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What You Should Know as a First-Time Exhibit Buyer

September 20th, 2009 COMMENTS
Visionary Design VK-1073 Hybrid Exhibit

Visionary Design VK-1073 Hybrid Exhibit

  • Don’t let the trade show exhibit buying experience intimidate you
  • Your marketing objectives and strategy should dictate your exhibit marketing needs
  • Be prepared for sticker shock. Exhibits can be expensive
  • Where to buy depends on your goals. Do you need a large custom exhibit? Or do you need a portable, modular, or hybrid exhibit?
  • Plan ahead. You’ll save money and make smarter decisions

How to Get Started

For the sake of simplicity, let’s assume that exhibit marketing is a new experience. Exhibit marketing is certainly not rocket science. You don’t need a marketing degree to be successful at exhibit marketing. However, it helps to get advice so you make the right decisions.

Buying your first exhibit can, at first, raise more questions than answers. There are different types of exhibits and different types of exhibiting. The best fit will depend on how you plan to use the exhibit, the image you want to project, and the budget you have to work with.

Chances are you’ll purchase your exhibit from a local exhibit company. Exhibit companies have been around for decades and understand exhibits and trade shows. Originally, exhibits were custom-crafted. Then exhibit systems evolved as an alternative to the high cost of custom craftsmanship. Now, there are multiple exhibit categories. Exhibit systems, which includes portable, modular, and hybrid exhibits, are evolving towards custom-crafted exhibits, and custom-crafted exhibits are evolving towards exhibit systems. Both have distinct advantages and exhibit companies work hard to carve out distinct niches along the custom to portable spectrum. The exhibit (or exhibits) that best fits your company’s exhibit marketing strategy will slot in somewhere along this spectrum. This is where an exhibit consultant can be very useful. Ultimately, an exhibit consultant wants to help you maximize your exhibit marketing potential.
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Word on the Street — September 14th thru September 18th

September 19th, 2009 COMMENTS
Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

Where Have All the Turnaround Times Gone?

Of course, I say this partially in jest, but boy isn’t it true right now?!?

And please don’t get me wrong. Like you, we are delighted to have the business. As many of you have shared with me this week, everyone is ordering much later this year.

Every morning at Classic, we hold a 15 minute Lead Meeting. It is designed to give the Production Leads and the Purchasing, Sales, Marketing, and Customer Service Managers a quick review of the day’s business as well as an opportunity to look ahead at upcoming orders, quotes, and purchasing requests.

We use our Shipping Report as our guide in these 15 minute morning meetings. So naturally, I review it before the meeting begins. It looks much different these days than it did this time last year.

As many of you know, Classic Exhibits already has the fastest lead times in the industry, so we are used to being nimble when it comes to your client’s “unrealistic” requests. One of the ideals we adhere to in Production is:  “Do enough of tomorrow’s work today, so that when tomorrow goes to hell or someone has a rush need, we are prepared to handle it.”

Sometimes even I forget these basic ideals. But I am always amazed by how our Production and Customer Service teams live by them. Looking at the Shipping Report this week, I have seen everything from 10 x 10 Visionary Designs Custom Hybrids with 4 day turnaround times to a Euro LT 20 x 30 Island that has to deliver in 8 days. It’s crazy! And yet . . .

We make it happen!

Now, to be fair to our Project Management and Production team, this is not a invitation to hammer our lead times.  We do everything we can to meet your requests, which you already know, but when we say, “Sorry” which is very, very rare, or when we add rush charges, you know those are real and not arbitrary.

That said, we are very happy to have the business and even happier to see Classic Distributors busy. 

Have a safe and restful weekend.

Be Well!

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

If Trade Show Exhibits Were Celebrities, They Would Be . . . .

September 14th, 2009 8 COMMENTS
If Exhibits Were Celebrities

If exhibits were celebrities, Carrot Top would be a . . .

Some of these are “spot on”:   Tom Arnold, Carrot Top, Lindsay Lohan as trade show exhibits? Just use your imagination my friend.

Banner Stands (cheap, attractive, but not always reliable): Tara Reid, Andy Dick, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan

Custom Exhibits (talented, larger than life, but occasionally temperamental):  Meryl Streep, Orson Welles, Dame Judi Dench, Aretha Franklin 

Overhead Tension Fabric Signs (highly visible and stretched tight): Joan Rivers

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Word on the Street — September 7th thru September 11th

September 11th, 2009 1 COMMENT
Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

Ever Wonder What a Classic Project Manager Does?

I’m traveling for business this week. During several of my meetings, I discovered that not everyone knows what a Classic Project Manager does. That surprised me because our Project Managers are critical to how your quotes, your orders, and even your basic product questions are handled. They are your “eyes” and “ears” at Classic Exhibits. They are your advocate, not only in Customer Service but also when your order goes to our Production Manager and our Production team.  

So . . . what does a PM do? In short – a lot! There’s a reason why PM’s at Classic seem to know the details of every display system and the nuances of your quote or order.

A Classic PM is the voice of Classic everyday. They are the ones you rely on for quotes, answers to questions, and guidance on prospective projects.

But their talents, and work, really kick in once you place an order. (more…)

Word on the Street — August 31st thru September 4th

September 4th, 2009 10 COMMENTS
Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

Exhibitors are from Mars . . . Show Services are from Venus

As we all know, the current economic situation in the US and around the world has been the primary focus in the news over the past year. Is it an economic downturn? I don’t care what economists want to label it . . . It’s a freaking recession folks! Whether you want to blame the new guy or the old guy or just some guy named “Guy,” we are in it together. Or are we?

Over the past couple of years, whether it’s because of the sustainable green exhibit movement, the economy, or whatever, as an industry we have embraced new products and processes that have resulted in cost savings for our clients. We started using more LED technology which cuts down on the electrical bill at the show. We have adopted different packaging methods, such as single shippers, that allow you to send components more “pre”-assembled for faster setup and tear down and thus a lower labor bill. And we have incorporated new lightweight materials and exhibit options which have lowered freight and drayage bills.

These are all changes that Custom Exhibit Builders, Portable, Modular, and Custom-Hybrid Display Builders, and certainly our customers have adopted happily.

This week, while assisting on several new projects leaving for shows, I was reminded that we do not all share the same goals for the trade show industry. It’s pretty clear that improving the trade show experience is not as high a priority for some as it is for others.

The Most Glaring Examples are Things like These . . .

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