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.

Up Your Game — July 2020 Newsletter

Up Your Game — July 2020 Newsletter

Personal Protection guidelines are starting to unfold for schools, universities, medical facilities, and businesses. We are deep in that mix and know it very well. Currently, we have about twenty schools under our belt, eight banks, and several hospitals.

read more
Is Your Office Cubicle Safe? Cubicle Height Extenders Offer Additional Protection

Is Your Office Cubicle Safe? Cubicle Height Extenders Offer Additional Protection

Cubicle Height Extenders with Clear Plex If you have an office with cubicles, you have a challenge. As employees return to their desks, they will be expecting additional personal safety. Most cubicles are 4-5 ft high and don't offer enough personal protection. At a minimum, cubicle partitions should be at least 6 ft. high. PlaceLyft Cubicle Height Extenders install in minutes and raise the...

read more
Our Remodeled Offices. Tour with Kevin Carty

Our Remodeled Offices. Tour with Kevin Carty

The office redesign includes Gravitee modular walls with detachable magnetic/whiteboard panels, tension fabric (backlit and non-backlit), and clear plex inserts. The changes provide greater personal safety since the surfaces can be cleaned or replaced. The upgraded cubicles offer more protection without sacrificing visibility or communication. All the surfaces can be branded.

read more

Filter by Category

Filter by Year

Recent Posts

More Changes! Exhibit Design Search

Get a Distributor-branded Exhibit Design Search for your website. Only $300. We do the work. You get the credit. Give Jen, Reid, or Mel a call for more information.

Our “Shared Success” Values

At Classic Exhibits Inc., we believe that healthy relationships with employees,
suppliers, and distributors (and their customers) depends on Shared Knowledge,
Shared Responsibility, and Shared Innovation. We value honest communication,
transparency, trust, and hard work. We are committed to the Shared Success of all
stakeholders based on their contribution.

It’s Personal. Our New Custom Exhibit Gallery

We created Custom Exhibit Gallery on the Classic website, not in EDS. It’s very similar to our Retail Gallery and Graphic Inspiration Galleries. All are are meant to show you our full design and production capabilities.

Perfect 10 Promotional Materials

We love it when distributors re-purpose Classic’s marketing materials. This week, Atlantic Exhibits sent an email broadcast promoting Perfect 10 Portable Hybrid Displays. Not only is the P10 on sale thorough 11/27, but it also carries the 100-Day Return Guarantee. It’s the PERFECT One-two punch product as you head into the holiday season.

11 Printable Product Sheets from Classic Exhibits

Once or twice a week, we get a request for a printable handout for Sacagawea, Perfect, 10, Visionary Designs, etc. Most of the time, the distributor wants a simple one-page product summary to leave with their customer or as an email attachment. Rarely does the distributor ask for a large, multi-page brochure.

What Makes a Custom Exhibit a Custom Exhibit?

When is an exhibit custom? Now more than ever, it seems the term “custom” is fluid. Is it based on materials, project dollar size, or who builds it? Is it an original design, not one based on prior concepts? Or does it matter as long as your client views it as custom?

The More Perfect, Perfect 10 Hybrid Display

Hold onto your dentures Grandma, we just made the Perfect 10 — More Perfect! The Perfect 10 and Perfect 20 feature the exclusive 100-Day Return Guarantee. If for any reason your client doesn’t like the Perfect 10 within the first 100 days, they can return it for a refund, minus graphics and shipping.

Wait… There’s MORE! ALL Perfect 10 Portable Hybrid Displays are ON SALE through November 27. Every. Single. One. There’s never been a portable display like the P10. No tools. Distinctive shape. Options galore. Download the literature below or in the Perfect 10 gallery in Exhibit Design Search.

Controlled Chaos: Word on the Street — Sept. 21st thru Sept. 25th

If you have kids like me, you know the difference between “chaos” and “controlled chaos.” Here is how I explain it as a parent: You know those big trampoline havens? The indoor trampoline park has quickly replaced Chuckie Cheese as THE place to have a birthday party.

Well, these trampoline parks are located in massive warehouses. But within those spaces are sections or what I call Kiddie Play Prisons, divided into areas with guards. Instead of wielding a gun, they are armed with a smile and a walkie-talkie to communicate with the other guards.

The Sale That Got Away

Sales are funny that way. We are so conditioned by “sales success” that we tend to ignore “sales failure.” So we congratulate ourselves on what we did right to land the order. Not on what we did wrong that kept us from getting it. It’s easier to create excuses. To blame the situation or a person.

John Zipay: Six Month Update (or What I Did During My Summer Vacation)

Wow! I can’t believe it has been six months since I joined the Classic Exhibits Family as the General Manager for Exhibits Northwest!

Where to begin… The Northwest is fantastically beautiful with postcard views in every direction. The folks here are down-to-earth, extremely health, and environmentally conscious. Professionally, my daily challenges haven’t changed very much, and the overall industry feel is more or less the same. Just like you, we use our experience to recommend the best exhibits and services to our customers.

How to Speak Graphic Designer (Infographic)

28 Design Terms Marketers Should Know

Wow! Two sensational infographics within a week. This one should be printed, framed, and hung on the wall next to every graphic designer and marketing manager. No more misunderstandings about leading and kerning. No more wasted conversations about web-friendly fonts. No more confusion about UI and UX.

10 Steps to Trade Show Success (Infographic)

Some infographics can be confusing… But not this one! An outstanding infographic from Bag of Ideas, a promotional products company in the UK. This is one worth printing or forwarding to your tradeshow clients. Bag of Ideas — A pat on the back for this clever and practical message. Well done!

Trust Me!

I receive Seth Godin’s daily blog post. To say “I receive” his posts doesn’t do them justice. They’re always the first or second email I read in the morning. This one was especially relevant.

Here’s a simple marketing strategy for a smaller company trying to compete in a big-company world:

Choose your customers, trust them, treat them well.
Say yes. Bend the rules. Show up on time. Keep your promises.
Don’t exert power merely because you can.
Be human, be kind, pay attention, smile.

Not everyone deserves this sort of treatment, not everyone will do their part to be the kind of customer you can delight and serve. But that’s okay, you don’t need everyone.