing marking or mergers and acquisitions. No, today, in equal stead, we’re here to talk about how unfortunate it is that so many of our favorite companies and businesses take little or no interest in educating or getting to know their customers. It’s hard to understand why this happens when there are so many advertising avenues these days.

If it’s so easy to get a hold of your customers because there are so many new methods by which information can be shared, why are they wasting money and time by advertising unsubstantial content lacking context?

The epidemic is not too much advertising. The epidemic is too much advertising with little or no content.

Businesses seem to love the flow of money, but they are rarely keen on having conversations with their customers. Businesses should embrace the realization that they can, much to their advantage, advertise and converse at the same time, and, they they’re beholden to their customers. In turn, it is nothing short of obligatory that they frame their company to their customers in a broader context, whether they think the customers want it or not.

Throughout the week, we will be addressing the problem of business being disconnected from their customers and community, and recommend ways business can start and sustain conversations with their patrons.

The Problem

With the financial sector the way it is, consumers are becoming far more interested in answers to the question “Why should I buy this?” Still, most contemporary advertising campaigns are relying on the less informed, less educated, and more emotional aspects of psychology to drive sales.

The Solution

Companies can augment their advertising campaigns with more content and context in the following ways:

o Make public the relationship between your business philosophy and the product or service you provide.
o Become an authority in your market by providing commentary on your markets current events.
o Become more active in your community by sponsoring events.
o Encourage your customers to be inquisitive and provide feedback.
o Make available any conversations you have with you competitors, and draw public comparisons to show where and how you stand out.

The Methods

We’ll be talking about how these key points could be implemented through the following two advertising avenues:

o Print frequently updated and community specific brochures or newsletters and make them available to customers using brochure holders placed strategically throughout your venue.
o Internet blogs (!), press releases, forums.

Make sure and stop by on Wednesday to read a little bit more on this topic, and hopefully join the conversation!

In the world of advertising, if you can truly embody the adage that “good things come in small packages,” chances are you’ve probably done a nice favor to both your customer and your wallet (and perhaps the environment, too). While the value of large or extravagant advertising displays like billboards should be appreciated for the accessibility they offer, if only through sheer size and presence, if someone can get all the information they need in a quick and efficient way from an even somewhat smaller sign, a consumer may respect this smaller solicitation simply because it violates their space less than in-your-face ads. In turn, the key to this type of publicity is to effectively capture the importance of your message while not burdening the consumer. To that end, acrylic sign holders are not only convenient and resourceful, but also a cost-effective way to successful frame (both physically and cognitively) your advertisement or notice.

Physically, the acrylic sign holder is a sturdy and clear “device” designed to showcase your ad. This type of stand-alone publicity sidesteps the invasive nature of individual fliers or handbills, because it doesn’t lend itself to mass-production - which can be a very good thing. If you feel comfortable operating under the idea that “less is more,” the sign holder is a perfect way to make a message or advertisement accessible in a variety of locations: store fronts (indoors and outdoors), restaurant tables, waiting rooms, reception areas, informational meetings, or convention appearances.

However, the fundamental benefit of the acrylic sign holder is not so much its versatility, but its ability to create an aura of importance surrounding the flier or advertisement inside. While this may seem like a pretty lofty skill to be harnessed by a lifeless instrument, it is the human psyche that gives the simple piece of plastic such power. The idea behind this is that we are used to important things being presented to us in a way that makes us take notice. If an object stands out, we try figure out what it is about the object that catches our attention. This can be argued to be an evolutionary feature, giving humans the skills necessary to avoid danger, and forage efficiently. Fast forward to the commercial world of today, and the same aspect of human nature is as relevant as ever. All it takes is a framing device like a stand or a sign holder to conveniently say to a consumer or customer “this right here is something important.” The searching and pointing is all done for the viewer; the sign holder itself is recognizable as something that designates importance, so all the viewer needs to do is look at a flier, keeping in mind that “this thing right here” is something worth looking at.

In the end, you don’t necessarily need a billboard, a million handbills, or a brand logo on the moon (though I’ll admit that would be pretty cool) to get your message to a large amount of people, and still maintain a healthy weight to your wallet. If you use a device that surrounds your product in a way that makes the viewer understand what they are looking at is valuable, you effectively set the stage for a message well-received, and, the mass, height, and width of your display become less important.

As always, good luck.

Today we’ll be bringing closure to our series on making your display at a scientific conference a success. In the previous entries, we discussed the logistical aspects of attending a scientific conference and maximizing your results: how to make your poster and press release, how to get a good location, how to arrange your display and so on. Today gets a little bit more interesting and personal, in that we’ll diverge from plastic products and delve into the importance of being earnest.

We’re going to try understand what separates those parasitic presenters (you know those people: they capture your already-heading-for-the-bathroom-attention with a lasso made of guilt and far too much musk) from those really solid presenters who you leave feeling enlightened, comfortable, and like you got something for free when you shouldn’t have.

But first, why exactly are there good and bad speakers? In my opinion, it is purely because many people just have a bad grasp on the purpose of public speaking. There are various aspects of public speaking that must be taken into account for a speaker to be effective. Nad speakers may only consider a few of these aspects, and when I say consider, I really mean “butcher.”

Public speaking is considered by many one of the most terrifying experiences known to the natural world. Yes, in place of public speaking, many would rather watch “Rosanne,” or get stuck in that one dream where you can’t run away from the seven-headed spider spitting venom on the back of your heels. Fortunately for the masses, we’re excited to inform you that public speaking becomes far less excruciating as you know more about your topic, setting, constituents, and overarching goal. Let’s dissect these avenues with relation to scientific conferences below.

Your Topic

It is absolutely necessary for you to know everything there is to know about your topic. This not only includes your work, but also the work of other teams and/or competitors on the same topic, or within the same realm. As you present your case, you’ll only be deemed more reputable if you can place your work in a larger and more historical context. Therefore, you must know the background of your specific field of study, as well as the story of its growth and acceptance (or resistance) over time. Paying heed to these recommendations is dire, as one of the most notable characteristics of a poor presenter is tap-dancing around a sticky topic, due to being misinformed, and being unable to answer questions properly.

Your Setting

It is essential you are comfortable in your surroundings when giving a presentation. You must extend your personal bubble to include the entire venue of people, popcorn, and plastic products, and you can do this by gathering as much information about the event prior to its actual occurrence. Find out how it is being funded, who is running it, how long it has been running, and what significant events are connected to it, or have come to fruition as a result. If you’re traveling to the event, plan to arrive a day or two early, and take the time to get a feel for the layout of displays. Take what you’ve learned in the days prior to the event, and supplement it by actually doing your own “rounds” about the venue. By knowing the content of the other displays, you now have more content to contextualize your own work to your constituents. Finally, while you’re there doing your homework, meet and greet as many people as you can. It will help you later.

Your Constituents

Obviously, addressing your constituents is the most daunting of the three initiatives discussed in this blog. Understanding the goals and motivations of your audience may seem difficult at first. In this case, you must start from the top, and use your knowledge concerning the purpose of the event to create a blanket generalization of the people who are attending. From this point, you should be able to discover the philosophy prevalent among conference attendees.

For example, if the event is titled “Sustainability and Higher Education,” the majority of those attending will likely be members of the academic community, people who are looking to evaluate the scientific novelty of other institutions. Try and gear yourself up to accommodate the majority philosophy, but anticipate the presence of a minority group, as well. Continuing with our example, you may come across members of the National Science Foundation looking to preview new scientific trains ofthought. Moreover, you may run into members of very large businesses looking to capture the latest in sustainable business practices. Either way, be prepared to converse with anyone, from any background, with any philosophy. You must be able to frame your work such that it is pleasing to a multitude of different eyes and ears.

Your Overarching Goal

Know what you want to accomplish, and never give up. Whether you are attending an an event to bring recognition to a name, turn conversations into consultations, share useful information, gain prestige, or compete, let that goal influence your methodology. Nothing is more discomforting than an unguided presentation, one that meanders with no sense of direction, leaving the audience, and, sadly, sometimes the speaker, wondering if there is a point. Oops. Your constituents should know your purpose, right off the bat. Subsequently, your success depends on how well you understand their purpose for attending, your topic, and your topic in a broader context.

We hope this has been an interesting, informative, and fun series. If you happen to have any questions, please feel free to comment. Also, if you happen to have just gotten back from a scientific convention or conference, please let us know how it went!

Today we’ll be talking about scientific conferences again, and tackling press release dos and don’ts. As we started to mention earlier, the social dynamics of a scientific conference vary. Patrons of these events spend anywhere from ten minutes to ten hours walking around, and it is your job to accommodate these people and everyone in between. Because you’re not going to be able to talk to every single person walking by your display, you need to have something informative, readily available to hand out. The most efficient way to get everyone in that building to know about your presence is to exhibit your press release in an acrylic easel. Let’s go into some depth about what should be in your press release, how it can be used, and where it should be placed in relation to you and your poster.

The Press Release

The press release is a piece of paper that has every piece of information vital to the story of your display. Near the top, denote who worked on the project (save room by just writing your firm or institution), and the name of the specific conference you are attending. Your reader will be pleased to know that this press release version was specifically edited for this occasion. The press release should include an enticing and informative introduction that summarizes the goal and findings of your project, immediately followed by a logical outline of your projects various sections. You always want your press release to be double-spaced, and you never want it to be in an irregular or uncommon font, or go over one page in length.

Where It Should Be Placed

The goal here is to make your press release available to passersby, without making their acquisition a hindrance to your current audience. Do this by posting multiple acrylic easels on each side of your poster display, as well as one on a stand directly in front of you. You should be able to get a hand on a couple press releases without looking away from your audience, and your audience should be able to get one from you without interrupting.

How It Should Be Used

First and foremost, never hand your press release out to someone who is not interested. The press release is to be used only if someone comes up to you and asks for one, or if you’ve just finished speaking with someone and wish to offer them one. Someone who comes up to you for a press release may be insinuating they wish to hear your presentation, but more often than not, they wish to be left to their own. Let your text do the talking, but be quick to jump on any specific interest shown on their part. If written well enough, that is, if it is clear, concise, and complete, you’ll get the right questions from people. If you notice people asking questions you feel you’ve adequately addressed in the press release, you may need to modify it.

We’ll stop here for now, but our next entry will be a very important one along this same theme: How is the presenter supposed to act? Which situations are you, and are you not ready for? How forward is the presenter supposed to be? All will be answered!

Stay tuned.

Today we’ll be continuing our series on perfecting your display at a scientific conference. As you may have learned in our previous entry, integral to success at these conferences are three equally commendable aspects: your poster, press release, body language, and attitude. In this entry, we’ll be considering where one should place his or her poster, how one should arrange their various informative mediums, and most importantly how you want your poster to stand: on an easel, tacked to a wall, or hanging from an acrylic poster holder.

Once you’ve done your research, and finished designing your poster and press release, it’s now time to find out where you’re going to actually be presenting it.

Since rooms and venues vary drastically, your fantastically pleasing display may end up being placed in a rather uncomfortable position. Your first task is to contact the venue or coordinator of the event to find out A) what the organization is going to be like (if it’s going to be in rows, or along the walls of small rooms, and so on), and B) how the selection process works in terms of who gets placed where. Once you have this information, you can begin to prepare presentation techniques conducive to the flow of the room traffic. If you inquire early, you may even be able to request a spot very close to the entrance, which is usually the best place to be. Human attention span is relatively short, no matter how smart someone is, or how interested they are in a topic. You want to get them while their minds are fresh by making an early impression.

Many venues are very large rectangular open spaces; therefore they don’t have much wall space to accommodate those without methods by which to hold their poster. If you have no means to hold your poster, you have to either tape it or tack it to a wall. This is by far the most basic and predictable way to hold your poster. What you should try to do is be less basic and predictable. Stand out. The best way of presenting your poster is either on an easel or a hanging acrylic poster holder. An easel is always a safe bet because it takes the poster off the walls, and gives it depth. As you may or may not have read here before, when it comes to advertising to humans, the more dimensions you have, the better. Another notable strength of an easel is its ability to change slope. If you are in a place with bad lighting, you can move it up or down accordingly.

Surprisingly cost effective, one of the most productive presentation methods is the tandem use of wire framing and acrylic. The most notable poster displays are those enclosed in smudge and scratch proof acrylic, and held up by a customizable collection of wire framing. When you show your audience you care about the pleasure and accessibility of their viewing experience, there is naturally more motivation on their part to reciprocate by paying more attention to your display. Depending on the venue and placement availability, try getting a spot right at the front of an isle – then, use your acrylic poster holder to hold your poster facing one way, and the same poster facing the other way. Two displays facing in opposite directions will likely help attract more people to your cause!

Be sure to come back soon, because in our next entry, we’ll be talking about the importance of press releases in scientific conferences.

See you then.

If you’ve never been so lucky as to be one of those special attendees of a scientific conference, I can, with no hesitation, inform you it is quite an exceptional visual spectacle. Cuffs of colorful collared shirts kiss as hundreds of interested humans shake hands and share ideas. Everyone is compartmentalized into rooms or rows whose walls are comprised entirely of posters and poster holders summarizing weeks, months, and even years of data and hard work. Your purpose at these conferences is sufficiently prefaced with the theses of as many posters as possible. Minds of interested parties mingle about the posters, and eyes of wishful presenters examine the body language of said parties. Every party is a potential partner, a potential reader of a grant proposal. These conferences are, more often than not, makers and breakers of very powerful business connections.

Success in the world of scientific conferences relies on three things: You, your poster, and your press release. As always, it’s our goal these blog entries help you your colleagues go the extra mile for excellence. So, with the next couple of blog entries, we wish to outline some market recommendations for making an optimal and irresistible scientific poster display. We’ll be doing this by mentioning placement and ornamentation techniques, some behavioral dos and don’ts, as well as some reputable guides on poster and press release formulation and editing.

First, let’s jump right in with an overview of those three essentials, which will be presented in greater depth in future entries.

Your Poster

A formidable yet rather exceptional collection of information on everything from synthesizing your data to optimizing your images can found courtesy of Swarthmore College’s advice on designing scientific posters. It more than adequately describes the pivotal aspects of poster formulation, gives the pros and cons of specific editing software, and describes how you can doll up your images. What’s the overall message? When it comes to poster design, remember the three C’s: It needs to be clear, concise, and complete. After you’ve got your design down, the next major step is to survey your location, and find the most suitable poster holders.

Your Press Release

Included in your display is a press release - a one-sided piece of paper that logically outlines the findings of the poster. It is essentially just as important as the poster, because it is so common that convention goers do not have time to experience your entire display, much less speak with you about it. Even though it is just a one-dimensional piece of paper, the press release should represent the theme and nature your display, you included. When making your press release, write with the utmost clarity and brevity. Given its length and purpose, it’s vital to include information directing the reader to additional information.

You

Depending on what kind of scientific conference you are attending, you will probably be the only part of your display with a beating heart. Unlike words on a display, you have the ability to read, react, and change to specific people or events. Your poster and press release, though complete and thorough, are only the skeleton of your display. Before you go up in front of convention-goers, remember they more likely than not know just as much, if not more, than you do about your subject. You must have answers to every possible question on lock-down.

We’ve only begun to scrape the surface of this seemingly intricate subject, and we’ll be sure to continue next time with how to find the perfect poster holder to accommodate your subject, subjects, and setting.