The 40′ x 40′ Calypto Island Exhibit was built by Classic Exhibits for Exhibits Northwest Portland. The custom construction island featured a 40 ft entrance with downlighting, backlit reception counters, silicone edge graphics, and three large monitors all framed by two large “C” bookends. Behind the entrance was private meeting rooms. Built using wood cam-lock construction, primarily 4 x 8 panels.
The Account Executive was Tyler Poage. Edie Arambula was the Project Manager from Classic Exhibits, and Greg Garrett was the exhibit designer (www.greggarrettdesign.com).
Congratulations to all involved and a special “Shout Out” to Classic’s Wood Fabrication crew. Great job everyone!
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 or www.classicexhibits.com.
It’s on your desk, in the battery charging cradle at home, or in the tray in your car. Some are black, some are white, some are shiny. They all have numerical keypads . . . keypads that rarely get used by anyone under 35.
It’s Your Phone
A phone, by definition, is an instrument that converts voice and other sound signals into a form that can be transmitted to remote locations and that receives and reconverts waves into sound signals.
In other words, it’s intended to talk to other people, something that is clearly lost on anyone between the ages of 12 and 35. That’s not to say that people older than 35 aren’t voice adverse as well, but clearly the under 35 generation has a totally different application for their phone.
So why am I talking about this? Because it frustrates me. In business and in our personal lives, too many of us have abandoned personal conversation in exchange for 140 characters, and I would contend that it is causing more problems than it is helping.
Email and texting both have a very valuable place. I use my phone to text, and I’m immersed in email all day long, but there is something that neither of them can accomplish. They cannot convey accurate “tone” like a phone call. Too many times, people tap a message only to find out than the recipient interpreted it in a totally different way than it was intended. When there’s no tone, tone is supplied by the reader.
In the workplace, this can be a problem, one that can escalate quickly. Most of the time, we send an email or a text to a customer or colleague. This makes sense. It’s convenient, easy, and fast. But when an “issue” arises, it’s much better to pick up the phone and call rather than exchange emails. That way, you hear one another and it’s far less likely to turn ugly. We’re mostly cowards on the phone. Not so much when typing.
A few years back, a family member who was in her 20’s s texted me a question. So I called her. She didn’t answer, but she did text me back saying, “What?” So, I called her back. When she answered, I said, “Why didn’t you just pick up the first time?” The answer floored me, “You’re weird! Who does that? Just text me back.”
Hello! How are you?
I am clearly disconnected. I don’t understand this phone phobia. Maybe I’ve become that old guy, out of touch at 40. I LOVE technology more than most, but it can’t replace conversation.
In our world, whether you are in Accounting, Production, Account Management, Project Management, or Graphic Design, you are in Sales, even if sales isn’t in your title. Maybe not all the time, but a portion of your job requires interacting with customers, suppliers, and colleagues. What is sales? Sales is the transfer of enthusiasm from one person to another. It’s that simple . . . and it’s much easier to convey enthusiasm verbally than in a text.
If you want to combine technology and a voice call, use FaceTime like my 6-year old son. He calls me at least three times a day. And hearing him . . . it’s so much better than a text.
Give me a call. I’d love to hear from you. We can chat about the Good Old Days, before the youngins’ ruined everything.
Whenever I hear someone say, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” I know it’s because they just copied something. We see that a lot with our designs and our innovations. At EXHIBITOR2013, there were two exhibits, one from a Chinese manufacturer and one from an American distributor, that were EXACT copies of our designs. Sigh.
Recently, we stumbled upon an iPad swivel mount by a competitor. The clamshell “seemed” similar to our patent pending Swivel Stop™. It rotated 180 degrees, encased an iPad in a clamshell frame, and looked similar both front and back. Aside from that, it couldn’t be more different, but you wouldn’t know that unless you compared them side by side. Well . . . we decided to save you the trouble because we didn’t want you to be confused. 😉
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Us
Them
Back View
So, in short, the original looks better, functions better, and has more features. And as if that wasn’t enough, the Classic Exhibits version is also about $20 cheaper. Go figure.
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 or www.classicexhibits.com.
In February, we built a custom 30 x 30 island for Communication One Exhibits in Salem, OR. The client was Bob’s Red Mill, a manufacturer of whole grain products. Anyone who has visited us is familiar with Bob’s Red Mill. The company has a visitor center and restaurant just down the road from Classic Exhibits.
Tim Patterson, the owner of Communication One, did what so many of us should do — he created a video testimonial and then emailed it to his client list. With Tim’s permission, we’re sharing his video. We hope you enjoy (and that it serves as an inspiration to all of us to work on those testimonials this summer)!
The design details are in Exhibit Design Search, along with associated photos from the trade show. The designer was Greg Garrett, from Greg Garrett Design. Edie Arambula handled the project management for Classic Exhibits.
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 or www.classicexhibits.com.
Everyone knows the trade show biz is cyclical. It’s busy in August, September, and October. November is a snoozer. December is always a gamble. Then comes January, February, March, and April when all hell breaks loose. And just when you can’t possibly work any harder or sleep any less, it’s late May.
Suddenly, no one calls. No one faxes. Your morning emails are from someone in Russia promising you, well, something 6 inches bigger.
You have a choice. You can panic, tell co-workers the “sky is falling,” and spend the day smoking Lucky Strike heaters for the next two months. Or, you can embrace the freedom of the summer doldrums. I choose the latter.
So take a moment and forget the smell of propane exhaust and B.O. from the trade show floor. Forget the navy blue logo that was supposed to be printed in vibrant magenta. And try to forget your 90-120 day Accounts Receivable report.
10 Reasons to Love June and July:
40 Hour Week. It’s not really a vacation, but let’s face it, you wouldn’t know a real vacation if it smacked you in the forehead like a Moscone drayage bill.
Quick Ships. “Need your display to ship in 7 days instead of 10? No problem!”
Brillo Pad. The annual spring cleaning of your computer keyboard and mouse.
Pretty Picture. Trade show graphics always look better in sunlight. Add a warm gentle breeze and it’s just about perfect.
Getting to Know You. Every order has a name, a face, a personality, and a story.
Social Studies. More time to explore social networking. Join 20 MORE exhibit-related groups in LinkedIn. Then start a Pinterest site where you share adorable photos of your dog Wiggles and your cat Smoochie.
Free Hula Hoop. Suddenly, no marketing promotion is considered too wacky.
Refill Please. A break from lunches from a plastic bag and noon conference calls.
Website Revisions. It’s time. Your home page has a photo of you at TS2.
E2MA Red Diamond Congress. This year it’s in Chicago from July 30 to August 1. If you haven’t been, you should. It’s not a trade show. It’s a conference where you connect with industry colleagues, trade show managers, and LEARN. I’ll be there.
The Red Diamond Congress (RDC) is the annual conference of the E2MA. The RDC attracts more than 200 of the top corporate exhibitors and event managers with six and seven-figure annual budgets from throughout the U.S. The draw for these buyers is more than 45 seminars and general sessions devoted to the urgent issues that drive exhibit marketing today. The Red Diamond Congress also offers strategic level insights into what senior level event managers should do to optimize their event production for maximum business value.
Get some sun while you can. You’ll need the Vitamin D. There’s a good chance you won’t see much sunlight for the next nine months.
Please share your reasons you love the trade show business during the summer. After all, you probably have a little time on your hands right now. 😉
