To help exhibitors make the most out of their High Point Market investment, the High Point Market Authority is producing a series of three, informative, Internet-based symposia to deliver essential training on marketing.

Brian D. Casey, president and chief executive officer of the High Point Market Authority will draw on his extensive trade show management experience to lead “Exhibitor Marketing Basics on February 13, 2008 at noon. The lunch-hour conference call, which includes a PowerPoint presentation, will focus on how exhibitors can effectively drive traffic to their showrooms. A question and answer session will follow.

This webinar is free for High Point Market exhibitors, but space is limited. Reserve your spot today by calling Jan Wellmon at (336) 869-1000 ext. 221 to register.

Additionally, two webinars will be presented in cooperation with the American Home Furnishings Alliance (AHFA). “Each Spring and Fall, hundreds of journalists cover the High Point Market for newspapers, magazines and trade publications—all of them looking for ‘what’s new’ in the world of home furnishings,” says Kimberley Wray, vice president of marketing for the High Point Market Authority. “These online events are designed to ensure they find your company’s products among the more than 2,000 exhibitors in more than 12 million square feet of showrooms here.”

	Press Kits 101 Join us for a Webinar on February 12 The webinar starts at 9 AM and lasts for one hour. Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now!   Better Market Press Kits Join us for a Webinar on February 14 The webinar starts at 9 AM and lasts for one hour. Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now!

“Writers and editors who regularly cover Market say the best way to tell them about your company and its products is with a press kit,” relates Patricia Bowling, vice president of communications at AHFA, who has managed the High Point Market Media Center since 1999. “If your company has never prepared a press kit, or if you’re still new enough at it that you think you could use some pointers, join us for a one-hour webinar at 9 a.m. Tuesday, February 12.”

In this webinar, Bowling will cover press kit basics, plus provide some “insider” tips on how to get your press kit noticed. “By participating, you’ll find out essential information about product photography, scheduling Market events and post-Market follow-up,” Wray says. “Before you spend that PR budget, invest one hour and find out how to get the biggest bang out of every dollar you spend.”

Later the same week, at 9 a.m. on Thursday, February 14, Bowling will lead a more advanced session on these topics entitled, “Better Market Press Kits.” This webinar is designed for, and open to, both agencies and in-house PR professionals.

“Even companies with established public relations programs can hit a lull,” Bowling says. “In fact, the longer you’ve doing press kits, the harder it is to come up with something fresh—and the easier it is to slip into some bad habits. Do your press releases have the right focus? Is your photography getting picked up? Is your budget spiraling out of control with little improvement in media coverage to show for it?”

“If so,” Wray says, “plan to spend one hour with the PR professional who spends 12 hours a day during the High Point Market with journalists who are assigned to cover the Market. Pat knows better than anyone what journalists say about press kits, products, showroom visits, and press events. As director of High Point’s Media Center, she can help you bring a sharper focus to your Market press kits.”

“Together, the AHFA and the High Point Market Authority are able to bring insights from the industry’s media relations pros to our Market exhibitors” says Brian D. Casey, president and chief executive officer of the High Point Market Authority. “By offering free, webinar events like this one, we are continuing to invest in the success of all Market exhibitors.”