Classic Exhibits… By the Numbers

Trade Show Blog

P5D_EDS_TTB_BlogHeader

Milestones

In business, as in life, we celebrate milestones. This morning after adding an article to Trade Show Tips, I decide to count them — 74 articles. It’s more than I thought, but 74 isn’t 740 or 7400 so the number didn’t freak me out.

Having started down this path, I decided to look at other numbers. For example, how many blog posts have we published in Trade Show Tales? WordPress makes finding that number easy — 704 posts (counting this one). Now I have to be honest with you — that did freak me out a bit. We publish 6-8 posts per month with the first one in 2009. So by the numbers, that’s about right. However, that doesn’t make 704 seem any less daunting. That’s a lot of words and images over the years. I’m not sure whether we should pat ourselves on the back or apologize to you (“Way to go team!” or “Sorry everyone”).

What Is This Anyway?

The First P5D Photo. What Is This Anyway?

So, you may be wondering how many photos are in Past 5 Days. P5D was launched on September 9, 2006 with this image. It’s an odd image for the first P5D, but we didn’t know what we were doing back then. According to Tony, our resident web guru, we’ve published 5840 photos. Most are linked to kits in Exhibit Design Search.

I’d be impressed, but I’m actually more exhausted thinking about how each photo had to be resized, saved for the web, and described. The upside is that P5D is the third most visited section of the Classic website, after the Classic and the EDS home pages (according to Google Analytics).

Which leads us to EDS. It’s a big number so let’s filter it a bit. Some kits are shown in multiple galleries. I’d estimate around 140. Our count won’t include inactive designs (we’ve killed probably 400+ kits over the years). We won’t count the Cases, Lighting, and Flooring (149 entries).

031116 MOD1430_aTotal = 1554. Let’s put that number in perspective. Some galleries have grown substantially the past two years, such as the Rental, eSmart, and Island Galleries (because of double-digit growth). During that same time, charging stations, tablet stands, and lightbox kits were added. Plus, the Quadro Floating Graphic System is new.

Twice a year, we delete slow selling kits, or give them a second chance by redesigning them. And then there’s Design Monday, which serves as constant design funnel for Exhibit Design Search.

I’ll spare you all the numbers for Design Monday except to say that back in December we hit the 560th week. DM, more than anything else in this list, makes my head hurt.

You are probably wondering if there’s a point to this blog post, other than reaching blog post 704? Whatever you think about Classic Exhibits, you have to give us credit for persistence, communication, and creativity. That alone should tell you who we are as a company and how much we value you as a Classic Distributor. Give us a break. We have a lot to share!

Is it really time to post another P5D? Sigh.

–Mel White
mel@classicexhibits.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/melmwhite
https://twitter.com/melmwhite

**********************************************

Based in Portland, Oregon, Classic Exhibits Inc. designs and manufacturers portable, modular, and custom-hybrid exhibit solutions. Classic Exhibits products are represented by an extensive distributor network in North America and in select International markets. For more information, contact us at 866-652-2100 or www.classicexhibits.com.

[subscribe2]

Filter by Category

Filter by Year

Recent Posts

How To Make Your Trade Show Backdrop Stand Out!

Many exhibitors assume a backdrop is a simple two-dimensional graphic along the backwall of an exhibit. But it can be so much more. A backdrop in a 10 x 10 or 10 x 20 booth space doesn’t have to be basic. Modern inline displays come in various shapes, heights, and configurations.

Is Your Trade Show Display an Oreo or a Fig Newton?

As an adult I can rate just about everything on a cookie scale. For brevity, I’ll limit this article to Oreos, Fig Newtons, and Nilla Wafers, but be assured that the “science” behind my methodology includes Frosted Animal Cookies, Pepperidge Farms (as a collective group), Girl Scout Thin Mints, and Chips Ahoy.

Does Your Trade Show Exhibit Have To Be Clever?

That’s not to say your trade show exhibit shouldn’t be attractive. It should, but I would encourage you to focus on more practical matters the next time you design or rebrand your display. What do you need in the booth space to conduct business? Make it less about showmanship and more about conversations and information.

What Cats Can Teach Us About Trade Shows

We are a nation devoted to pets, whether they’re on the farm or in a purse. They learn from us, but we learn from them as well. The other day while watching Animal Planet with a cat in my lap, one on the sofa, and another puking upstairs ( it sounded like the world’s worst ventriloquist), I realized that we could learn a thing or two about trade show marketing from our feline companions.

Gravitee One Step — The World’s Easiest Modular Wall System

Gravitee — The World’s Easiest Modular Wall System. Unlike traditional modular wall systems, Gravitee has no loose connectors. The frames are constructed with durable engineered aluminum extrusion and the system uses time-tested patented technology.

Who is Our Biggest Trade Show Competitor?

Recently, I’ve been on the road, visiting Classic Distributors in the Midwest and South. We chat about industry trends, new products, and challenges in their market. Occasionally, they will ask me about competitors. That’s a topic, to be honest, that makes me uncomfortable.

3 Essential Trade Show Marketing Questions

These are questions every designer should ask their client before designing the ideal trade show display. If the client walks in just thinking about the nuts and bolts of the project, they may miss an informed conversation on why they are exhibiting in the first place and that can fundamentally affect the design of a booth. The Why can greatly impact the How in Exhibit Design.

What You Should Know about Exhibit Marketing

Exhibit marketing is all about marketing your products or services to buyers at expositions, conferences, and trade shows. A successful exhibit marketing program will be rewarded with increased revenues, referrals, and industry networking. The goal is to understand how exhibit marketing differs from the other types of marketing.

Managing Your Trade Show Budget

Trade shows are expensive, and some costs are often puzzling to exhibition newbies, but there are multiple ways to manage those expenses with a little planning and some assistance from an experienced trade show professional. Don’t be afraid to tap into that expertise.

Why Are Trade Shows Important for Business Growth and Branding

With the rise of online meetings and ecommerce, business experts have predicted the death of trade shows and live events for 40 years. Yet, the benefits of trade shows and events have never been more important for businesses. There were over 13,000 separate events in North America in 2025 alone.

Best & Biggest Convention Centers in the US for Trade Shows

What are the biggest and best convention centers in the United States? And does overall size and location matter when it comes to a convention center? Unless you’re a trade show nerd (like me), you’ve probably never wondered if the Las Vegas Convention Center is bigger than McCormick Place in Chicago. Or if the Orange County Convention Center is in FL or CA?

People’s Almanac of Trade Show Knowledge

We all love working with an informed client about trade shows and trade show marketing. They ask our advice. We give it. Sometimes we state facts. Sometimes we offer opinions. And sometimes, we should send them to an expert.

Life as a Traveling Sales Representative

Snake Oil Salesman or Snake Charmer. The traveling salesman has always had slightly negative, slightly shady reputation. If you’ve ever seen The Music Man, particularly the opening scene on train, you’ll know what I mean. I would like to think business has changed from the days of the “snake oil salesman” to what we now refer to as a “manufacturer’s rep.

10 Online Tools for Classic Exhibits Distributors

At a recent Shared Knowledge University, we reviewed ten online tools available to all Classic Exhibits Distributors. The attendees told us that these tools are invaluable to their sales, marketing, and customer service teams and are unique within the exhibit industry. 

Why Small Businesses Fail to Grow by Jay Goltz

Excerpt from the “Art of Running a Small Business.” Many, if not most, Classic Exhibits distributors fall into the small business classification as defined by the Small Business Administration. Small businesses have challenges that larger businesses do not.