Veteran Wichita aviation executive Dave Franson has co-founded Conventional Wisdom, a business providing expertise to convention exhibitors so they get the “most from their convention experience.”
Franson, who managed the National Business Aviation Association’s annual convention for two years, joins Cassandra Bosco, former head of media relations for NBAA; Bob Searles, former editor of BCA Show Daily; and Steve Lowe, who managed displays and exhibits for Honeywell Aerospace.
They have expertise in media relations, public relations, exhibits and conventions.
They will give advice and counsel on which trade shows or conventions to attend, how much to budget, choosing the message, interacting with customers and the media, creating advertising and press materials, deciding whether to hold a press conference or a customer event and how to do it, where to go for help in designing, building and manning an exhibit and evaluating current exhibits and communication.
Typical customers would be small or mid-size businesses without staff with expertise on conventions, Franson said.
“We’ve all got all of this experience,” Franson said. “What we know from years at NBAA and other trade shows, the first couple of shows … can be a real challenge. It’s always beneficial to have someone who can walk you through that.”
Many companies utilize the NBAA annual convention, the Farnborough Air Show or other shows as their sole effort to market products or services.
Often they ignore or are unaware of the things they can do to multiply their message, Franson said.
“We’ll be available to help them each year or with each show,” he said. “We get with you first and get you up to speed. After the fact, we’ll do a critique and get you ready for the next one, if you desire.”
Franson will retain his position as president of the Wichita Aero Club.
