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.

Filter by Category

Filter by Year

Recent Posts

If Kittens Ran Trade Shows and Events . . .

If kittens ran trade shows and events, experience would be respected, every booth would have toys, two hours naps would be mandatory, and everyone would be cute and adorable. And we would all trust our instincts.

Your Exhibit Success Challenge Series

Today begins three weeks of education and inspiration to spur your exhibit marketing plans forward for this fall’s shows and beyond. Each week during the Challenge, you’ll receive an e-mail with links to the expert interviews as they’re available (scheduled for Tuesdays and Thursdays).

What You Missed at The Red Diamond Congress

Last week, I attended the E2MA Red Diamond Congress in Chicago. The Red Diamond Congress is the association’s annual three-day meeting. So what’s the RDC. It’s not a trade show like EXHIBITOR. Nor is it a meeting with colleagues held at a resort like EDPA Access. Instead, it’s in Chicago at McCormick Place. About 200+ attended, which meant it was nearly impossible not to meet everyone. That was two-thirds of the fun.

Richer for the Experience: Building My NEW Website with Tony Bennett

In 2012, I started Laguna Displays as a portable/modular exhibits and graphics business. My initial, very basic website was built around Classic’s user-friendly Exhibit Design Search (EDS). A year later, with Laguna Displays out of infancy, I was ready to launch an upgraded, full-featured website that could grow and change with my company.

Summer in the Trade Show Exhibit Industry

If there was an exhibit and event thermometer measuring the hot and cold temperature of the industry, it would go from subzero to boiling hot several times a year.

Now before you think this is just my opinion, let me qualify it.

SEGUE SuperNova LED Inline Lightboxes

For the first time, exhibitors can enjoy the visible benefits of a large lightbox in a portable one- or two-sided display. SEGUE SuperNova LED Lightboxes from Classic Exhibits use a proprietary light system that attaches to the engineered aluminum frame.

Classic Exhibits has a NEW Chicago Rental Depot

Yes, you read that correctly! We’re excited to announce that we have added a rental depot in Chicago. We’ve teamed up with ELITeXPO to produce rentals at their corporate headquarters in Elgin, IL (right outside of Chicago). We’ll work with you on the sales end, and they’ll handle the fulfillment. And you’ll save big time on shipping costs!

How to Build Superfans for Your Brand: Word on the Street — July 8th thru July 12th

The fact I am writing this makes me laugh. A friend and fellow music lover shared an article with me last week about my favorite band — Pearl Jam. And the reason it makes me chuckle is that as a card carrying member of the Ten Club (their fan club) since 1992, I firmly believe that Eddie, Stone, Jeff, and Mike would cringe if they knew they were being written about as smart “business strategists.”

A Groovy First Year Retrospective

Lesson #56 – Problems Can be Opportunities in (a really bad) Disguise

Some might say “astounding.” Others may choose “astonishing.” I choose “G-R-O-O-V-Y”!

The past year has been, well, groovy. I’m imagining a few LOL moments from those who have spent time with me.

Trade Show Flooring Galleries in EDS — WOW!

Brumark has made significant changes and additions to the Flooring — Carpet and Padding and Flooring – Other Options galleries of Exhibit Design Search!

In addition to enhanced product descriptions and updated images, they’ve added a variety of flooring products to meet just about any application and budget requirement. Here’s a description of the changes from Brumark:

Magellan Portable Hybrid Displays

The Classic distributors who attend Shared Knowledge University (SKU), our comprehensive training program, hear the history and the explanation of our hybrid lines. They always tell us that what was confusing, now makes sense. So, over the next few weeks, I’ll do my best to encapsulate the SKU review into a series of blogs about the Classic Hybrid lines. We’ll begin with Magellan.

Meet Katrina Broten, Our Design Intern: Word on the Street — June 17th thru June 21st

The Classic Family is very happy to welcome Katrina Broten to our Design Department as a Summer Design Intern. Many of you might remember Katrina from earlier postings. She and I met through the EDPA Mentorship Program with Bemidji State University last fall. During her final year, she collaborated with Mike and Katina from the Classic Exhibits Design Department as she worked on her senior projects.