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Get Social at Heli-Expo 2013

If you’re thinking about whether to tweet or not to tweet at Heli-Expo 2013 next week, ponder no more. Just do it. And while you’re at it, be sure to post images and insights on your LinkedIn and Facebook pages. It’s never been easier – or more important.

Communicate key points about your displays that might otherwise be missed.
Communicate key points about your displays that might otherwise be missed.

Nearly half of all social media users access their social networks using their mobile devices. Tradeshows and conventions such as the one hosted March 4-7 in Las Vegas, Nev., by the Alexandria, Va.-based Helicopter Association International (HAI) afford an ideal opportunity to leverage social channels. Even the best mingler among us has no hopes of connecting face to face with all 20,000 people expected to attend the show, speaking to more than 650 exhibitors or covering all 1.5 million square feet of convention space. Using social media helps you communicate with other people at the show (and saves some precious steps). It also lets you push out information to people not at the show but interested in the goings on – be it a forum you’re participating in, a new product you’re unveiling or a meet-and-greet you’re hosting.

Plan Now to Play Later

Just a bit of planning now will facilitate your social sharing at the show.

  • First off, load the HAI iPhone/iPad app.* https://itunes.apple.com/app/id600678230
    Push out dates and times for events and announcements in your booth.
    Push out dates and times for events and announcements in your booth.

    It puts all the Heli-Expo 2013 happenings in the palm of your hand. Keep up on late-breaking details, speakers, press conferences and updates. Learn more about the exhibitors. Map out your plan of action to optimize your time at the show. You can even get info on the host hotel. *Side note: With 49.4%of U.S. market share using Android operating systems on their smartphones, doesn’t it make sense to reach nearly 100% of your audience by developing your apps for both Android and iOS? Something to think about if your company or organization is looking to develop an app.

  • Haven’t liked HAI on Facebook yet? Here’s the link: http://www.facebook.com/HelicopterAssoc
  • Plan to take video at the show? Share it on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/HelicopterAssoc
  • Monitor convention news on Twitter, particularly @RotorNews and @Heli-Expo. Use the hashtag #EXPO13 to follow and take part in the conversation.

Attract attendees to your exhibit space.
Attract attendees to your exhibit space.

Network with more people than you ever could face to face.
Network with more people than you ever could face to face.

Time for Vine

We’ve been closely watching the hot, new microvideo-sharing app Vine to see if it has relevance for our aviation clients, and believing we need to practice what we preach, I’m going to be posting Vine videos throughout the show. These 6-second, looping videos can’t be edited, which is part of their real-time beauty. Shoot and post. Share moments as they happen.

  • Follow my posts on Vine and Twitter under the #EXPO13 hashtag. And post some of your own on Twitter and Facebook.
  • Download the app on iTunes. http://www.apple.com/itunes
Push out dates and times for events and announcements in your booth.
Push out dates and times for events and announcements in your booth.

Don’t Just Follow. Find.

If you’re at the show, find me and others. While social networking is great for sharing information, news and marketing information across the world – when “friends” on social media are in the same room, we should find each other. I’ve tweeted HAI several times to find out whether a Tweet-Up (a meet-up for active Twitter users) is planned, but have received no response. Perhaps I’ll just plan one of my own. Let’s Connect The world is going social and the aviation industry needs to get on board, too. If you have interest in Heli-Expo 2013, remember #EXPO13 and @GretemanGroup for Twitter. Follow, join in and check out my as-they-happen Vine videos.

*Originally published in the February 28 issue of BlueSky Business Aviation News.


WBJ; In the office with Sonia Greteman, Greteman Group

February 20, 2013

Wichita Business Journal

Emily Behlmann

Walk into the Greteman Group offices and it’s obvious creative people are at work. The walls are brightly colored in deep reds and golds, the layout is open, and there is artwork everywhere — much of it local, some from around the world.

Greteman Group’s wellness plan includes yoga and hula hoops. Here, Sonia Greteman is hula-hooping in front of “Moon Gate,” a sculpture by her husband, Chris Brunner, that separates the lobby from the staff workspace.

It feels global. And Zen.

President Sonia Greteman designed the space with her artist husband, Chris Brunner, whose sculptures are all over the office.

Too often, Greteman says, offices are spartan. She wanted the office for her branding agency to reflect her company’s creativity and the creativity of the community.

Greteman Group is on the second floor of the former Domestic Laundry Building in the Douglas Design District, at 1425 E. Douglas. Greteman says the 1915 space, all steel and glass, was modern for its time. For Greteman, which has been there 12 years, the space offers high ceilings and plenty of natural light.

“Natural light streaming thorough our glorious big windows brings in the big blue sky,” she says. Most of Greteman’s staffers work in an open environment, which she says encourages brainstorming, interaction and fun. The agency’s work hangs everywhere — particularly projects that are in the works. Greteman says her firm tries to avoid shipping work off to clients before it’s been allowed to breathe for a couple days. Staff hang it up or, more often lately, display it on digital screens, and “live with it” to make sure they still like it. Greteman says every time she walks by a new logo or advertisement, she’s likely to notice something new.

Cue the sketchpad.

In Greteman’s own personal office, on the other side of impressive wood-and-steel doors created by Brunner, she says she tries to never be without a black Uniball pen and something to draw on. She says it’s sometimes easier for her to sketch out an idea than to describe it.

“I draw when I think, draw to express myself, draw to get a point across, and steal everybody’s pen in sight, so watch out,” she says. Greteman works for most of the day from her standing desk. She’s health-conscious — the office also has jasmine tea, a fitness area and twice-weekly yoga sessions — and she says standing encourages her to go talk to colleagues instead of just emailing them. Ultimately, the in-person collaboration can help with idea development, she says.

What else helps get ideas flowing? Sometimes the creativity of others can help inspire.

One of the most prominent works of art in the Greteman Group office is Brunner’s “Moon Gate,” an Asian-inspired gateway that divides Greteman’s public lobby from its staff workspace (the “inner sanctum,” as Greteman says). There’s a photo of it on his website.

Then there are artifacts from Greteman’s many travels abroad. She went to Egypt last year and is taking a rail trip through India this year. A previous project Greteman Group did for Bombardier took her around the world for interviews and photos with jet users. African masks and Day of the Dead Mexican motifs adorn the walls.

Also decorating the office is work by Greteman’s local artist friends.

“I feel their presence when I look at the work,” she says.

© Wichita Business Journal, 2013


Sonia’s Aviation Photo Shoot Tips for Success

Okay, 4:30 in the morning isn’t my favorite time. Except when I’m on the ramp waiting for that magic moment. There really are only two times a day when the light is sublime: sunrise and sunset. Everything else is subpar, getting progressively worse as the morning sun rises higher in the sky. Noon is the absolute worst – everything is flat and bright. You want the long shadows, raking light and golden warmth that the beginning and end of the day bring.

Sonia’s Aviation Photo Shoot Tips for Success

Plan, plan and plan some more

It is essential to have a shot list and schedule with every detail ironed out in advance and agreed upon by all parties. You need to know exactly what time the sun will burst over the horizon. I work from a spreadsheet that has the time, description of shot, model name, wardrobe, prop and action. That way I can be on the ramp in position, ahead of time with our photographer, assistant and makeup artist waiting to pounce at the perfect time. If you need a tug or an aircraft moved, chocks in place, engine covers off or the door opened, do it in advance. When the magic light comes you have to be ready to shoot quickly, efficiently and with no wasted motion.

Care in casting

When planning for onsite talent, we set our criteria – age, gender, role that the model will be playing – and start searching local agencies for possibilities. We narrow it down to our favorites and check to make sure their photo is current. After all, who knows how old that photo is. Have they changed their hair? (Do they have hair?) Have they gained or lost a few pounds? It all makes a difference. We secure pricing, check availability and send our recommendation to our clients for their input. If at all possible, we have an in-person look-see, and double-check their current look. We triple-check their sizes and measurements so we get people who look good together and so one doesn’t tower over the other. When the model shows up and doesn’t look quite like his headshot, don’t panic. A shave, professional make-up, lighting – and an injection of photographic charisma – can turn it around.

Wardrobe that works

Five minutes before the shoot isn’t the time to be looking for pants that fit. (I actually had to borrow a pair of pants right off a general manager at a photo shoot years ago when our model didn’t show up. The generous, but pantless, GM had to sit in his office in his underwear until we finished the shoot.) Ship in back-up wardrobe choices the day before. Add an iron, steamer, pins, clamps, tape and rubber bands. And don’t forget about your attire. It can be chilly and windy out there. Rubber-soled shoes and a good windbreaker are a must.

Sonia’s Aviation Photo Shoot Tips for Success 2

Due diligence will save you every time When considering usage rights, determine where and how often the photo will be reproduced. Try to negotiate a full buyout with the modeling agency and photographer if possible. It’s always better to anticipate your usage requirements up front than try to negotiate from a position of weakness years later. Have your model permission forms ready to go and get them signed so you cover your bases. My rule is everyone in the shot signs one on the spot.

Scout the location in advance

Scout the day before. There’s a great iPhone app that shows the position of the sun and the length of shadows – use it. Remember, during winter months the sun is lower and your shooting window is shorter. Brainstorm the shot list with your team to determine aircraft location in relation to the light. If possible, communicate with the tug operator by drawing a thumbnail diagram of how you want the planes positioned. Arrange for a room to call your home base and have your breakfast and lunch catered in. Take care of your team with healthy choices, so  have the fuel to do a good job. Nothing wastes time and interrupts the flow more that going out to lunch. Designate an area for your make-up and hair person and realize he needs room to spread out.

Props add life and energy

Pull in a luxury car or SUV – the sexier the vehicles the better. Turn on the interior lights. If shooting inside the aircraft, include a flower arrangement or other interior props. Outfit your models with great luggage, a high-end purse, a set of golf clubs, sassy sunglass, luxurious leathers, a great-looking dog, anything to give the photo a back-story. Who are these people and where are they going? If you really want the shot to sing, wet down the ramp so everything has a glow.

If you are shooting people with the aircraft, get them moving. There is nothing worse than a couple of guys doing the standard grip and grin. Have them walk toward you, to the car, down the stairs. Have another model frame the shot, adding scale and drama. Have a cherry picker, lift or ladder on hand to give your shots more dramatic angles.

Keep your eyes open for spontaneous shots

Be aware of what is happening around you. If you see a great aircraft taxiing by, or another taking off in the background, be ready to grab the shot. The most important advice I can give is to have fun. It will be contagious with the crew, the models and the people assisting you. A happy crew makes for a great end result. Which makes for a happy client.


WBJ; Wichita Aero Club pulls out all the stops at 2013 annual gala

February 1, 2013

Wichita Business Journal
Daniel McCoy

Wichita Aero Club pulls out all the stops at 2013 annual gala

I get to do some pretty fun stuff in this job. I’ve flown along on a KC-135 refueling training mission; I’ve ridden around the airport on one of the fire trucks and seen the water cannon in action; I stood only a matter of yards from the runway by Boeing Wichita (in the freezing cold) and took photos of the 787 Dreamliner as it landed here last January.

But the best part of the job, without a doubt, is the people I get to meet.  got to see a lot of those folks this past Saturday evening as a crowd of Air Capital VIPs gathered for the Wichita Aero Club’s 2013 gala event and honored this year’s recipients of the Wichita Aero Club Trophy, John O’Leary and Airbus.

I even got to meet some new folks, two of whom came a very long way just for the event. Charles Champion, executive vice president of engineering at Airbus, came all the way from France, while Matthew Orchard, vice president and head of wing design for Airbus, came in from the U.K.

It was a fantastic evening. Aero Club President Dave Franson tells me the credit goes to the gala committee of Ashley Bowen Cook of Greteman Group; Becky Tuttle, wife of club Chairman Patrick Tuttle; and Tessa Brungardt and Pat Ritchey, both of the Aero Club.

“They did just an extraordinary job of putting on the event,” Franson says.

I can attest to that. Any event that includes a string quartet, a photo booth, a candy bar and ice sculptures is going to get high marks from me.

It’s one of the club’s biggest events of the year, but Franson doesn’t get to take much of a break afterwards. He’s already preparing for next month’s luncheon, which will feature Cessna Aircraft CEO Scott Ernest, one of the Wichita Business Journal’s Newsmakers for 2012.

Franson’s also already putting together the club’s golf tournament in June.

It will be another big year for the Aero Club, one that will include the first awarding of the Edward W. Stimpson Scholarship to help advance the education of a student interested in aviation.

There could be more events in the works for 2013, Franson says, ones that could have members meeting outside of the normal luncheon setting.

Those aren’t finalized yet, but Franson says to “stay tuned.”