Written by Bob Snyder and published originally on rAVe Europe
Monday, 10 November 2008
You remember this one from the days of telex directories. It comes in the mail, looking very official. It seems to be your official listing in the ISE catalogue as it mentions ISE and headlines "Exhibitors Directory in the Expo-Guide." The letter (with your name and address pilfered from a previous ISE catalogue or a web site) says “The update of your pre-registered listing in our exhibitors directory is essential…” So fill in any changes in your details and send it back. Right….
Expo-Guide is not an official ISE publication. It may not even be a publication. The company behind this sleight-of-hand marketing seems to be from Mexico, but who knows? The campaign is so similar to a notorious German company and the bank named is in Spain.
You need to read the letter (not the form which people tend to grab first) before you see it is NOT affiliated with ISE. You also have to read it carefully to understand if you fill in and send back the form in the envelope provided (how kind), you will get a bill. It cautions you in the letter that the only FREE update is on-line. Except there’s no link provided and if you Google search “Expo-Guide,” you get links to other industries and other shows all complaining about these folks.
Exhibitors: Watch for an orange "EXPO GUIDE" logo. Read any form very carefully before signing. What can you do if you already filled this in, thinking it was official? Ah, thanks to the internet it is now easier for consumers to defend themselves from evil, misleading tactics.
Go STOP ECG.org
http://ftp-sgpartners.net/proAV/administrator/ – ISE Exhibitors: Don’t Fall for This Trick
