Trade Show Tales Blog

Trade Show Tales is your comprehensive guide to informative articles about trade show marketing, exhibit industry news, promotions, and updates on Classic Exhibits. 

For specific topics, use the Search Tool in the blog or visit the Trade Show and Event Tips in Exhibit Design Search.

| The NO Compromises Portable Display

by | Mar 30, 2020 | , , ,

SYK-2023 Symphony Portable Display For too long, Portable Trade Show Displays have sacrificed elegant design for visual simplicity. Not anymore. Introducing Symphony, the first portable/modular display to blend easy tool-less assembly with elegant design and clever accessories. With Symphony, there are no compromises. Simply a beautiful upscale display at a price that’s thousands less than most...

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Recent Posts

| May 2017

We know you are patiently waiting for National Hug Your Cat Day on May 15. As are we. To help you pass the time, we’ve compiled a list of 10 BIG trade shows happening in May 2017. What do cats have to do with trade shows? Thank you for asking: What Cats Can Teach Us About Trade Shows.

What a Mel Meltdown Looks Like

Twelve years ago, we coined the phrase “Exhibit Design Search.” Back then, it was exactly that — a simple way to search through our product galleries for kit numbers and features. As with anything successful, there are bound to be copycats. Other display vendors and distributors have attempted to replicate Exhibit Design Search.

‘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.

| April 2017

Spring has officially sprung and we’re hopping into April with another BIG trade show month. This month features coffee to craft brewers, and furniture design to architects and broadcasters. There’s something for everyone.

2017 Portable Modular Awards at EXHIBITORLIVE

At EXHIBITORLIVE, Classic Exhibits had six finalists for the EXHIBITOR Portable Modular Awards. Our most ever. We won two: Best Inline and Best Use of Graphics. Some background on each winner from text that will appear in EXHIBITOR Magazine.

A Fun Video of EXHIBITOR 2017 with Classic Exhibits

If you were at EXHIBITORLIVE, you already know. It was amazing! So many upscale designs and clever promotions this year. We’ll share details in a future blog (once we fully recover), but we thought you might enjoy this fun video edited by Glenna Martin, our Graphic Design Manager. See anyone you recognize?

| My First Six Months at Classic Exhibits

There are many things that I have done for more than six months. Many tangentially related to the design of trade show spaces and structures. For example, building scenery, painting sets, designing and producing environmental graphics. What I have not done (until now) is work for any organization for anywhere close to six months. As Ariel said in the Disney version of The Little Mermaid, it’s a whole new world.

Your Women in Exhibitions Meeting at EXHIBITORLIVE

Calling ALL women in the exhibition industry! The Women In Exhibitions (WIE) meeting will be held on Monday, March 13 at 5 pm at Mandalay Bay – Palm F, Level 3. Please join us as we network and build key relationships with other women in our industry.

Ahhh, The Elusive Email Subject Line

Anyone who writes marketing or sales emails sweats over subject lines. Admittedly, I’ve read quite a few articles from experts, each with kernels of wisdom. Yesterday, I read a great one from Tina Brown at Warp Corp, a builder and printer of tension fabric structures in Seattle. Tina brought it all together in a tidy, well-written package. So, I’m sharing.

| Get the Skinny from Classic Exhibits

I don’t know about you, but we are delighted EXHIBITORLIVE is a bit later this year. It was a crazy January at Classic Exhibits, and February has already gotten even wackier with designs, quotes, and orders. Thanks for all the business.

So, what can you expect from Classic Exhibits at EXHIBITORLIVE? [All future references to the show will be “EL.” If I have to type all caps and then change LIVE to italics again, I will lose my friggin’ mind]. As a reminder, the show runs from March 12-16 at Mandalay Bay.

| March 2017

March can be a little crazy both in weather and in basketball. Not only do we have the “Luck o’ the Irish” working in our favor, but there are also some OUTSTANDING trade shows that month.

| February 2017

January was a slamming month for trade shows. February holds strong and makes us wanna say, “I Heart Trade Shows!” Here are 10 of the Biggest Shows in North America this month.

‘s 2017 “Inclement” Weather Via the Aerial Tram and Oregon Zoo

You either love snow… or you don’t. I love snow and have no hesitation braving the elements either in a car or on foot. However, there is the reality of how cities handle winter weather conditions. Portland, “bless its heart” (as they say in the South), is ill-equipped to manage snowstorms. That’s not a criticism of PDX. We get so little snow that the capital investment would be silly. So rather than complain or grumble, let’s revel in the beauty. Here are two videos: one showing DT Portland via the aerial tram and the other at the Oregon Zoo.