Did you know that Rana DiOrio is at ABC Kids Expo in Las Vegas?

By Rana DiOrio, Founder

I am in Las Vegas, NV with our Art Director, Leslie Iorillo, exhibiting our products at ABC Kids Expo for the first time (in Booth 4736). Here are some of our initial impressions:

The Vibe. While yesterday was a little sleepy, today there is great buzz and enthusiasm in the South Halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center. The energy is, well, energizing, which is a good thing because these are busy days.

The People. We are meeting a lot of great folks—entrepreneurs, other buyers, bloggers, distributors, etc. We took our first order today from a savvy, decisive, trade show veteran, Francine Delarosa of Give Wink in North Miami Beach, FL. Francine is also a humanitarian. On the wall of the Company’s FB page she is running a promo: purchase any PINK colored item at Give Wink and they will donate 10% of the purchase price to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation. Then, in ordinary course, the company sponsors a "GIVE A WINK” giving program where they donate an eye exam and a pair of glasses to a child for every $100 a customer spends. This is our kind of customer!

It is also worth noting that there are a lot of babies here. We weren’t surprised to see them yesterday, as it was Sunday, but they seem to be par for the course here. Makes sense, I suppose. Many of the buyers are parents who own Mom + Pop shops. We love seeing and interacting with the children.

The Products. The number of products on display at the trade show is staggering. As is to be expected, there are many niche products that you scratch your head and wonder why the product was ever conceived (let alone born). In the spirit of encouraging entrepreneurism, I will resist the temptation to enumerate some. But, then there are some really innovative products, like the GoCrib™ by guavafamily (Booth 4741). It is a patented portable crib in a backpack that puts the Pack-n-Play to shame. It is sleek-looking, easy to set up, and cozy. Check it out at www.guavafamily.com. This Company is also conscious and supports Embrace, a nonprofit devoted to improving the odds of premature babies in the developing world with a low-cost infant warmer.

Social Media Momentum. We’re told that there are over 200 members of the media in attendance. Most of them are mommy bloggers. The marketing muscle of social media is powerful. Just search #ABCKids10 on Twitter, and you can see what I mean. It is amazing how quickly messages are delivered and the word is passed. We really enjoyed meeting Jennifer Moore, Ph.D. (@modernmom), VP, Content of ModernMom. Her Company has a magazine and a community of moms sharing information that parents care about, and their tribe is huge—67,000+ Twitter followers (not including the stunning number of folks who follow the Company’s celebrity bloggers, @brookeburk and @DENISE_RICHARDS.

Our Suggestions. As conscientious consumers, we’d like to see ABC Kids Expo select venues that have recycling and composting, serve organic or sustainably-produced food, and don’t have the smoking area where folks are expected to eat while outside. We’d also like to see them take a leadership position against the proliferation and dissemination of STUFF. Wouldn’t it be great if the trade show hosts encouraged exhibitors to reduce the amount of things and paper they give to attendees? How about barcode scanning people’s nametags instead of sharing business cards? Or encouraging giveaways of digital (vs. physical) products and promotional materials? Food for thought.