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.
”s Temperature?
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.
SuperNova Lightboxes “JUST DO IT.” Project: Word on the Street — July 15th thru July 19th
NIKE, the recognized leader in sporting apparel worldwide, is on the cusp of opening a new Call Center to support their Nike.com website on Monday. Classic Exhibits was able to play a small part in that space with SuperNova™ LED Lightboxes. We built out the perimeter walls of the entire work space. As you can see from the images and the video, the impact is real.
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.
What Do You Do With Your Time?: Word on the Street — July 1st thru July 5th
Happy 4th of July
This past week was and probably will go down as the slowest sales week of the year. Having the holiday land on a Thursday can do that. Add to that it’s in July, and you get a whole lot of nothing.
‘s 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:
Recent Posts
Word on the Street — January 18th thru January 22nd
Don’t Take Yourself Too Serious!
Those who know me, know that I don’t take myself too seriously. The same can be said about Classic Exhibits. Just look at our recent contest “Find Reid’s Head.” Clearly, we are laughing at ourselves while making a point about the Exhibit Design Search.
Annual State of the Company Letter from Kevin Carty
Thankfully, 2009 is in the rear view mirror. It was a rough but enlightening year.
How did Classic do in 2009? There’s both a short and a long answer.
Word on the Street — January 11th thru January 15th
A Lasting Impression
Ever leave a meeting or sales presentation and wonder if what you said “stuck”? Better yet, after giving a presentation have you ever discovered that your client went in another direction. Worse, the direction they chose was something you could have handled as well. Wonder why?
Aero Overhead Hanging Signs — Setup Animation Video
This one minute animation of the Aero Pinwheel shows how Aero Overhead Hanging Signs assemble. Every Aero Overhead Hanging Sign assembles with push-button connectors and the aluminum frames are wrapped in tension fabric graphics with zippers.
Word on the Street — January 4th thru January 8th
Effective Meetings
After leaving a meeting recently, I was asked by a friend, “How was your meeting?” Too which I responded, “Long, but good.” His response was, “A long meeting is never a good meeting.”
My Favorite Las Vegas Website — Cheapo Vegas!
With EXHIBITOR2010 just around the corner, I thought I’d pass along my favorite Las Vegas website. Let me rephrase that . . . my favorite family friendly Las Vegas website.
Be warned. It’s addictive. I would strongly advise you to not start reading this site while you’re at work, unless you’re the boss. Next thing you know, you missed lunch and it’s getting awfully close to dinner.
Online Trade Shows — a.k.a. Being Left Out in the Virtual Cold!
Today my landlord walked into my office and handed me a brochure and asked if I’d ever seen anything like this before? As I looked at the brochure which described a virtual trade show called Expo 3.0 “The Receivables Trade Show,” sponsored by InsideARM.com. I’d heard about virtual trade shows and the general concept, but have never been curious enough to really research it to see what the lure was for such an edgy concept.
Word on the Street — December 28th thru January 1st
Ten Reasons I’m Glad It’s 2010
Happy New Years! I hope you had a joyous and safe celebration with your family and friends.
I don’t know about you, but I am not a big one for New Year’s Resolutions. Nothing against those of you who do make resolutions, but mine are usually broken by January 4.
15 Notable Exhibit Projects in 2009
We may be jumping the gun a bit, since it’s still early December, but we thought we’d review the Top 15 Notable Exhibit Projects in 2009. How do we define “notable?” To be honest, it’s a little arbitrary (actually it’s probably a lot arbitrary). After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. However, we relied on the following criteria to guide us as we made our selection:
10 Notable Exhibit Rental Projects in 2009
We have chosen ten rental exhibits to highlight for 2009. From a variety of exhibit sizes and configurations used in Canaccord’s corporate meeting in Las Vegas, to a 30’ x 40’ double deck for Griffin at Macworld, here’s a nice variety of rental projects offered by our Classic Exhibits distributor rental program this year.
The following, although listed numerically, are in no particular ranking.
Word on the Street — December 21st thru December 25th
Sorry to Ask Again, But What Is It That You Do?
It’s the number one question I find myself answering or explaining, especially this time of year.
Word on the Street — December 14th thru December 18th
Cautiously Optimistic
Those of you who know me well know that I am often overly optimistic. My glass is rarely half full. Rather, I am the one whose glass is often overflowing from trying to get a gallon of 2% milk into a tumbler.
Every year at this time, we all get either a huge rush of speculative business, or we find ourselves calling the phone company “just to make sure” our lines are still working because the phones are not ringing.
Word on the Street — December 7th thru December 11th
Planning for 2010
This past week was very busy at Classic, not only in sales and manufacturing where we saw a spike in orders, but also administratively as we devoted three full days to setting goals for 2010 and planning how to achieve them. Every year at this time, we review our successes and failures during current year and chart our sales, marketing, production, and personnel goals for the next full calendar year.
‘s Manufacturing Process and Quality Standards
Classic Exhibit’s production workflow is based on the lean manufacturing principles of process simplicity, cellular manufacturing, easily identifiable tripwires or control points, limited metrics, just-in-time material and process management, and ongoing team development. Defined individually on a more granular level, they form the basis of our collective process mindset to produce cost-effective products quickly while ensuring unsurpassed quality.
Word on the Street — November 30th thru December 4th
EDPA 2009 Palm Springs
What can I say, other than “What a Week!”
I was in Palm Springs all week for the Annual EDPA Access Meeting. And a great week it was indeed! Very informative and thought provoking.
The general idea and motivation for the annual meeting is to bring trade show industry leaders together, lay down any competitive swords, and work together to better the industry. This year was exactly that.