Wow - a chance to re tell my LCD projector stories from the road.  Where to start? Let's do it from the beginning.
I'm one of those people that don't want to know too much about LCD projectors other than how to turn them on, adjust keystone settings, sharpen the focus and roll.  Of course, the projector image needs to be bright and clear, regardless of the room's ambience. Projector weight is another factor - the lighter and smaller, the better.

I guess I go as far back as anyone would care to admit when it comes to recounting presentation stories. I remember Kodak slide projectors with frightening detail.   Those machines worked ok for their time.  The boxes holding the carousels were rather bulky to carry - and no matter how much you checked and rechecked - one of those slides would ultimately project upside down or backward.  Other than those basics - the noisy plastic wheel generally clickady-clacked and turned on cue. 

I'm a media presenter - that is to say I do LCD presentations throughout the U.S. and Canada with media clients I work for. My media clients are local TV and radio stations that are interested in tapping into new sources of ad revenue - often referred to as non-traditional revenue or "ntr".   NTR is generated via advertisers you wouldn't normally expect to be using traditional media.  They can include health professionals, lawyers, tax preparers, fertility clinics, funeral directors, psychologists, auto repair experts, masseuses, cosmetic dentists, bottled water distributors and just anybody else trying to reach prospects.  What do they all have in common?  They're local professionals.   Given the right application, these local professionals are using local media (i.e. local broadcast stations) more often in their overall marketing mix.

Demonstrating to business owners how they can use local media inexpensively - and with an Internet tie-in - requires exciting visuals.  Stimulating ideas with pictures (never clip art) that get the viewer engaged. A quality laptop - a customized PowerPoint presentation and a reliable LCD projector are the 3 staples of my 15+ years on the road giving presentations.

To me, presentations can be like a game of golf.  It's fantastic when things go well, but potentially deadly - when they don't.  The issue with electronic presentations of course is the myriad of technically-related items that all must work perfectly in sync to create that "effortless" appearance.  You know what I mean.  It's a look that confirms to your audience you are indeed an expert on the topic of which you are about to speak. 

Fortunately, when your LCD presentation doesn't work as it was intended, not all is lost.  It's almost as though presenters are blessed with one free "get-out-jail" free ticket.  How you use this free ticket (defined as your ability to get over any glitch fast and without pause) can often define the difference between success and failure.

I'll never forget a sales presentation in Cincinnati that put me to the test.  A TV station client held a breakfast marketing meeting with several local business leaders they were able to round up.  A co-worked and and I arrived at the station the day before for a dry run with the station management team.  Everything checked out perfectly.  My suitcase size LCD projector had weathered the trip - and the PowerPoint presentation we had prepared earlier that week got an advance "thumbs up" from the station management team.

Early the next morning, we arrived with full confidence.  Attendees were soon mingling freely with each other as they waited for what had been billed by the station as an extraordinary TV marketing opportunity.  It was my job to bring this message alive with an effective presentation and my (at the time) Proxima projector.

About 10 minutes before showtime, I put down my glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and wandered over to the projector to hit the warm-up button, followed in quick order with the laptop start button.  The Proxima projector came on normally, followed by their big logo on the screen.  What didn't fire up was any sign of life from the laptop.  Nothing - it simply would not fire.

It was a futile effort to try anything and everything to get that laptop going, including an emergency wake-up call to my tech guy back in San Diego.   Even if "Go To My PC" had been invented - it wouldn't have mattered. Events took a turn for the worse when the station marketing manager approached and seeing my frustration remarked, "You're having issues, aren't you?   It's because this TV station was built on Indian burial grounds.  Happens all the time.  Other presenters have the same issues.  I can tell you - no matter what you do - it will not work."

Doug, the associate I was travelling with, saved the day when he remembered he had a similar presentation to mine had saved on his own laptop.  With some 'quick modifications' we realized this was our only chance to bail out of a tense situation.  Doug saved the day.  We started 45 minutes late and with much less of an effective presentation than what we had intended. Nevertheless, we survived a very harrowing morning. 

Looking back, somebody must have been watching over us.  I was approached at the end of our "back-up" presentation by a senior bank manager in attendance.  He invited us to a follow-up meeting the next day at his bank's corporate headquarters.  We ended up signing a long-term marketing deal with that bank - one of our largest single marketing programs to date. Life on the road!

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Arron Dias said:

	"To me, presentations can be like a game of golf." I agree, I've felt the wrath of a great presentation and the doom of a failed projector. Your input is wonderful, I am sure it will help many consumers!
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November 21, 2008
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