Engineering Innovation on Tour: Managing a Nationwide Trade Show Program
Company: Emerson
Role: Senior Integrated Marketing Specialist
Overview
Emerson hosted a nationwide, 22-location trade show program designed to bring its engineering technology, product experts, and technical demonstrations directly to customers across the United States. I coordinated the administration and execution of the program, supporting a $2.4 million budget, complex venue and transportation logistics, nearly two tons of engineering equipment, and on-site operations across the tour.
The Challenge
Unlike a traditional trade show held in one convention center, this program required the complete event experience to be transported, installed, operated, and dismantled repeatedly across 22 U.S. locations. Each stop involved different venues, schedules, shipping requirements, vendors, internal stakeholders, and local audiences. The program needed to maintain a consistent, high-quality attendee experience while protecting valuable technical equipment, staying within budget, and ensuring that every location was prepared for customers, demonstrations, and sales conversations.
My Role
I served as a central coordinator for the nationwide program, managing the administrative, financial, logistical, and on-site details required to move the trade show successfully from one location to the next. I worked across internal teams, venues, vendors, shipping partners, technical personnel, and Sales to keep the tour organized, operational, and aligned with its lead-generation and pipeline goals.
What I Did:
- Coordinated planning and event administration for 22 hosted trade show locations across the United States.
- Supported management and reconciliation of the program’s $2.4 million budget, including venue, vendor, transportation, production, and operational expenses.
- Managed venue research, contracting support, scheduling, floor-plan requirements, utilities, catering, and site-specific logistics.
- Coordinated the transportation, tracking, delivery, installation, and removal of nearly two tons of engineering equipment and demonstration materials.
- Maintained detailed event schedules, shipping documentation, vendor communications, contact lists, and operational plans for each tour stop.
- Served as an on-site point of coordination, supporting registration, setup, technical demonstrations, vendor activity, attendee needs, and event breakdown.
- Worked with engineering and product teams to ensure that equipment arrived safely and was staged correctly for live demonstrations.
- Partnered with Sales to support attendee outreach, lead capture, data organization, and post-event follow-up.
- Helped maintain a consistent branded experience despite significant differences in venue size, geography, and local requirements.
- Addressed changing schedules, shipment issues, and on-site needs while keeping the broader tour moving according to plan.
Results
The nationwide trade show program successfully combined complex event operations with measurable demand-generation impact. Across 22 locations, the tour created direct engagement opportunities between prospective customers, engineers, product experts, and sales teams while maintaining a consistent brand experience and supporting the safe movement of highly specialized equipment across the country. The program ultimately generated significant lead volume and contributed to a substantial sales pipeline.
- 22 hosted trade show locations across the United States
- $2.4M program budget coordinated and administered
- Nearly 2 tons of engineering equipment transported and managed
- 500+ leads sourced through the national event series
- $450M+ in sales-influenced pipeline supported
Kayla Marthaler 