Last Word
Rob Nathan
Media 10 marketing
director makes a point
in the only way he knows
how, by creating his
own industry notebook
awards.
to announce, in ascending
order, the winners for the
Exhibition Industry Free
Notebook Awards 2019 are…
L
ast year, as I wound down
for the Christmas break, I
realised that I was on the last
page of my standard-issue
events industry notebook,
and alarmed that hadn’t
been sent a new one from
any of the various venues,
associations, publications
that I work with (shows my
standing in the industry, I
suppose).
A quick post on LinkedIn
later and I was overwhelmed
with parcels, showered with
moleskin and faux leather
books from the great and
good of this wonderful
community. I received the
lot; from the perfunctory
black moleskin (BDC,
Farnborough) to the daring
Labour Party red moleskin
(SEC, Spectator, ExCeL), to
the garishly coloured (ESSA,
66 — January
“Have a think about the number of
trees that are sacrificed so that
people like me can doodle in a book
when that meeting gets a bit boring.”
SAEC), to the wonderfully
oversized (NEC)...some
with pens, some in units of
10 (thanks AEO) and some
(JSM) just sent in books in
the vain hope that I would
buy some as corporate gifts.
There was only one thing
for it, I’d create a cup or
awards to celebrate the best
of the best of the industry’s
notebooks. At the same time,
I’ve turned this folly into
some good - for every book I
received I am donating £10 to
the Alzheimer’s Association,
a cause dear to my heart.
After a careful and heavily
scrutinised judging process
and much debate I’d like
» 3rd place...Olympia (great
design, sturdy pen)
» 2nd place...Tembo
(personalised book...good
effort!)
» 1st place...Livebuzz
(basically a hip flask
secreted within the pages
of a bible…they know me
so well).
Great work, Livebuzzers!
This whole exercise has
reinforced what a great
industry we are in…but the
last word…maybe have a
think about the number
of trees that are sacrificed
so that people like me can
doodle in a book when that
meeting gets a bit boring. I’ll
happily accept an Ipad next
year instead. Thank you.