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My Predictions for Late Summer and Fall: Word on the Street — July 2nd thru July 6th

July 8th, 2012 Mel White COMMENTS
My Predictions for the Late Summer and Fall: Word on the Street -- May 28th thru June 1st

Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

Gaze into My Crystal Ball

For the past four weeks, while we have been very busy with lots of traditional trade show work, we have also been working a lot on alternative markets we service through some of traditional and non-traditional distribution channels.

And while that is great! I have been looking at the activity over the past four weeks to get an idea of what the next busy season will bring from a trade show-only perspective.

Some Things I have Noticed

Islands seem to be the topic of the day. Larger properties are on the plates of our in-house and contract design teams. In particular, people are looking to even incorporate more ClassicMODUL double decks.

Now, I know that this time of year probably invites more “spec” projects than any other time of year, meaning projects that may not be as “real” as others. But truly, the projects we are working on are more “real” than in the past at this time of year. The number one qualifier of that statement is budgets. They are proper and inline with what an island display costs.

On the inline side of things, “custom” really seems to be the key characteristic.  Visionary Design Hybrids that are far from the typical Sacagawea, SEGUE, Perfect 10 or Magellan. Again, with budgets that are inline with the customer’s vision for their display.

To say this is refreshing for this time of year is an understatement. Traditionally, this time of year, as I mentioned before, we get a lot of “spec” work that may not be totally realistic from a budgetary standpoint. J You know what I am talking about –the 40’ x 50’ island full of tension fabric SEG, ClassicMODUL extrusions, totally customized, and enough A/V to make Disney/Pixar jealous . . . with a $50k budget.

"We met online but haven't met in-person yet. Is there a future for our relationship?"

Five Predictions:

  1. Islands Exhibits will be abundant!
  2. Custom Hybrid Inlines will be the topic of the inline world.
  3. Rentals are not going anywhere. They are still growing at a double-digit pace and a viable option for many clients at fall shows.
  4. Cost-effective Hybrid Inlines have become the replacement for the traditional upscale pop-up and other historic 10 x 10 options. With Sacagawea and SEGUE Sunrise starting in the $4k price range, why would you ever want a pop-up? And this from a company that sells two pop-up lines.
  5. Alternative markets are on the rise. Retail, museum and semi-permanent displays are not only a great fit for what we all do, but they are a viable year-round market with fewer cycles. We may not get the quantity orders, but the prototypes and the custom orders have high margins. Also, what you learn in these markets is often very applicable to the trade show market. See Past Five Days for several recent examples.

How about you? What are the leading indicators in your market? Are there any specific trends you are seeing from your customer base? Please share with other distributors via the comments section.

This is the time of year when I believe we have the greatest opportunity to carve out new trends and develop new products together that will ultimately help our clients trade show and event marketing experience.

Have a great week ahead! I’ll be in Chicago for the Red Diamond Congress.

–Kevin Carty
http://twitter.com/kevin_carty
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/kevin-carty/3/800/32a

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The Right Questions to Ask When Hiring

July 5th, 2012 Mel White COMMENTS

A Good Interview is More about Conversation

Ordinarily, I dismiss articles about hiring tips, mainly because they are either simplistic, silly, impractical, or inane. This one by The New York Times contributing writer Adriana Gardella makes perfect sense. Adriana’s post appears in the The NY Times “Your the Boss” section, The Art of Running a Small Business.

At Classic Exhibits, for administrative, sales, and management positions, we always conduct the first interview over the phone. It’s usually a short interview, typically about 20 minutes. Phone interviews save us time and allow us to focus on the person and personality.

We almost always begin with the following statement:  “We’ve had a chance to review your resume, but we want to give you an opportunity to tell us about yourself. Share whatever you think is important and take as much time as you need.” By not giving them any clues or doing all the chatting in the beginning, the interviewee has no point of reference. They can not parrot any answers because you haven’t given them anything to parrot. Some candidates use the opportunity to sell themselves, others merely repeat their resume, and still others panic and say very little or reveal information they probably shouldn’t. It’s always a little unpredictable, and even when they are invited for a face-to-face interview, the same question invariable elicits the same response. And, they know it’s coming.

In the end, I agree wholeheartedly with this quote in the article:  “A good interview is more about conversation,” said Deirdre Lord, who owns The Megawatt Hour. “There’s a chemistry.” As a boss of mine once said, “You hire people for what they know. You fire them for who they are.” Good interviews give you the chance to find out who they are.

The first two paragraphs of the article are below. Click here to read the full posting.

“In a perfect world, owners would only hire employees who care as much about the company as they do. But as the members of the She Owns It business group recently discussed, it can be hard to find motivated workers who share that enthusiasm. Alexandra Mayzler, who owns Thinking Caps Tutoring, said she had become pretty good at spotting the keepers during the interview process. You just have to know what to ask and listen to the answers.”

“Ms. Mayzler, who majored in psychology during college and describes herself as an ‘armchair psychologist,’ said it was easy enough for a smart person to figure out what the interviewer wants to hear and answer accordingly. Viewing the interview process as a decision tree, she said that one of her first questions was typically, ‘Did you go on our Web site?’”

–Mel White
http://www.linkedin.com/in/melmwhite
mel@classicexhibits.com

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Based in Portland, Oregon, Classic Exhibits Inc. designs and manufacturers portable, modular, and custom-hybrid exhibit solutions. Classic Exhibits products are represented by an extensive distributor network in North America and in select International markets. For more information, contact us at 866-652-2100.

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Double Deck Extrusion Article in Exhibit City News

July 3rd, 2012 Mel White COMMENTS

Double Deck Extrusion Exhibits are Thriving

ClassicMODUL Double Deck

Exhibit City News recently interviewed three trusted sources in the extrusion industry to get a comprehensive look at double deck exhibits. Jim Shelman, General Manager of Classic Rentals, was the spokesperson for ClassicMODUL Aluminum Extrusions. The article begins below and then links to the full ECN article. Our thanks to ECN for asking us to participate.

Why are aluminum extrusions the perfect building material for double deck systems?

Jim Shelman, General Manager of Rentals, Classic Exhibits: Engineered aluminum extrusions are ideal for adding structural components; it is lightweight, packs efficiently and offers an appealing, contemporary look.

Chris Lake, COO, Highmark: Versatility, strength, and weight make aluminum extrusions ideal for the double deck system. By using the Highmark custom beam, column and hand rail extrusions, exhibitors can design and accessorize a multi-story double deck from Highmark’s current rental or new inventory.

How has demand for double deck systems been over the last year?

Tim Searle, President, Searle Exhibit Technologies: SET has experienced a dramatic increase in the demand for double decks over the past year for both new builds and rentals. For instance, summer is traditionally the slowest time for the exhibit industry, but the past few weeks, we have experienced multiple double deck quote requests most days, with a majority of them needed for summer tradeshows.

Shelman: We’ve seen a substantial increase in double deck rental inquiries and a 25 percent increase in booked rentals. Some of that has to do with the economy improving, but we’ve also benefited from having one deck permanently warehoused in Las Vegas. Often, that’s a major reason the client decides to go with a deck at a Las Vegas event: no shipping.

Continue to ECN article

–Mel White
http://www.linkedin.com/in/melmwhite
mel@classicexhibits.com

*********************************

Based in Portland, Oregon, Classic Exhibits Inc. designs and manufacturers portable, modular, and custom-hybrid exhibit solutions. Classic Exhibits products are represented by an extensive distributor network in North America and in select International markets. For more information, contact us at 866-652-2100.

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What the Summer Brings: Word on the Street — June 25th thru June 29th

July 1st, 2012 Mel White COMMENTS

The sales doldrums of June, July, and August always bring uncertainty and opportunity. Like you, we try to use the time wisely to finish lingering projects and untapped challenges.

So far this summer, we have been busy (enough), especially with non-trade show projects, but that hasn’t prevented us from checking off items on our “To Do List.”

New Hires and Personnel Moves

  • Tony Bennett — Web Developer (who many of you know already. See the blog post). Tony will be managing our Web Development Department, a service available to our distributors.
  • New Set-up Instructions Project Manager — We are welcoming another new staff member this Monday, Cynthia, who will  lead our Set-up PM Department. We are excited for the skill set she brings to the group.
  • An Additional Project Manager – Jeff Garrett, our Set-up PM Lead, is moving into a full-time Project Manager position. Jeff has proven to be very skilled in his current role, but clearly he has the motivation, personality and talent to become a great PM in Customer Service (in a department already filled with great project managers).

On the Road

  • Reid Sherwood — As many of you know, Reid is staring in his own version of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles this summer visiting distributors throughout the East and Midwest. According to his reports, many of you are busy and there is renewed optimism for the fall.
  • Red Diamond Congress — I will be in Chicago for an EDPA Board Meeting on the 9th of July and will also be attending the Red Diamond Congress on the 10th and the 11th. Looking forward to reporting back on both meetings. If you are attending the Red Diamond Congress, please let me know.

Internal Projects

  • Going in Style

    Graphic Dims — I am most excited about the Template/Details Project that the PM’s are working on. They are working to complete many of the Graphics Dim Sheets and Detail Sheets, making Exhibit Design Search even more comprehensive beginning this fall.

  • Remodeled Bathrooms — Admittedly you may not care about this, unless you visit us and need to use the loo, but thanks to Vitaliy and Alex, we have newly remodeled bathrooms, complete with a shower for the runners and bike riders at Classic.
  • Lighting Upgrades — We installed new high efficiency lighting complete with sensors that are triggered by our many skylights. This means that when the daylight is bright enough, the lights turn off. Other areas are now controlled by motion sensors and only come on when there is activity. Pretty cool, responsible, and saves up to 50% on our electrical bill in our shop.

Designs

  • Design Projects — Our designers have been hard at work on new Custom Hybrid Inlines. You’ve seen them featured in Design Monday recently. For much of July and August, we will shift our attention to a series of new Island Exhibits.
  • Other Projects — Retail and semi-permanent displays have been the topic of the day for the past six weeks. Some very cool stuff for some very large athletic companies. Also, two new initiatives related to semi-permanent, multi-location, and multi-function kiosks. More on those in the next few weeks as they are completed. Very cool and exciting projects.

Other

  • New Extrusion Depot — We are only about four short weeks away from the announcement! This new depot will provide not just a location that you can access full sticks of ClassicMODUL extrusion, but also one where we will do a lot of production as well. I am itching to tell you all about the location . . . soon!
  • Shared Knowledge University (SKU) in September — The dates are set! September 24-25 (Monday and Tuesday) at our facility here in Oregon. We will send out full details later this month. I am looking forward to seeing 20-30 of you. Take a look at your schedule and see if you can arrange to attend. Obviously space is limited so reserve your spot now by sending an email to me or to Mel. Classic pays for your lodging and food while you are here.
  • Training, Training, Training . . . on our bikes that is. The guys from Club 815 are hard at work preparing for our upcoming Century Challenge for Cancer in support of Mike Swartout. Please check out the details and don’t forget to send in your support! Please donate at the link above. A little means a lot.

Hope you all have a great weekend. Be well! Happy 4th of July.

–Kevin Carty
http://twitter.com/kevin_carty
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/kevin-carty/3/800/32a

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Did You Miss Out? SKU & You Webinars are Online

June 30th, 2012 Mel White COMMENTS

Three Great Webinars From Classic Exhibits

A few weeks ago, Classic Exhibits hosted three educational webinars about silicone edge graphics (SEG), hybrid exhibits, and trade show island designs. The response was extremely positive. For those who missed these webinars, here’s your chance to experience them via the magic of YouTube and GoToWebinar. We hope you enjoy, and we welcome your comments.

classic modul website designer tips hybrid SEG CE website CE website

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