Arianna O'Dell

People would rather read about your misery than happiness. Maybe that sounds harsh, but face it – it’s true.

For this reason, I usually blog about the bad things that have happened on my trip instead of posts about what went right.Think about it, how boring would it be if I wrote a post that went like this:

Today was lovely, I had a nice breakfast, I went to the beach, then I took a nap…..blah, blah, blah. I know I wouldn’t bother to read a post about that.

For the amount of bad things I have had happen on my trip, the amount of good has surely surpassed the negative. Yes, I have had breakdowns on the trip and yes, many things didn’t go as planned, but overall the whole trip has been worth it and I have learned a lot about myself.

What have I learned?

Things can always be worse – “Someone pulled a knife on me in Prague!” another traveler told me today. “My passport and visa were stolen!” and even, “I had 2,000 Euros in fraudulent charges to my credit card” are things I have heard from travelers. Even though I have had a couple rough days, I have not yet broken any bones, had anything major stolen, or been in any immediate physical danger. Listening to the stories of other travelers has made made me appreciate some of the minor mishaps I have had happen – they even make for good stories!

Nice people are everywhere – Yesterday, I spent my day hanging out with two cool girls from Ireland who invited me to come to the beach with them. Even though I am completely sun burned – I had a great time! Did they have to ask me to come with them? Not at all. In general, people want to help you and so many people have reached out to me after finding out I was traveling by myself. Since leaving my former travel partner, I have yet to be “alone”.

My Twitter friends are great – I like traveling with other people because when something goes wrong, you can vent to them, revealing some of the days stress. When traveling by myself, this is often bottled up over the course of a few days or even weeks. During this trip, when I have problems and rough days, I sometimes vent on Twitter. Probably not a professional thing to do, but whenever I have done this I have so many amazing friends who have cheered me up, ensured me that everything will be okay, and have told me to not give up, when I have wanted to quit and go home. Thank you all so much!

Foreign money is not play money – Something about colorful money, mentally diminishes the value for me. In the US, I am very good at budgeting and not spending unnecessary money. Something about having foreign currency makes me spend money faster. I am still trying to hammer into my brain that even though it may be a coin, it can have much more value than the coins in the US.

Be flexible – With anything in life, your plans can always change. There is no use harping on the fact that your trip did not go as planned. I have missed trains, had accommodation cancel, and have been stuck in cities I was trying to leave because of full trains. You just deal with it. When you can’t do anything about your situation, why be angry? – enjoy where you are.

I can always make more money – Even when I have had unnecessary expenses, I know I can always get a job when I go back to Seattle. There is no use in worrying when I can’t do anything about my financial situation until I’m back.

Wifi and drinking is expensive – If I could do over my trip, the only thing I would have done differently, was not stay so connected and to drink less cider. Both helped me drain my bank account.

You don’t need as much as you think – When I go back to Seattle, it will be odd to have a whole apartment full of stuff. Stuff – that’s all it is. I haven’t once thought “Oh, I wish I had ____ the entire trip” – and all I have is a carry on. Not living out of a suitcase will be weird.

Thank you to everyone that has helped me out via Twitter or Facebook, has read any of my blog posts, or has offered travel advice. It means a lot to me and I am thankful for the great friends I have. Even though traveling has been fun, I’m looking forward to coming home to Seattle in September. Tweetup anyone?

Yes, it really looks like that! Yesterday I went on a 7 hour hike of Cinque Terre, Italy. Not a regular hiker, I had never been on a hike this long. Not being in my fitness peak because of the constant traveling, I am really not sure how I managed to accomplish that. Right now I am exhausted. I’m sitting in my hostel all day and I am perfectly content with this.

Today, I have been gone exactly five months from Seattle. I am worn out. I have had so many things go wrong on this trip, yet I have yet to quit. I have debated going back to Seattle early or even going back to London for a month. I am craving familiarity. I want my friends. I am also dying to feel healthy again.

Familiarity – Each time I have arrived in a new place I have to reorient myself. Not only is this stressful, but it can be costly because of transportation. Traveling by myself has felt empowering in the sense that I feel after this I could do anything. Even though empowering, it has been far from easy. I have been forced to socialize even after a long and tiring day of traveling. Being a girl, alone in Europe, I do admit it has it’s downsides – mostly the creepy men coming up to me constantly. I’ll be wearing no makeup, haven’t showered in a few days, and be downright disgusting yet I’ll still be approached. This is not flattering to me – and it saddens me that so many women refrain from traveling for this reason.

Friends – Each place I go, I have to make new friends. 3 days later I leave them. Repeat. Though I will keep in touch with many, it has been tough to constantly be bouncing around. I have about 45 days until I am back in Seattle. I am missing my friends, I’m missing my Mom, and I’m missing people to talk entrepreneurship and tech with, as I have not encountered many people with my interests while in hostels.

Health - I have gained a bit of weight on this trip. I have lost some confidence in myself because of this and I feel terrible about my body. People say they don’t notice in pictures, but that doesn’t matter to me – I notice. In Seattle, I work out everyday. Here, once or twice a week. I feel crappy. I have been eating unhealthy and I’m dying for a normal schedule and available showers after sweating. The past week I have really made an attempt to eat healthy, but it has been hard as my travel budget is slowly running out.

This trip has definitely been a test of what I can handle:

Here it goes :

Arrived in London :

-Stayed for 4 months - The first day there, my laptop broke and my credit and debit cards refused to work. Even though checking into the banking before I left numerous times – Bank of America still didn’t update my information correctly.

- Switched living accommodations four times. The moment I felt comfortable – I would be ripped away to go somewhere else.

- Spent way more than planned. Cider really adds up. Somehow I managed to spent a six month budget in four months. Somehow I am still functioning, but the moment I go back to Seattle I need a job again.

Even with all of these mishaps. I LOVED London. The people there were fabulous and I had a great time.

While in London, I traveled parts of England, Ireland, and even made it to Barcelona, Spain.

Barcelona was a story of it’s own. While in Barcelona, I tried to Couchsurf while there. The guy I was staying ended up trying to make moves on me which basically put a damper on my trip. Barcelona is beautiful, but because of my experiences there, I can’t say I ever want to return. My original plan was to move to Spain for the summer to improve my Spanish, but after a bad experience, I decided to do some traveling instead.

Here is where it went from London.

Hellish bus ride from London to Paris. 12 hours no sleep. Ended up sleeping in a McDonald’s for 3 hours when I got off the bus.

Arrived in Paris :

- Got stuck for 5 additional nights.
- Lost my friend and found out we were incompatible travel partners.
- Fighting, stress, having to pay for a hotel because hostels were all booked.
-Creepy men that wouldn’t leave me alone.
-I had a mini break down as it seemed everything was falling apart.

The trip then got better as I met up some relatives of one of my Seattle friends, saw some of my friends who lived in Paris, and stayed in a less sketchy area.

Phew!

After spending three hours in the flooded Paris train station and paying 30 dollars for Internet to check my accommodations, I boarded a train to Milan. The ride was nice, but still long.

Arriving in Milan:

Getting off the train the first thing I noticed was the increase in attractive men roaming about. This made me feel a bit better until I was unable to find my hostel. Sweating, tired from a day of travel, and lost, I had to shell out for a taxi after being unable to navigate the Italian buses.

The hostel I stayed at in Milan was clean – thank God! Even though the hostel was clean, the lady who ran the place was crazy. I wish I would have had my video camera to document it. Even after getting very lost the first day, the trip got better with gelato and pizza. It got even better when I repeated my bad eating habits about five more times.

In Milan, I was covered with mosquito bites, which continue to appear day after day. The bug spray doesn’t even work! I’m not even making this up, but I’m in the process of being bitten as we speak as I see a few mosquitoes flying around. I had a nice time in Milan, but then it was off to Venice.

Arriving in Venice:

Arriving in Venice, I was happy to find that the hostel was so close to the train station. It was too good to be true – until I got inside. Not only did the hostel have lots of hidden fees that were not apparent on the website, The man inside was very rude and then moved me to another hostel about 5 minutes away. “Okay, fine, who cares?” I thought, until I got to the next place. The beds were disgusting and I got bit even more by bugs. I wouldn’t doubt I picked up some sort of disease from there – but so far I have been okay.

Next was a nice first two days exploring Venice, until the trip turned sour once again with the travel partner I was with. Her, being drunk off of one beer, deserted me at 2am to run off with some random Italian man that clearly wanted more than to just watch the fireworks. Even though she is an “adult” (19) I felt responsible for her (as she has never traveled before, was drunk, and very naive) and tried to convince her to come back with me for an entire hour. After my failed attempts and being threatened by the guy she was about to leave with – I decided to make my way back to the hostel.

As soon as I left her, I realized I had no map and had no idea where I was. It was late, I was tired, I was angry and I tried to ask about twenty people how to get to the train station – as I knew my way back from there. After about an hour of failed attempts, I was again in tears. I then met a group of lovely people who worked in Venice and refused to leave me until they saw I had gotten back to my hostel. I still don’t know how I would have gotten back without them, as there are no taxi’s in Venice. After a nice chat, and an hour walk back to where I was staying, I crashed the moment I got into bed.

Waking up the next day, my travel partner had the nerve to ask why I was mad. I told her I couldn’t travel with her anymore as this was far from the first problem we had. She then refused to give me the locker key, where my passport and train pass were being held, not allowing me to book my train out for the entire day (the people at the hostel were stupid and told me because I didn’t have the number to the key they couldn’t open it for me either!)

Shortly after this “adventure”, two girls from Australia came into the room and we bonded over chatting about the disgusting bathroom and dirty bedsheets. After hanging out with them, we decided to ride a gondola which definitely made everything better.

The next morning, leaving my new friends, I set out on my own to go to take a train to Florence.

Arriving in Florence:

Guess who got off at the wrong train station? Oh that’s right…me! After 20 minutes of unclear directions from locals, I ran into two other American girls who had done the same thing – as the tickets were extremely unclear. After arriving in the hostel, I was relieved as I was to stay in the same place for 5 nights. Unfortunately, I had to keep booking rooms day by day and was forced to wake up early, check my belongings, and come back to the hostel at 2:30 to stay another night (as I’m doing right now – killing time until I can re-check in.)

Even with the hostel hassle, I have had a much better time traveling by myself. I met many other lone travelers in the hostel and have had a great time since I have been here – other than some events that happened yesterday and a case of food poisoning.

Yesterday, I went to Cinque Terra, which was in the picture above. Beautiful. So worth it, except for a few of the events that happened over the course of the day :

Waking up at 6am, my new hostel friends and I got to the train station to board the next train to Cinque Terra. With our luck, the next train didn’t come until 10, forcing us to wait an additional 3 hours.

Sitting on the train – dozing off, and with a small hole in my bag, I was probably a prime target for pickpockets. Never having any trouble in the past, I probably should have been a little more cautious. Twenty minutes after boarding the train, a beggar lady with two others came around to ask for money. She apparently was not just asking for money, but scoping out the train for victims. Ten minutes later, she returned again. She then again returned to ask us for money but as she did, she sneakily placed her scarf over my bag and began to put her hand into my bag. As I saw her do this, I quickly pulled her hand away from a wallet with my first reaction to yell “WHAT THE FUCK?! Are you serious?! Get your hand out of my bag!!”. She obviously didn’t like this, and then slapped me a few times, waved her hands and muttered something that sounded like a curse, and then proceeded to spit on me. I have never been more insulted. MY BAG! I got spit on because I wouldn’t let her take MY BAG.

Finally, after much more confusion with the Italian trains, we finally made it and began our hike. 7 hours and 10 bottles of water later, we had hiked all of Cinque Terra – defiantly something I am proud to have accomplished. A few times I had wanted to quit, but somehow blocked out the pain and kept going.

After an overpriced and not quality dinner, we made our way back to the train station. After running from platform to platform, not understanding the signage, we finally boarded our first train to Pisa where we would have a connecting train to Florence.

Unfortunately, when we got to Pisa, all of the trains had been delayed. We later realized it was because someone had passed away on the train as paramedics pushed a dead body on a stretcher out of the station. The body and sobbing women walking along the stretcher almost brought me to tears and is an image I don’t think I will ever forget. Shaken up, we then found out our train would not be coming and there were no more trains for the remainder of the night. I think my only defense mechanism from snapping was laughter, as I then began to laugh at everything anyone said even though it was obviously not funny.

Feeling zombie like, we found a two hour bus back to Florence. After waiting an hour and a half outside a creepy train station we finally got on the bus. Unable to sleep, I waited patiently until we arrived. Walking back from the station, I was very glad I was in a group as there were prostitutes and strange people roaming Florence at 3am. The moment I got into bed, I crashed, only to have to wake up a few hours later to check out of my hostel,which I have to recheck into at 2:30! After all that, I am left sitting in the cafeteria for a few hours until I can check into my room. 2 more hours to go…..

What’s next?

Tomorrow I will go to Nice, France by train for two nights. After that I am still unsure. I think I may to the Netherlands and Belgium. I have about 2 weeks left to travel until I will will meet up with a friend in Paris and stay there until September.

*Phew*

Deep breath. I have made it this far, I refuse to go back early (even when I would like to) I feel that my limits have already been pushed. It can’t get much harder? Right?

Loud, disrespectful, and rude. I have met so many tourists that sadly, fit all of these characteristics .I have been entirely embarrassed to find that the rudest people I have encountered on my trip so far, have all been of American decent! Instead of being proud of my country, I constantly find myself apologizing the rudeness and disrespect demonstrated by tourists.

Okay, I’ll admit the title of this post is a little strong, but there have been so many times during my travels that I have thought to myself “……and this is why the world hates America” – after seeing American tourists behave in an inappropriate manner.

Be respectful for God’s sake!

Here are a few examples of complete stupidity I have encountered:

From an American I met in Italy :

“It really annoys me that they don’t speak English here!” – What?! It’s Italy, of course they are going to speak Italian and not English. Going to a foreign country expecting that everyone will abandon their cultural norms is absolutely ludacris!

I wish I could say that a stupid remark has been a one time occurrence, but sadly it is repetitive.

In London :
“Why can’t they just drive on the other side? They do everything backwards here – it’s so annoying!”

“Why can’t they speak English the right way?”

In Spain :
“I hate that they don’t make an effort to speak English here”

This list could go on and on! Not only do I hear stupid remarks, but in addition, I have seen so many tourists just being plain rude and disrespectful of other cultures.

I wish I could say I am the only one who has encountered this, but when I posted on Twitter “Sometimes when I meet American tourists, I’m embarrassed for my country” – I got back so many responses of others agreeing with me!

How to Not be an Annoying Tourist :

If you are in another country – please attempt to speak the language! It doesn’t matter if you don’t know very many words, but make an effort. Learn hello, goodbye, please, and thank you in every foreign country you visit. How would you like if someone came to where you lived and would only speak in a language you didn’t understand?

Leave your big ass suitcase at home – All I have had with me for the past 5 months has been a carry on suitcase and a duffel bag. This was even too much! It is by no means necessary to bring all of your possessions with you when traveling. Nothing bothers me more than getting stuck behind someone with an enormous suitcase that they can barely carry – just to have all the comforts of home. If you want the comforts of home, stay at home!

- If you are in another country, be courteous and respectful of their social norms and customs. – I have seen so many examples of tourists being just down rude and disregarding how things in that country operate. You are a guest in the country you are visiting – behave as such.You wouldn’t go into someone’s house and complain about everything there, so why would it be any different going in to someone else’s country?

Pick up your trash – Nothing irritates me more than tourists trashing a country. Pick up your trash! I don’t even need to elaborate on this point. Pick it up!

Shut your mouth – there is no need to talk ten times louder than everyone else. Yes, I know it’s exciting to be in a new place, but be respectful of other people on planes and trains. No one, except you wants to hear your phone call to your mother or conversation to your friend about your new boyfriend. Just keep it down!

Stop traveling through your lens - I have seen so many travelers video taping their entire trip or taking a picture every single minute. Experience what you are seeing through your own eyes, not a lens. If you wanted to look at a picture you could stay at home and look it up on the internet.

I am by no means a perfect traveler. At times I may not understand a custom or do something the wrong way, but I do however try and be respectful of others wherever I am. I want to be able to travel and be proud of my country. It is very hard to do this when so many American tourists are the complete opposite of polite. America – could you please just be a little more respectful when traveling abroad? I want to be proud to be American.

Yesterday, I officially moved from Posterous to WordPress. *goes and throws confetti and lets go of balloons!* Okay not that amazing, but it is hopefully a step in the right direction for my own blog.

I wouldn’t say I love to blog. I write out of frustration or when I feel I need to make a point. I do however love to read inspiring blogs, blogs of those who spill soul onto the screen, or blogs that are just plain entertaining.

There is so much noise on the Internet. Pointless posts about “how to use social media better”, posts about what people ate for lunch, and so much other garbage that only adds to the noise.

Here are a few blogs that are not about any of these things. I highly recommend you check them out!

Scott Porad - Scott seriously needs to write a book; I will be first in line to purchase it. CTO of Cheezburger, Scott offers insight about start ups, entrepreneurship, and bits of personal experiences from life in general. His posts are eloquently written and often offers great anecdotes.

Jessica Randazza - Jessica’s blog has both personal posts as well as information about social media and marketing. I love that she has the mixture of both, always leading to interesting read. I admire her openness about her own life experiences which many bloggers refrain from posting online.

Alix Rose – I really don’t read many fashion blogs or magazines but for some reason I am attracted to Alix’s blog. There are always great pictures, pretty things, and a five minute escape from tech and social media blogs. Her posts are usually short and sweet which is a nice change from so many other blogs that tend to drag on.

Coderholic – I’ll admit it. I don’t read many “super technical blogs” but Ben Dowling offers posts not just about coding, but start ups and entrepreneurship. As the founder of Geomium, a new geolocation app, his insights about entrepreneurship are always enlightening. I think he should start blogging more often.

Book Vim – Book Vim is a blog and vlog in one. Miguel Mayher does great book reviews about many books he has read over the past year. His site gave me some amazing recommendations to read and he has some nice reflections about how the books are applicable to his own life. Go watch one of his videos!

Chris Pirillo – Everything Chris tweets or writes about is either witty or informative. His posts are always engaging and he not only blogs, but offers a platform for geeks to connect on. I appreciate the range of topics he writes about and am truly jealous of his puns and constant witty remarks.

I Am Luca – I love the honestly and passion in Luca’s posts. Working in the social media space, Luca offers post not only about what he’s learned, but also writes more personal posts which I appreciate. I truly enjoy reading posts from the bloggers who are authentically themselves – online and off.

Jolie O’Dell - Not only does Jolie have a great last name, but she also has an awesome blog. Her controversial posts and array of knowledge from social media to startups is always a great read. Jolie also offers many personal posts which I always admire for her honesty and true opinions. Not only does she start some great debates but also engages with readers of her blog through comments and Twitter.

Hips for Hire – Imei Hsu, the founder of Hips for Hire, has great posts on a variety of subjects. In addition, she always knows how to come up with catchy titles, that always encourage me to click on a busy Twitter stream. Highly recommend.

These are just a few I would highly recommend checking out. I suck at commenting blogs – but you guys should know I am reading!

Not really, but I do hate the groups of women that feel the need to segregate themselves even more by creating exclusive “Just For Women” events and organizations. Browsing through my Twitter feed, I constantly see events with names like Girls in Tech, Women in Tech, Women in Business, Women in blah blah blah. Why do women feel the need to create separate events? Is this not a sexist thing to do?

If someone were to start a group called Men in Tech, they would instantly be labeled as sexist. After labeling this group as sexist, blog posts and tweets would immediately flood the Internet. Is this fair? Why should women be able to create groups and events for women?

Taken from a website called Women Who Tech “We provide a supportive network for the vibrant and thriving community of women in technology professions by giving women an open platform to share their talents, experiences, and insights.” Why do you need to give women an open platform? They always have an open platform in the real world! Why is there the need for a separate group to only point out the fact that you are not a man?

I am sitting in McDonald’s right now. Right now, I’m not here for the food, I’m here for the free Internet.

Right now, I’m hearing French. I’m hearing English. I’m hearing German, Spanish, Italian, and other languages of all kinds. I’m in Paris! Why are so many tourists here when they could be eating McDonald’s in their hometown?

This is probably my 50th visit to a McDonald’s since I began traveling over the past few months. During my many visits, I have noticed so many great examples of marketing and branding initiated by the fast food giant.

Many people disapprove and even boycott the multi-billion dollar chain because of it’s unhealthy products and high caloric meals. Even so, I can’t help but admire the amazing brand McDonald’s has managed to build internationally and their diverse customer base . What are some of their brilliant branding efforts?

Distinct colors - The vibrant red and yellow are the same throughout every country I have ever visited. Not only are the colors bright and eye catching, but the signage at every McDonald’s can be seen from at least a block away. Walking down most “touristy areas” the golden arches are a reassuring constant among unfamiliarity and are placed strategically on high streets and in center locations throughout major cities.

Standard products – The products at McDonald’s remain very standard from country to country. Even though the menu is changed somewhat to cater to different demographics, the layout of the menu and format for ordering remain constant. The familiarity is reassuring to many, putting them at ease from the stress of international travel. Going into a McDonald’s you know what to expect. Cheap food, quick lines, and mediocre quality. 9 out of 10 times, your expectation is correct.

I used to work at a McDonald’s. Yes, I mopped bathrooms, cleaned floors, said “would you like fries with that?”. Working at a McDonald’s during my teenage years is something I am far from ashamed of. Not only did I get to flip burgers, but I got to see first hand the efforts McDonald’s went to in order to make each product standard. McDonald’s has so many procedures and regulations that employees must follow in order to ensure that products are prepared in the same way from store to store. From measuring cups, to detailed production charts, the company strives to deliver universal products packaged similarly at each location.

Stay as long as you like - Even though the hard plastic seats are designed for quick meals, not one employee has asked me to leave for sitting for an extended period. How is letting me loiter in their restaurant helping their bottom line? Here are a few reasons:

- Staying so long makes me feel obligated to buy something. Every time I have sat down to use the Internet I have bought a drink. Their markup on soft drinks is an enormous percentage. After working in the food industry and seeing how soda fountains work, you quickly realize how much money is made from water based drinks.

- Because they don’t mind me camping out – I’ll continue to come back. Other places have cut me off the Internet after 1/2 an hour!

- I will recommend McDonald’s to any friends traveling overseas who will be in need of Internet.

- I will be reminded of the feeling of being at ease and comfortable during my last visit, every time I pass another store.

Why would you go to a McDonald’s when you could do that at home? – In countries where I am not a speaker of the language I find it hard to order, and sometimes will even resort to ordering something I don’t even want, just for the ease of the transaction. In the McDonald’s I am in right now, the the menu is in French with some English. But in addition to writing, there are numbers so a tourist could simply say or point to what I would like to order – saving many tourists the frustration of foreign ordering.

From all the countries I have visited I have yet to see a deserted McDonald’s. Why? Familiar atmosphere, a reassuring taste of home, and abundant in cities, McDonald’s is definitely doing more than one thing right in terms of branding and marketing.

Would you like fries with that?

This is my new blog for my marketing, branding, entrepreneurship, and business posts. I am reserving my Posterous for my personal posts.

I’m sweaty. It is a million degrees outside. Plans keep falling through. My hotel (if you can even call this a hotel) is like a sauna right now. I’m staying in the worst part of town possible. I can’t walk down the street without being approached by some creepy middle aged man. The wifi will barely connect. I have spent 10 times my allotted budget for the past few days. My travel buddy didn’t end up working out as planned. Nothing is going as planned. I have wanted to cry in frustration, punch people in anger, and just give up and go home early. (Okay the punching was an exaggeration) One of my friends just commented that I should make this a reality show – probably a good idea – misery always sells.

Dear London,

I love you.

It is with great sorrow I will be leaving you in two days. The past four months I have spent with you have been the best of my entire life and will never be forgotten. Not only have I learned so much about myself, but I have had the wonderful opportunity to meet so many great people residing throughout London, England, and the world. I have never felt a greater sense of belonging and acceptance since I arrived on your streets months ago. My first extended period of time away from home was surely a fantasic one that I will hold close to my heart forever.

London, I will miss you so much. 

I’ll miss your sexy accents. I’ll miss riding your tube. I’ll miss your 5 o’clock rush hour when the tube is filled with gorgeous men in suits. I’ll miss your high streets. I’ll miss the tech events. I’ll miss Primark and H&M. I’ll miss peer cider and chatting in pubs. I’ll miss your classy sense of fashion. I’ll miss watching the world cup with enthusiastic fans. I’ll miss Embankment and the London Eye. I’ll miss your double decker buses and red phone booths. I’ll miss Abbey Road. I’ll miss your gorgeous parks. I’ll miss your concerts. London, I’ll miss everything about you. Please London, keep in touch.

With a heavy heart I will be leaving you. Don’t worry, I’ll be back.

Love,
Arianna

*London, let me know if you want to grab drinks tonight or tomorrow. I need to drink as much cider as possible before leaving you.

Today I woke up thinking, marketing, marketing, marketing, Oh My God! Okay, I was going to a marketing trade show, not that exciting to normal people, but I was ecstatic. While I have attended quite a few marketing events in the UK, this was my first trade show – Marketing Week Live – “The UK’s Largest Marketing Event”

Getting up early, sitting on the tube for an hour, and waiting to get my badge for 45 minutes, I had finally made it! A tad annoyed by the poor organization at the door, I walked happily into the exhibition hall in hopes of seeing some great marketing. Almost immediately my smile diminished. Why?

Most of the businesses sucked at marketing!

Here are a few things a business should refrain from doing in order to not suck at their next trade show or conference. 

Poor Marketing : You would think that at a conference tailored to marketers, a business would go out of their way to wow their potential customers with amazing marketing efforts. Unfortunately, at Marketing Week Live, there were only a handful of displays that were eye catching. From girls walking around in shorts with fliers, to salesmen handing out pieces of candy, many of the efforts lacked a creative spark. There was very little originality walking around from booth to booth and I found myself annoyed with the same repeat efforts throughout the hall. “GIVING ME A PIECE OF CANDY IS NOT GOING TO MAKE ME BUY YOUR PRODUCT DAMMIT!” (the candy wrappers were not even branded!) Yes, I know in an exhibition hall you are confined to a very small space, but there is not reason to not put the effort into making your table visual appealing or devising a fun tactic to attract attendees to your table.

Sleezy Sales Pitches : I had so many people pitch me at this event, before they knew what I did and before they even got my name. I found this to be very rude and a non effective way for them to get new clients. If they would have been able to cater their sales pitch to my field, I would have been much more attentive and they might have walked away with a few additional sales. Over the course of the event ,I even had a few complete blow offs from sales people when I was legitimately interested in the product. Did they lose my business this way too? You bet.

Countless pamphlets : Almost every two seconds, I was having a pamphlet, flier, or business card shoved in my face. Do I remember any of those businesses? No. I do however remember the conversations I had with sales people who actually told me about the service, and not just handing me a flier I was never going to read. Do people actually go home and read all of the size 8 font on a standard size piece of paper?  When was the last time you got a truly amazing flier? Oh that’s right….never.

iPad giveaways : It seemed like every company was giving one away. Do I remember the names of any of these companies? Nope. Will I remember if I win the iPad? Yes. Hundreds of dollars spent for one new brand advocate? Even though they may have gotten leads from those who filled out their form, I really have to wonder how many would actually be potential clients.

Poor representation : There were so many displays I had no idea what the product was after looking at the signage for a few minutes. If I don’t know what a business does in a sentence or two, my attention is immediately diverted. So many businesses at this show would have been so much more successful if they would have just changed their message only the slightest bit.

I think I could keep going on and on, but those are the main points I would like to make. Overall, I learned a lot from this conference. I learned what not to do in the future.