The Third Time is… “Charming.”‘re a Fab 50 Again!
Event Marketer announced their 2015 Fab 50 Fabricators serving the North American event and exhibit industry. For the third year in a row (drum roll please . . .), Classic Exhibits was honored by the editors of Event Marketer and the analysts at the Event Marketing Institute.
John Zipay Joins the Classic Exhibits Executive Team
Classic Exhibits Inc. announces the addition of John Zipay to the Classic Exhibits Executive Team. John will serve as the General Manager for Exhibits Northwest.
John has an extensive background in operations, sales, and marketing within the trade show industry. Over the past ten years, John progressed rapidly from I&D to account manager and then from VP of Operations to General Manager.
Myanmar in Photos (January 2015)
Recently, a work colleague went to Myanmar for two weeks. He started in Yangon (Rangoon), spent a few days there, and then took a week-long river cruise on the Irrawaddy to Mandalay. As you know, Myanmar has largely been a closed society until a few years ago, so tourism was limited.
We thought you might enjoy seeing some of his photos. He took hundreds, but I’ve limited it to 42. There are no descriptions, so you’ll need to use your imagination. Click on any photo to scroll through the entire gallery.
Chose 5 Designs — from Past 5 Days
We Love All Our Children But Some More Than Others. We shouldn’t have favorites when it comes to exhibit designs. But we do. And, of course, everyone has those designs they hold “near and dear.”
The New Evolution: EDPA Portable Modular Summit @ EXHIBITORLive 2015
It’s only two weeks until EXHIBITORLive 2015, and there’s ONE EVENT you want to lock into your schedule. Here’s my personal invitation to the annual Portable Modular Summit.
The EDPA Portable Modular Summit — The New Evolution
The summit will be held on the show floor Tuesday March 3 at 3:30 pm, immediately after normal show hours. It will be hosted by my friend Jay Burkette from ExpoDisplays and yours truly (Kevin Carty). There’s no cost to attend.
Tips from a Townie — EXHIBITORLIVE 2015
Last week, I was attending the EDPA Las Vegas Chapter mixer at the Foundation Room in Mandalay Bay when it HIT me! EXHIBITORLIVE is less than a month away, and we have yet to cover all the Vegas Shows. So, without further adieu, let’s moonwalk.
Tips from a Townie — EXHIBITORLIVE 2015
It turns out that there are good things and not so good things to do in Las Vegas. I’ve done a few that should be kept on the down-low, like New Year’s Eve on the Strip or walking from the Stratosphere to Mandalay Bay (Trust me, get a cab!). With these follies in mind, I’ll share some “Things to Do” recommendations while at EXHIBITORLIVE.
The Best Exhibit. The One You Already Own.
There are lots of reasons to purchase a new exhibit. You may have an expanded trade show program or your company has a revised marketing focus. Or the style may simply be outdated. I won’t discourage you from buying a new display. That would be idiotic, since we design and build trade show displays.
But . . . that still doesn’t mean you should buy a new exhibit. Here’s why.
‘t Pity the Pop Up Display
Recently, I attended half a dozen trade shows, mostly small regional events where 10 x 10 booths are the norm. These are the bread and butter events in our industry, the ones that don’t get much press compared to the big electronics, medical, and construction shows. There aren’t many large exhibits. Mostly banner stands, vinyl banner signs, tube and tension fabric displays, homemade exhibits, and the ever ubiquitous pop up display.
Things You Learn from 8 Year Olds: Word on the Street — January 26th thru January 30th
8 … What an interesting age. Not quite the age where you start thinking you know everything, and not quite the age when you feel totally dependent on your parents.
Each Friday and Saturday, I am surrounded by 20 of them, including my twins, as their youth basketball coach. This includes one team of 10 boys and another of 10 girls. All 8 or approaching 8. Each week, they are a wealth of insights and lessons.
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Exhibit City News Article about Aluminum Extrusions
Aluminum Extrusions Offer Few Limitations
Written by Exhibit City News
Thursday, June 30 2011
Not all aluminum extrusions are equal. Some have limited uses, flexibility and structural weight tolerance. But no matter what vision an exhibit designer has for the layout of the booth, there is an engineered aluminum extrusion that can help bring it to life.
Exhibit City News recently interviewed three trusted sources in the extrusion industry to get a comprehensive look at the benefits, trends, and technology that make up this growing segment of exhibit design.
Booths with Benefits Promotion
The Summer of Love: Booths with Benefits Promotion
It wouldn’t be summer unless there was a kooky Classic Exhibits promotion. This year, we’re combining the late 60’s Summer of Love vibe with the more recent Friends with Benefits concept. OK, it’s a little odd. Actually, it’s a lot odd, but either way, someone is going to get lucky this summer.
Here are the details:
The promotion runs from 7/1/11 to 8/30/11.
Receive (1) FREE 22″ Monitor with the Purchase of a Sacagawea Portable Hybrid Display with the Workstation/Monitor option. Basically, we’ll give your customer a free monitor (a $165 value) just for ordering a Sacagawea display. Heck, they were probably going to order it anyway but now they’ll feel some extra love from you and Classic.
Happy 4th of July: Word on the Street — June 27th thru July 1st
July is Upon Us
You can always tell when we hit July. Crickets come out during the evening, but you can hear them during the work day too. Yes, I am referring to how slow our industry gets in July. You can almost always set your calendars and clocks to it.
Fourth of July 2011 Schedule
Classic Exhibits, ClassicMODUL, and Exhibits NW will be closed on Monday, July 4th.
We’ll be back on Tuesday, assuming the rare sunny weather in the Northwest hasn’t adversely affected us. For some, just seeing the rare fireball in sky is enough to create a dangerous shopping frenzy for tomato plants at local nurseries.
Plus, we get a little dizzy and confused from too much vitamin D.
Wishing you a Safe and Happy Fourth of July Weekend!
Excellent Interview in Event Design Magazine
I don’t know how many of you receive Event Design Magazine (www.eventdesignmag.com), but there is an excellent interview with Sue Huff, Director of Global Conventions for Medtronic, in the June/July 2011 issue, Best Practices column.
Normally, I’d simply link to the article, but it’s not on the Event Design website yet. Instead, I’ll encourage you to read the interview if you have the print copy (pg. 16-17), and for those who do not have the issue, I’ve retyped several of her responses below. If I get in trouble with the folks from Event Design, . . . well I’m sure they’ll let me know.
Patient Recovery: Word on the Street — June 20th thru June 24th
On Getting Healthy
As we slowly climb out of the recession, the industry as a whole has bounced back. Albeit slowly. From the manufacturing side, we have witnessed budgets increase and align with the design hopes of end users. All good things.
But as many of you would agree, not unlike the economy at large, the slow moderate recovery . . . healthy growth as it has been called . . . is a key component to actual recovery. Let me draw a personal comparison if you don’t mind.
Urban Exhibitionary
Beginning in mid-July, Classic Exhibits and ClassicMODUL will run a series of banner ads in the ExhibitorOnline weekly e-broadcast. Most of you receive this email every Thursday or Friday from EXHIBITOR Magazine.
We’ll showcase a new banner ad each week (for 18 weeks). We decided to mimic the Urban Dictionary, but with exhibit industry terms and definitions. We call it the Urban Exhibitionary. To prime the pump, we reached out to some industry friends for ideas, and some of their clever definitions are listed below, but this is merely the first step to creating a comprehensive exhibit dictionary. We want your witty ideas and would love to use the best ones in the ads.
Islands and Summer Just Go Together: Word on the Street — June 13th thru June 17th
Five Weeks of New Island Designs
It is officially summer next week . . . although in the Pacific Northwest you would be hard pressed to know that. Until a week ago, we’ve rarely approached highs of 70 all spring. But today, as I write this, it’s 75 degrees with no clouds in the sky. About time!
As the title of the blog suggests, summer is when we dream of a tropical island vacation. While I can’t offer you that, I can announce the release of a five new Island Designs. Beginning this week and over the next five weeks in Design Monday, we’ll showcase five fresh and exciting Island kits.
Eco-systems Sustainable Exhibits: Milestones and Timeline
Milestones and Timeline
Eco-systems Sustainable Displays In just over four years, Eco-Systems has become the leader of innovative and sustainable exhibit products and practices. Eco-Systems offers customers high-quality “green” display options — from table tops to islands — through a network of over 90 certified distributors in North America.
The timeline below highlights many of the important events that have shaped Eco-Systems over the last few years, including the development of many eco-friendly materials and product lines.
‘s Reminisce: Word on the Street — June 6th thru June 10th
This past Friday, I found myself thinking a lot about the past. During the day, I did an internal training session on the Intro Folding Fabric Panel System for our Project Management team. And then later that evening, I attended a graduation party for a family friend’s son who just finished high school.
Both really got me thinking about how time flies and all that has happened over the years in my personal life as well as in my business life.
Trade Show Exhibit Trends — Reid Sherwood Interview
Recently, Reid...
Trade Show Bullies
While on a business trip this week, I bought Inc. Magazine (June 2011) to read on the plane. Oddly enough, on page 35 there was an article, a column actually by Norm Brodsky, about the trade show industry. I thought I’d share, although it doesn’t cast a flattering light on our business. Here’s the first paragraph as a preview . . .
Five Months into a Great Year: Word on the Street — May 31st thru June 3rd
Five Months into a Great Year!
So how have the first months been for you and your company?
At the Classic Exhibits family of companies, I am delighted to report that 2011 has been different . . . and good . . . and surprising. And not just in terms of sales, but also in terms of product development and overall economic recovery.
The Professor of Social Media for Trade Shows and Events
Do you know just enough about Social Media to sound knowledgeable, but not knowledgeable enough to be a wiz bang expert? I’ve discovered that it’s very easy to get started, but getting to the next level can be more challenging unless you have a mentor. I do. His name is Tim Patterson at Interpretive Exhibits. Tim manages and contributes to the, www.tradeshowguy.com blog which tends to focus on social media issues, tips, tricks, and trends for the event and trade show industry.
Comcast Retail Interior Project: Word on the Street — May 23rd thru May 27th
It’s Comcastic!
If you have glanced at Past 5 Days on the Classic site recently, you noticed some pretty cool pictures of an interior project we completed this spring for Comcast Xfinity.