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.
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.
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.”
YOUR Invisible, Inc.: Word on the Street — April 13th thru April 17th
We recently welcomed several new, very talented employees to the Classic Family. And as is our custom, Mel and I sit down with these employees to check-in and see how things are going after about a week of training and immersion.
During this time, we take the opportunity to talk about “Who Classic is” both internally as well as externally to our customers/partners. In that discussion, we use the term “Invisible Inc” quite often. It’s a phrase that was spawned from our participation in EDPA ACCESS Meetings.
Your Trade Show Booth Staff Needs HELP!
This shouldn’t surprise you. You know your staff sucks. They are lazy. They don’t know the products. They look like hell after Day 1. And, worst of all, they don’t have a clue why they’re there. Yet, you tolerate it show after show. Why? There shouldn’t be any reason why your staff isn’t spectacular. It’s time to put on your adult pants and do it right.
4 Basic Trade Show Tips — The Bare Minimum
Even if you majored in marketing, you probably learned diddly squat about trade show marketing in your classes. Which is sad since trial and error is very, very expensive at a trade show or event.
Cool Technology at EXHIBITORLIVE 2015
I try my darndest to walk EXHIBITOR each year. Usually, that means a quick tour an hour before the hall opens. And while I ”see” the displays, I rarely get to talk to most exhibitors. So you can imagine how excited I was when Marlys Arnold from Trade Show Insights compiled a video of the Best of the Best Technology.
All in the Name of Customer Service: Word on the Street — March 16th thru March 20th
Have you ever stopped to appreciate what you do for your clients? I know it comes with the territory. We’re sales-driven people with customers who have high, sometimes unreasonable requests. But in the end, they are our customers, and we’ll do what we have to do to make them happy.
Our Final Four vs. Your Final Four Challenge
Test Your 2015 NCAA Men’s Basketball IQ by Picking the Final Four. Each Correct Team Earns You a Bigger Bonus.
100 Trends to Watch in 2015 from JWT Intelligence
As a faithful reader of the Trade Show Tales blog, you’ve probably wondered, “Why hasn’t Classic posted the link to the JWT Intelligence 2015 Trends Watch?” Perhaps, the Brogawear trend scared me just a little (yep, yoga-wear for men).
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Put Me in Coach: Word on the Street — Oct. 17th thru Oct. 21st
We’ve All Been There
We’ve all been in the position where we’ve been trying to get “that one account” for . . . forever. You patiently wait, all the while maintaining contact and slowly building a relationship, biding your time until the current vendor makes a mistake or there’s a project they either can’t do or aren’t willing to try.
Ten “Guaranteed” Techniques to Get Traffic to Your Booth
What Can I Do to Increase Traffic to My Booth?
I get asked this a lot. I explain the importance of selecting the right show, meticulous pre-show planning, careful graphic messaging, and booth sales training. They nod and say “Yes,” “Uh huh,” “OK,” and “Of course!” But I’m no fool. I can hear their disappointment and reluctance. All that takes time, energy, planning, and a dash of creativity. In other words, it’s too much work.
The Industry Gives Back: Word on the Street — Oct. 10th thru Oct. 14th
andy Smith Memorial Golf Classic Follow Up
On Monday, October 10, hundreds of industry professionals gathered in Atlanta to honor those who are either going through medical hardships, lost their battles, or lost loved ones to sickness or accidents.
Like years past, it proved to be a highly emotionally charged event. And this year Classic Exhibits had one of their own honored, Mike Swartout, our Director of Design, who is currently battling stage 4 prostate cancer.
‘t Make Sense
I’m about to become a heretic. Get those $6 bottles of convention hall Aquafina and Dasani ready. It’s the closest thing we have to holy water.
Since the mid-90s when I fell into the trade show biz, I’ve been conditioned to believe that every organization benefits from a well-planned trade show marketing program. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a Fortune 500 Goliath operating on seven continents or a three person non-profit in Elizabethtown, KY.
Yub Nub: Word on the Street — Oct. 3rd thru Oct. 7th
Ewokese
It’s the language of Ewoks of course. But that’s not really what I am hear to talk about. No! As many of you know, this past week we launched a new “Find Reid” contest. Last time we celebrated Reid’s love affair with the with the 60’s fro. This time we revealed a little more about our little fury friend that we have all come to love and respect. Seek the Sherwok . . . an endearing creature from the land of Newaygo.
Seek Reid the Ewok — Win an Amazon Kindle Fire!
Classic Distributors: Seek Reid the Ewok in EDS
Locate Reid Sherwood on Classic Exhibits’ Exhibit Design Search to win one of two Amazon Kindle Fire Tablets. To be eligible, send your correct answer to Mel White by Friday, October 21.
The Elevator Pitch: Word on the Street — Sept. 26th thru Sept. 30th
The Elevator Pitch
Let me start of by saying that I am NOT very good at this! But, it is something I strive to improve on and a skill that I admire in others.
If you don’t know what I am referring to, it is based on the idea of stepping into an elevator with someone and saying something clearly and succinctly in a compressed time frame. Depending on the number of floors in the building, you may only have 2, 5, or 10 minutes max. It’s a cool concept and applies to business interactions everyday — whether you’re on an elevator, a plane, in a meeting, or at a social gathering.
Randy Smith Memorial Golf Classic: Word on the Street — Sept. 19th thru Sept. 23rd
The Industry Gives Back
Randy Smith Memorial Golf Classic
Every October, our industry pulls together to raise money for those struck by tragedy, illness, and/or the loss of industry colleagues.
For the industry, this year will be no different. But for Classic Exhibits and its family of companies and employees, it will be different. One of our own is a beneficiary this year. Mike Swartout, our Director of Design, who is battling Stage 4 cancer. Please read about Mike and all the recipients at the following website: https://rsmgc.org/RSMGC/www.rsmgc.org/Recipients/
”s Hybrid Display Systems
New distributors and account executives often ask, “What’s the difference between a Sacagawea Hybrid and a Perfect 10 Hybrid? Or a Magellan and a Visionary Design?” Can it be confusing? Absolutely! Classic Exhibits has six distinct hybrid lines: Sacagawea, Magellan, Perfect 10/20, Visionary Designs, SEGUE, and Euro LT. Or to look at it another way, it’s more than any other systems manufacturer. Why so many and how are they truly different?
The Bucket List Project Revealed: Word on the Street — Sept. 5th thru Sept. 9th
A few weeks ago, I described it as a “bucket list” project. But it really became so much more than that. What once started out as a bucket list project quickly turned into one of the longest, hardest and most personally gratifying project/event I have ever been a part of.
PJ20 was the name of the project: A celebration of the 20th Anniversary of Pearl Jam.
30 Second Audio Clips in Exhibit Design Search
Audio in EDS — Are You Listening?
Exhibit Design Search has a new feature — Audio. Now, that may not seem so new, what with the explosion of video, but brief audio clips are excellent way to communicate product benefits and features. Each audio clip reviews a product line, such as Sacagawea or a specific kit, such as the iPhone VK-1032. In addition, the audio complements the renderings and bullet point descriptions, while elaborating on the most important benefits of the product.
Quadro Pop Up — FREE Monitor Promotion
Fall in Love: Quadro Pop Up FREE Monitor Promotion
Here’s a recent trend that may surprise you: Half of all Quadro Pop Ups orders include a monitor mount option. That’s true whether it’s a curve or a flat frame, or a Quadro S or a Quadro EO kit. Monitors have become a “gotta have” option for a pop up, and no system makes it easier than Quadro. It makes sense . . . we invented the monitor mount option for flat screen LCD’s and Plasmas for pop ups. In fact, the Quadro S Pop Up Display is the only frame that can handle as many as five monitors. Yes, FIVE!
Update — When Your Bucket List and Your Job Converge (8/29/11)
Happy Monday to you all. Hope your weekend was good.
Thanks to our wonderful production staff here at Classic and to our Project Manager, Edie Arambula, mine was much less stressful than it certainly could have been. Starting on Friday, I began an annual endurance/idiotic event called the Hood to Coast: a 200 mile run from Mt. Hood to Seaside on the Oregon Coast. And thanks to our great employees, I did not have to worry about work on my Bucket List Project that shipped while my team and I were running.
When Your Bucket List and Your Job Converge: Word on the Street — August 15th thru August 19th
Thursday, August 4 at 1 p.m.
I was returning to the office from a lunchtime doctor’s appointment when I got the call. The call came in on my cell phone and was from one of our newest and most consistent Classic Exhibits Distributors. To be honest, my first thought was, “Oh boy, I hope nothing went wrong on our recent project.” The owner normally doesn’t contact me on my cell. Usually their project management staff works directly with our Customer Service team.
10 Basic Business Rules in a Broken Economy
Two weeks ago, I wrote about the federal budget impasse and the inability of Congress and the President to negotiate a reasonable, intelligent, and non-partisan solution to the deficit. No doubt, you have your opinion about the final “deal,” one that is well-reasoned and not influenced by the talking heads and their simple solutions for complex problems sound bites. The market found it unsatisfactory, just as did Standard and Poor’s.