To Move or NOT to Move: Word on the Street — April 22nd thru April 26th
Or Should I Say, WHEN to Move?
Since last fall, we have been wrestling with this question at Classic Exhibits, Exhibits NW, and ClassicMODUL.
It’s no secret, we have been growing. And our growth has been at a consistent pace. But with growth comes the conversation of when to move into a larger building.
The Classic Exhibits EXHIBITOR 2013 Commercial
On occasion, Trade Show Tales is literally a commercial for Classic Exhibits. 😉
Classic Exhibits — Chosen for the FAB 50 “Masters of Exhibits”
Earlier today, Event Design and Event Marketer Magazine announced the FAB 50 MASTERS OF EXHIBITS in their April 2013 issue. From the architects of the Ex Awards, Event Design Awards, and the Top 100 Event Agency List comes the first editorial ranking of the best exhibit builders. Classic Exhibits Inc. was chosen as one of North America’s top exhibit designers and builders, one of the few systems builders selected for this honor.
Giving Credit Where Credit is Due: Word on the Street — April 15th thru April 19th
After nearly 19 years in this industry, I have had my fair share of gripes with how General Service Contractors and Show Management manage trade shows. And I have certainly voiced those gripes, hopefully, in a respectful manner.
Well, this past week I was in Chicago for GlobalShop 2013 at McCormick Place as both an exhibitor and an attendee. Freeman was the General Service Contractor for the event. And all I can say is — KUDOS from start to finish.
iPad is Hot in this Beauty Pageant?
Rate the iPad Kiosks in this Pageant? Below are many of the basic iPad Kiosk shapes (without graphic face plates, halos, and wings to influence your decision). Think of it as the swimsuit competition. All competitors scored 10’s in the talent portion. MOD-1333 was voted Miss Congeniality.
SWA $25 – KC $0: Word on the Street — April 8th thru April 12th
It’s Saturday morning at 6:00 am. Why am I up so early on the weekend? It’s a travel day tomorrow, and I want to check-in at Southwest at exactly the 24 hour pre-flight mark. My goal is an A. It’s always an A.
EXHIBITOR2013 Show Photos
Each year, EXHIBITOR posts photos showing all the exhibitor’s booths. This year is no different. Click here to see them.
However if you’d like another perspective . . . Our friend, Matt LaBruzza from Exhibit People, loves to take show photos and living in Las Vegas gives him lots of opportunities.
Conformity No Longer Leads to Comfort: Word on the Street — April 1st thru April 5th
Yes Yes Yes, I am on another Seth Godin rant. Like the others, this one is too good not to share, especially in light of what we are seeing in our own businesses and industry
“The Industrial Age” is dying, and we’re experiencing a new economy, one based on connection, knowledge, and most importantly, choice.
New Fabric Color Swatch Tool
We just launched a web version of our Fabric Color Swatch tool in Exhibit Design Search. These fabrics are available for Quadro Pop Ups and Intro Folding Panel Displays.
Happy Easter: Word on the Street — March 25th thru March 29th
This past week has been nothing short of chaotic! Good chaotic mind you.
The week following EXHIBITOR Show is always nuts, unless you did something really wrong. 🙂 Seriously, we have been amazed by the feedback coming off the show. And trust me, we have been working very hard on the follow-up. We came home from Vegas with nearly double the leads from any other prior show. It’s quite humbling to be honest.
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Word on the Street — June 22nd thru June 26th
What’s Your Value Proposition?
This was a frequent topic of conversation this week as I traveled. Both in my meetings and in a conversation with the person sitting next to me on my flight back to Portland.
Word on the Street — June 15th thru June 19th
This week I started with a call from a Classic Exhibits distributor regarding an exisiting quote that needed to be re-addressed. I am finishing the week by reviewing client notes from a distributor on a project we quoted a couple of days ago.
Both the phone call on Monday and the email from this morning (as well as a conversation I had on Wednesday) involved the buzz word “Value Engineering.”
What to Do When Business is Slow!
Times like this call for an abundance of common sense. This is the opportune time to get to know your customers better and to build relationships. Why now? Because business is slow all over America. Use this time to get in the car and go visit your customers with mid-morning bagels or mid-afternoon ice cream snacks.
Introducing Sacagawea Portable Hybrid Trade Show Displays
The Sacagawea Portable Hybrid Series offers exhibitors contemporary hybrid design with aluminum extrusion and large format tension fabric graphics at a great price.
Contest Winners for “Defining Interconnectivity” Post
First of all I...
Word on the Street — June 8th thru June 12th
Everyday, if you are like me, you find yourself talking to your exhibit industry peers to see “what’s up” in their world and in our industry. So, at the recommendation of others, I am going to write about what I am hearing each week and post it every Friday by noon. I look forward to your comments and feedback.
Why Retail Managers Should Get More Respect
Are you a current or former manager in a retail business? Do you work in a clothing, shoe, or discount store? Are you managing an electronics, jewelry, or specialty shop? Stand proud. Chances are you don’t get much respect, but you should.
Defining Interconnectivity
By definition, interconnectivity is “to be connected with one another.”
The term interconnectivity fascinates me on a lot of levels ranging from my personal to my business life. So much so, that I have found myself looking for “the connectedness” of things recently. It has become somewhat of an obsession.
Search for Exhibit Photos in P5D — New Feature
P5D (Past Five Days) has been a permanent feature on Classic Exhibits website, and on all distributor versions of Design Search, since September 19, 2006. Over that time, we’ve made multiple incremental improvements. Today’s improvement is anything but incremental.
“New and Improved” ClassicMODUL Website
Introducing the “New and Improved” ClassicMODUL website (www.classicmodul.com). By far, the BIG BIG BIG improvement is to the “Our Line” section. There are now detail drawings of every extrusion and accessories. The products are organized into categories, and you can download DXF files for each one. In addition, there is now a search tool so you can find exactly the item you want in a flash. There are several other upgrades which you’ll have to discover on your own.
The Tradeshow Exhibit Rental Business is Booming
The exhibit rental business is booming. That shouldn’t surprise anyone. Exhibitors, both large and small, are looking for cost-effective ways to maintain their exhibit marketing on tight budgets. Renting a display makes sense for a variety of reasons, including cost, flexibility, storage and handling.
‘m an Idiot
Like most marketing managers, or any manager who understands his or her limitations, I rely on talented people, who are immersed in graphic design issues everyday. Not only do they understand the tools, such as Photoshop, Illustrator, or Quark, but they spend their days immersed in graphic design issues. They understand the nuances and the trends. They remind me that this color text on that background is unreadable and that I’ve created visual clutter and confusion in my effort to say and show too much. If I ask them to add a “star burst” with a price, they guide me to a more contemporary solution that doesn’t reek of 1980’s clip art.
Connectors and Relationships
Have you ever noticed that one person at a party, a business function, or a public gathering that seems to know everyone? There is a reason for that . . . they do know everyone and everyone knows them.
ClassicMODUL Opens an East Coast Extrusion Facility
ClassicMODUL, a designer and manufacturer of aluminum extrusions and accessories, announces the opening of an East Coast facility. The Cheshire, CT manufacturing and warehouse facility will stock select aluminum extrusion profiles for exhibit houses, retail designers, and museum display builders.
Perfect 20 Video By a Classic Distributor
Tracy Lindsay, a Classic Exhibits distributor, created the following video highlighting the Perfect 20 Portable Hybrid Display. In the video, she walks you through the P20 exhibit her client purchased in February and highlights the benefits and features of the system.