First Things First

  • Rental & Staging Systems magazine is once again preparing a special edition of the Rental & Staging Services Guide & Product Directory. The fourth annual Rental & Staging Services Guide & Product Directory, to be published in September -- together with a new online database -- will be a valuable resource to match new equipment buyers with equipment manufacturers, and to match show producers, meeting planners, and end-users with rental and staging service providers.
  • It is the industry's only comprehensive resource database that covers both the corporate meeting/corporate staging and entertainment staging industries.
  • The 2005 Rental & Staging Services Guide & Product Directory is a supplier and services directory to help professionals navigate the world of rental and staging systems.
  • Whether you are a rental or staging company seeking to facilitate cross-rental or purchase new equipment, a producer looking for qualified staging companies for your productions, or an end-user looking for production companies or staging companies, the 2005 Rental & Staging Services Guide & Product Directory will be a valuable resource in your business planning. (Equipment manufacturers are also encouraged to list.)
  • Go to http://www.rsdirectory.com/ to make sure that your company is registered.
  • As we head into another busy season of customers' shows, and our own industry tradeshows and conferences, it's good to think about how our companies are positioned in the broader landscape of an industry that includes many camps. Staging service companies, equipment manufacturers, producers, meeting planners, corporate end-users, entertainment market players...
  • In this issue, Les Goldberg of LMG asks, "Is it possible to be all things to all people?"
  • Between the lines of Les' advice about the practicalities of how to position and market your company is the broader question of how the industry is evolving as technology supply and demand adjusts to a new breed of both suppliers and customers.
  • Well, as the publisher of the industry's number one trade magazine, we ask those questions, too. And we'll be making some important announcements in the coming months...announcements about growing and expanding, and bringing our readers not just more information to help grow their businesses, but more audience for their services. Stay tuned...and know that the only change you'll hear about from us is that we're growing bigger, and we'll be bringing customers as well as information to your door.
David Keene is a publishing executive and editorial leader with extensive business development and content marketing experience for top industry players on all sides of the media divide: publishers, brands, and service providers. Keene is the former content director of Digital Signage Magazine.