What was it?

The Robotics Alley Conference and Expo was a robotics convention for industry leaders in robotics wishing to spur innovations in technology. It was held on Tuesday the 16th and Wednesday the 17th.

Why were we there?

We, as well as a few other FRC and FTC teams including the Green Girls, G.E.A.R.S, and Stormbots as well as the non-profit High Tech Kids were asked to assist FIRST robotics information booth during the Expo and show off our robots in the STEM showcase.

What marketing did we do?

We displayed our robot to the expo Tuesday afternoon and told other teams about our team and our FIRST mission. Our team members wore their team shirts and we took a few photographs for our website and other social media. Our team members and our head mentors Tom and Mike spoke to attendees about FIRST, STEM and our team, and handed out a few of our Room-bot cards. We also drove around our robot, showing off the power of STEM education through our robot. Also, Mike and I attended the full convention both days and had many good conversations with people about our team, it’s mission, and STEM.

What marketing should we have done?

The other robotics teams had some great ideas in terms of marketing at this event. The Green Girls had a few pamphlets on their upcoming U of M Robotics Event, and we could have done something similar for the Minnesota Robotics Invitational. They also had a “STEM Resources for Girls” handout as part of their outreach efforts. The Blaine G.E.A.R.S. also had a letter handout explaining who they were to attendees, and the Chanhassen Stormbots had informational packets on sponsoring their team. Many of the teams also brought trifolds about their robotics team to this event to display, and had many people attend the full conference instead of just two.