Podcast: Are Traditional Trade Shows Obsolete? 5/19/2017
This episode of the On the Shelf podcast was a little unique, as it was the pilot of a new series called Flash Topic, in which Timothy bush of TLB Consulting emails the participants three topics just 10 minutes before the podcast recording starts -- we had no other advance notice of what the subject of the podcast would be -- and then randomly selects one of those topics and that's what we discuss. I had the privilege of being invited to participate in this first one, for which the selected topic was, "Are Traditional Trade Shows Obsolete?"
In addition to myself, the other panelists included Tracy Hazzard, a product design expert, podcaster and Inc. columnist; Cairon Moore, a buyer for the University of Colorado's retail locations and regular ECRM EPPS attendee; and Salah Khalaf, a former Sam's Club buyer who has attended several ECRM EPPS meetings in the past.
Here are the full panelist bios:
Cairon Moore
After completing her MBA and moving to the US, Cairon owned and operated a successful restaurant in Central Jersey for twenty years. In order to find some work life balance she went to work for Rutgers University increasing their sales in Catering and Special Events by 1,166 %. Currently Cairon is the Associate Director for Campus Dining Services at the University of Colorado Boulder. She continues to do restaurant consulting and design work as well as Health & Life Coaching in her personal time.
Tracy Hazzard
Tracy Hazzard, Inc. Columnist and Product Strategist for Hazz Design has co-designed and developed 250+ consumer products generating more than $1 Billion for her e-commerce and original brand-building clients. She is the co-host of WTFFF?! 3D Printing podcast and the members-only Product Launch Hazzards podcast.
Salah Khalaf
Corporate and retail growth strategist and business development consultant Salah Khalaf has over 25 years of merchandising and operations experience in the retail and warehouse club industry. He most recently led the Supplier Diversity Department at Sam’s Club, where his business unit created solutions to meet the needs of the millions of small business owners that Sam’s Club serves. Additionally, Salah also served on the boards of several national minority organizations representing Walmart Inc.
Joe Tarnowski
Joe Tarnowski is VP of content for ECRM, a company that helps retailers discover new products and more effectively review and plan their categories across the food, HBC, general merchandise and pharmacy segments. He heads up ECRM's content marketing initiatives to engage current customers and drive new business, and has been in this role for just under three years. Prior to this, he had a 24-year career as an editor on various trade media brands such as Progressive Grocer, Convenience Store News, and Retail Tech.
