SKU-Tastic!: Word on the Street — May 18th-May 22nd
Last week was not your normal May at Classic Exhibits. Why?
We held our most recent edition of Shared Knowledge University (SKU), Classic’s bi-annual distributor training session.
This SKU was so great that my friend Dave Brown from Optima coined the term “SKU-Tastic!” I wholeheartedly agree.
Join Us @ 2015 Red Diamond Congress
You are cordially invited to the 2015 Red Diamond Congress from July 20-22 in Quincy, MA. The RDC provides education, information, and networking opportunities for Exhibit and Event Marketers Association members and industry colleagues. It also explores new models, new methods, and new practices for the entire community of exhibit and event industry professionals.
Classic Exhibits is proud to be an official sponsor of the Red Diamond Congress. Should you have any questions, please contact Jim Wurm at E2MA (jimwurm@e2ma.org) or feel free to email or call me, Mel White, at Classic Exhibits. See you there!
‘s Waldo at the Trade Show!
Where’s Waldo at a Trade Show? @Pink Unicorn Comics? Nope. @Petting Zoo? Nope. @Zombie Killing Workshop? Perhaps.
| Inline Exhibit GiftCard Promotion
Earn GiftCards this summer from Classic Exhibits. The Gimme the GiftCard promotion includes all inline exhibits sold between May 18 and July 31. Classic Distributors earn $25 for every $1000 wholesale on inline orders. Choose from hundreds of retailers at www.giftcardmall.com. See details for an exclusions, such as rentals.
All Eco-systems Sustainable Inlines/Islands are on SALE!
Vacation is two weeks away… for your kids! BUT you still have to go to work, punch the clock, and sell displays. It’s never easy this time of year, but our friends at Eco-systems have a solution. In May, June, and July, all inlines and islands are on sale. Plus, you can win cash. As in $111. See the details and contact Matt Wish (matt@ecosystemsdisplays.com) for a version you can email to your client database.
‘s Free!
As a designer, how often are you asked to reinvent the wheel while the clock is ticking? What if that pressure had to do with redesigning a kit from Classic’s award-winning Exhibit Design Search? Classic Exhibits has the cure. We will give you, yes give you, free of charge, our model files.
What Not to Eat in Your Trade Show Booth
Trade show experts tell us to never eat in the booth. It’s bad etiquette. From my experience, this arbitrary “food rule” is specific to North America. For example, at EuroShop, there was food everywhere, whether served to attendees or eaten by staffers. It’s time we dispense with this food hypocrisy. People are going to eat, so let’s agree on some guidelines. Some food is appropriate. Others not so much. Here are my suggestions of food never to eat/serve in your booth.
| The Truth about Trade Show Flooring
The labor experts at TS Crew struck gold again with another video about the ins and outs of trade show I&D. This one focuses on flooring, aka “The Truth about Trade Show Flooring.” It’s a great primer for, well, just about anyone who has struggled with planning and understanding the steps necessary for a seamless carpet install.
Hidden Gems in Exhibit Design Search
With over 1400 kits in Exhibit Design Search, some magnificent designs simply get lost in the shuffle. It happens… but it’s still sad. So we asked our experts — the project managers, designers, and territory managers from Classic Exhibits and Eco-systems Sustainable — to select designs they felt should get more “street cred.”
”re a House Painter.
On your best days, you get to be an artist. It doesn’t matter if you’re in design, production, account management, sales, marketing, or even accounting. You soar on those days. And when the clock hits 5 or 6 or 10 pm, you walk out of the door with a smile.
Then there are days where none of us have the luxury of being artists. We’re house painters. Good house painters mind you, but ones where the colors, the canvas, and the guidelines are chosen by someone else, usually your client.
Recent Posts
Shared Knowledge University (SKU): Word on the Street — April 16th thru April 20th
Class is in Session
For seven years, we have been committed to “Shared Success”! The concept is simple: What can we do to make our distributors better and to help them be more successful. Their success, in turn, makes us more successful. It requires listening, sharing, and implementing ideas to serve you and your customers.
What Sasquatch Can Teach Us about Trade Show Marketing
Trade Show Tips from Bigfoot
[Bigfoot-1]
Bigfoot Action Figure — Smart Marketing!
Sasquatch is no seven foot dummy. He (she) has a brain to match that brawn. Bigfoot understands marketing, knows PR like a Madison Avenue insider, and can out Kardashian the Kardashians without taking a step outside the Pacific Northwest. Here’s what our “ancestral brother from another mother” can teach us about trade show marketing.
Why Small Businesses Fail to Grow
Excerpt from the “Art of Running a Small Business”
Many, if not most, Classic Exhibits distributors fall into the small business classification as defined by the Small Business Administration. Small businesses have challenges that larger businesses do not. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve seen a Fortune 500 executive waltz into a small display company, sometimes as an investment or a “retirement” job, only to stumble badly. They simply did not understand how to manage and grow a small business.
Trade Show Marketing Insights from Marlys Arnold, the ImageSpecialist
If you visited our booth at EXHIBITOR 2012, you probably met Marlys Arnold. Known as the ImageSpecialist, Marlys travels the country consulting and training both exhibitors and show managers, and is the author of Build a Better Trade Show Image (2002), host of the Trade Show Insights blog-cast, and creator of the ExhibitorEd Success System.
Excellent Posts on www.tradeshowguyblog.com
Social Media and Trade Show Marketing
Our friend Tim Patterson at www.tradeshowguyblog.com continues to amaze me. If you are fascinated about the intersection of Social Media and Trade Show Marketing, there’s no better source than his site. Here are some recent posts including one where he reviews his work with Classic Exhibits and EXHIBITOR.
Education for the Future of our Industry: Word on the Street — March 26th thru March 30th
EDPA Foundation Scholarship
I have been fortunate to sit on the EDPA Foundation Scholarship Committee for many years. It’s something near and dear to my heart: education and supporting those within our industry getting their Education.
To date, the EDPAF Scholarship Committee has awarded nearly $110,000 in scholarships! Isn’t that awesome!! And its gone to a myriad of people from the kids of industry employees, industry employees themselves, as well as spouses who have chosen to further their education.
Something for (Almost) Nothing — FREE Pop Up Panels
For Classic Distributors Only
Typically, we wouldn’t post this information in a blog, but this is our way of rewarding our loyal blog and LinkedIn followers. We have an inventory of Quadro S and Quadro EO Pop Up fabric panels in discontinued fabrics. We have been holding onto them, just in case a customer needed them, but now it’s time to do a Spring Cleaning.
The following fabric panels, complete with magnet and hanger and kicker strips, are FREE. First come. First serve (within limits). Simply email me at the address below. You’ll have to pay for packaging ($35 wholesale per box) and shipping, but there’s no other obligation. We’ve even eliminated all the fun of haggling, unless you count the packaging fee (which is non-negotiable). Perfect for the kindergartener who needs a durable sleeping mat. 😉
New Outdoor Display Products Gallery
We love to share good news about Exhibit Design Search.
There’s a brand new gallery in EDS — Outdoor Display Products. This Optima Graphics gallery includes 11 popular outdoor products, such as Banshee, Kapow, Ridgeline, and Valet. There’s even a listing for Event Tents. As with many of the new features in EDS, the gallery was added at the request of several Classic Distributors. And the timing couldn’t be better with Spring at hand and Summer just a few months away. Our thanks to Gary Camarato at Optima for all his hard work on this gallery.
“‘m So Sweaty!”: Word on the Street — March 19th thru March 23rd
Is it Just Me?
As many of you know I have twins, Nicholas and Presley. They are five now, and while they have always provided comic relief, they seem to be taking it to a whole new level. This week, rather than talk about business, I want to share a story that recently happened at home.
An Exceptional Video from Display Supply and Lighting (DS&L)
Display Supply and Lighting Video
Rob Cohen, from Display Supply and Lighting (a Strategic Partner of Classic Exhibits) sent us this video. It’s so well done that we just had to share. Here’s a summary what you’ll see, along with a little “smooth salesmanship” from Mr. Rob.
‘s a New Regime in Town: Word on the Street — March 12 thru March 16
As you all know, I think EXHIBITOR Show 2012 was AMAZING. But it did not go off without a hitch. It had nothing to do with the organizers. They did a fantastic job! It had to do with the local union steward unfortunately.
Here is the deal. There is a new regime in the local Las Vegas union, which at first glance and given the economic hardships of the past three years would lead you to believe that positive change is coming. Unfortunately NO. And to make matters worse, the union leadership decided to flex their muscle at an industry event. To me that is counter intuitive, but to them it made perfect sense. Let me explain.
What Really Goes On at Conventions in Vegas
I’m back from EXHIBITOR, jazzed about the trade show industry and excited about what 2012 brings . . . then I stumble into this story in BusinessWeek.com. Joe Stein, the author, agreed to go to seven conventions in three days in Las Vegas. That’s just plain crazy. Heck, I can’t even go to seven fast food joints in three days without suffering from intestinal rumba.
Nevertheless, it’s a good read . . . even if he takes the easy path with some very, very broad generalizations.
EXHIBITOR 2012…What a SHOW!: Word on the Street — March 5th thru March 9th
Goosies!
To steal a phrase from J-LO (yes, I said J-LO) . . . EXHIBITOR 2012 gave me goosies! 🙂
Let’s start on March 5 at 11:30 am. Normally the Classic Crew would be standing in the booth waiting for the doors to open and for the first attendees to arrive. But we weren’t! We weren’t because starting at 10:30 am we already had other exhibitors (most of which were customers) in our booth looking around, admiring the Classic Exhibits booth, and eager to learn about what we were showing this year.
‘s Showtime: Word on the Street — Feb. 27th thru March 2nd
It’s Showtime!
Classic Exhibits and its family of companies is ready to show at EXHIBITOR 2012. We look forward to seeing you at booth #1645 this week.
The exhibit installed Friday and Saturday and looks amazing. Special thanks to James and Corey from Exhibits NW who led the set-up charge. And special thanks to Chris Griffin and the men from TS Crew for their stellar work.
Our Final Pre-EXHIBITOR2012 Video
EXHIBITOR Video #3
EXHIBITOR2012 is less than a week, and Tim Patterson, the intrepid “Tradeshow Guy” reporter, made a surprise visit at Classic. Up until now, we’ve held our cards close to our chest regarding the booth design and graphics. However . . . Being coy was no longer an option with Tim planted in the setup area asking questions.
Here’s your chance to see the structure about midway through assembly. Kevin and Mel discuss the concept in more detail and invite you to the booth where you can meet Tim and Marlys Arnold, our trade show marketing gurus.