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.

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...

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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.

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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. 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.

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.

Deep Thoughts from the E2MA Red Diamond Congress

I attended the E2MA Red Diamond Congress in Boston last week — my third time at this annual two-day conference. The RDC is a small, but growing, group of stakeholders in the event and tradeshow industry which includes show organizers, general contractors, associations, distributors, tradeshow managers, suppliers, and labor.

When Technology Bites: Word on the Street — July 20th thru July 24th

I love technology! But sometimes, I fear, we miss the basics, the commonsense in our effort to make things more efficient and streamlined — like what makes sense. For example…

Last week I met with a transportation company, one of the well-known Big TWO. At the beginning of 2015, this carrier introduced a slick handing system in their sorting facilities replacing the old system that required someone to manually check measurements on larger packages.

Mid-Year Review: Word on the Street — July 13th thru July 17th

I am writing this a few weeks late, but in fairness, there’s a lot going on at Classic Exhibits.

It’s been an exciting 2015, thanks to you, our loyal and creative distributors. Orders have been ALL ACROSS THE BOARD. So let’s review the highlights, identify some trends, and share a few stories.

The year started with a bang. January set the tone after a busy late December. It was clear we were going to be in for a wild ride filled with growth, unique challenges, and a mixture of tradeshow, event, retail, and permanent install projects.

Under $3K to $25K Display Brochures

I’m getting old, but not too old to learn from my mistakes. Over the past year, I’ve largely ignored printed sales collateral as a tool for Classic Distributors. That’s not to say we haven’t created high quality PDF’s (such as Tablet Stands and OTM Neo and Express Furniture), but they have been mostly promotional sheets, not product line sheets. My feeling was — It’s all online on the Classic website or in Exhibit Design Search.

New Charging Stations — Q&A Video with Kevin and Mel

When we introduced our newest Charging Stations at EXHIBITORLIVE, we expected them to do well. Our definition of “well” should probably change to “Yowsa!” They’ve been a big hit. As with any new product, there are questions so Kevin and Mel sat down for a casual Q&A video about the charging stations.

Mi Design NOT Su Design: Word on the Street — June 22nd thru June 26th

Protecting your Intellectual Property is nothing new (IP). Companies of all sizes are faced with companies (and governments) stealing their designs and ideas. Some folks view it as a way of doing business — leveraging the work of others for their own professional gain or sales. I once attended a business symposium, and the featured speaker of a Fortune 1000 company blatantly said his company doesn’t invest in R&D. They borrow the work of others. It was shocking to hear.

Alaskan Cruise Photos

Several weeks ago, Cynthia Geddis, a Project Manager in our Customer Service Department, took a seven-day Alaskan cruise from Seattle on the Princess Line with her husband. For those who have never been on an Alaskan cruise, we thought you might enjoy seeing photos.

Yes, it’s a bit like you would would expect — eagles, glaciers, fiords, icebergs, totem poles, etc — but her photos take the expected and make them unexpected. Excellent shots of Mendenhall Glacier, Ketchikan, Skagway, shy whales, and some freaky big crabs. Our thanks to Cynthia for sharing these with us.

Sacagawea 100-Day Guarantee (Seriously!)

Effective immediately, Sacagawea, our most popular portable hybrid display, comes with a 100-Day Guarantee. Yes, that’s our promise. “You’ll Love It — Or We’ll Take It Back.” Fill it with gas, rev the engine, and drive it around the block a couple of times at a trade show. There’s never been a “Love It” return policy for a tradeshow display… until now.

Introducing the NEW Unbranded Exhibit Design Search

Most Classic Exhibits distributors have the branded version of Exhibit Design Search (EDS), but some tap into our unbranded EDS websites. Many of you may be unfamiliar with the unbranded versions. These sites have the same features as your branded EDS site except the communication tools — Contact Us, Share, and Request a Design — point to Classic Exhibits. Why? Because they have to point somewhere.

Last week, the two Unbranded Versions were updated with larger images, a revised menu, and some interesting animations. To see the two versions — one with and one without prices — click on the links below.

Top 50 Trends Affecting Trade Shows and Events in 2015

GES published their 2015 Trend Tracker Report where they list the Top 50 Trends in trade shows and events. The trends are divided into four categories: Budgeting and Planning, Marketing, Technology, and Design. It’s short — only six pages if you exclude the GES ad — and it’s worth sharing.