My EXHIBITORLIVE 2018 Reactions and Recap

Hello Classic Distributor Family!

What an amazing start to 2018. EXHIBITORLIVE was visual proof that things are on the upswing in the trade show industry.

The EXHIBITORLIVE show floor, by many accounts, felt smaller footprint-wise… but boy was it TALLER than ever. Everyone seemed to go high this year, Classic included with an aluminum double-deck, one of several in our Classic Rental Solutions inventory.

The attendee mood was positive about the future of face-to-face marketing. As we know, face-to-face marketing is evolving with the blending of trade shows and events. That blending was clearly on display via digital displays, LED Walls, AR, and VR technology and much, much more.

Classic continues to be largely an enigma to corporate trade show managers. Even after 20 years at EXHIBITOR, we are an unknown entity to many end-users, which is fine. Our customer is YOU, the Classic Distributor. We participate in EXHIBITOR to show you new products and services, to talk to YOU about how we can better serve you and your customers, and to discover more of YOU in markets where we need Classic Exhibit partners. To that end, the show was very successful.

The Classic Team did an amazing job getting the booth designed, shipped, installed, and staffed. I could not be prouder of the sweat and effort by everyone who worked on this year’s exhibit. It was Big and Beautiful!

: Classic Exhibits Island

: Eco-Systems Sustainable Inline

: Red Shoes All Around

Portable Modular Awards

On that Tuesday, we attended the 5th Annual Portable Modular Awards ceremony. We had four finalists this year, and we won what I would consider the most coveted Exhibit Design Award of the year — the 2017 People’s Choice Award. We won for the Parallon Island, a project we designed and built for our great partner The Astor Group! Not only does this award recognize an incredible design, but it’s also a wonderful example of a partnership between Classic (builder) and Astor Group (Distributorship). Thank you Lowell, Ciara, and Cheryl for entrusting the Classic Exhibits Team to bring your client’s marketing to life. To date, it’s the most beautiful exhibit we have designed and built.

Find It Top 40

As if that were not enough, Exhibitor Magazine announced a new category of awards. The Find-It Marketplace Top 40 Exhibit Builders. Classic not only made the list, but we were singled out as the Best Exhibit House in the Service and Reliability Category. Proud does not even begin to describe my feelings when I heard them call our name. We all love awards of course, but one that is based on Customer Service and Reliability means the most to me. It recognizes our dedicated Shop Crew, Project Managers, Detailers, Design, and Administrative teams for all the amazing work they do each and every day. Thank you to all the employees of Classic Exhibits for doing what you do so well.

To all of our Distributor Partners and Vendor Partners, it was great to see you and get caught up on your business and personal lives. And to our sister company, Eco-systems Sustainable Exhibits, your inline exhibit showcased your ability to GO UPSCALE GREEN with an amazing custom design. To all… Thank you for believing in Shared Success!

Have a great weekend ahead all.

Be well!

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If Puppies Ran Trade Shows and Events

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If Kittens Ran Trade Shows and Events

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Most designers rarely design a layout larger than a corporate booklet or perhaps a 20″ x 30″ poster. Designing for large format, like trade show graphics, is actually quite simple once you know the basic steps. All it takes is a leap of faith… and trust in my advice.

Trade Shows and the Desire to Change

Are trade shows are relevant? Is there a future for industry trade shows? Are companies willing to spend their valuable marketing dollars building a temporary structure just to attract new customers or meet with existing ones?

Where’s Waldo at the Trade Show!

Where’s Waldo at the Trade Show? @Pink Unicorn Comics? Nope. @Petting Zoo? Nope. @Zombie Killing Workshop? Perhaps.

Buying a Trade Show Exhibit? Ten “Must Ask” Questions

It’s common to express remorse after a big ticket purchase. Typically when the purchase is infrequent, such as a home, car, or expensive equipment. Buying a trade show exhibit is that type of purchase, especially an inline or island exhibit for a large trade show. .

An Honest Conversation about Trade Show Rentals

Recently, what I thought would be a simple, straight-forward conversation left me scratching my head. I was meeting with exhibit industry colleagues, and the topic turned to rentals. Admittedly, rentals shouldn’t be puzzling. Rentals have exploded at a rate 3 to 4 times faster than exhibit purchases. What surprised me was the perception and the language used to define the exhibit rental landscape.

What’s Your Trade Show Kryptonite?

We shouldn’t but we do. We hope hope hope that the next attendee who walks in our booth is Superman. Not Superman Superman, but the sales equivalent of Superman. Faster to sign a contract than a speeding bullet. More powerful than the VP of Purchasing.

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