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Pictured above: CSG's first interactive, virtual trade show booth featured at the Leading Age Connecticut's virtual trade show on October 14, 2020. 

Pivot. Adapt. Switch gears. We’ve all heard or used these terms since March 2020 to describe how we’ve managed to conduct business during these (wait for it…) unprecedented times. And while nothing can replace in-person, live interaction, businesses have been forced to come up with new and creative ways to connect with clients, partners and prospects on a personal level and in a digital environment.

To help us navigate these uncharted waters, CSG turned to longtime partner Lindsey Mathieu, Principal and Owner of Golden Egg Concepts. As a communications specialist and marketing consultant for CSG, Lindsey introduced us to the concept of the virtual trade show which was quickly becoming the new normal. “My job is to identify unique opportunities for my clients to tell their story, in a way that resonates with the audience they’re trying to reach,” explains Mathieu.

We determined that the up-and-coming virtual platform would give us a unique opportunity to showcase our capabilities to clients and prospects, particularly in a time that we haven’t had the traditional accessibility and facetime. Furthermore, as members of various industry and trade organizations, we feel it is so important to continue to support these groups, especially during these challenging times, even if it means coming out of our comfort zone.  

Pictured above: Leading Age Connecticut's "lobby" at its virtual trade show on October 14, 2020. 

Never one to shy away from a challenge, Lindsey convinced us to move forward with a booth for Leading Age Connecticut’s first-ever virtual trade show on October 14, 2020. We committed to the booth just before Labor Day weekend, and were given a matter of days to deliver all of the required display materials – one of which being a two minute video that would serve as the focal point of the virtual booth.

Pictured above: Karith Foster presents a session entitled "Together: A Mind Shift of Unity Over Division" to nearly 250 attendees. 

Recognizing the need for immediate action, Lindsey quickly dismissed the idea of a DIY production and developed a concept of a 60-second commercial that would be bookended by two 30-second general “at the booth with CSG” segments. In a period of just four business days, Lindsey and the team at Geomatrix Productions worked collaboratively to write the script, film the live segments, produce the virtual company overview, and finalize the video – as well as all of the other qualifications materials needed to populate our virtual booth.

Pictured above from left to right: Behind the scenes of our video shoot are Chris Cykley, Vice President and Mark Garilli, Project Executive.

Pictured above from left to right: Lindsey Mathieu of Golden Egg Concepts; Mark Garilli, Project Executive; Jim Giuliano, President; Chris Cykley, Vice President and Samantha D'Agostino, Assistant Project Manager work on CSG's virtual trade show video. 

“Lindsey helps us think strategically about how we maximize the investment of our marketing dollars,” says Chris Cykley, Vice President of CSG. Our participation in this virtual trade show drove us to create a video that we can reuse not only for upcoming conferences, but as a standalone introduction to our company. During this process, we even wound up with some additional video footage that we can we can use to support our digital marketing efforts.”

Lindsey accompanied Project Executive Mark Garilli on the virtual conference floor on October 14, 2020. With nearly 250 attendees, the event included various educational sessions, a keynote speaker, and a 45-minute vendor exposition – followed by the Annual Meeting.

“We are really happy with not only the number of connections we made at LeadingAge Connecticut, but the quality of those connections,” recounts Mark Garilli.

Pictured above: The chat function of CSG's virtual trade booth allowed visitors to interact with CSG staff in real time, review our firm's materials and ask questions.