Trade Show TalesBlog

The Brand Experience: Word on the Street — Nov. 21st thru Nov. 25th

November 27th, 2011 Mel White 1 COMMENT
Brand Experience

Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

Have you ever worked with a client who obsesses about “Brand Experience”? That’s been my week. We just completed a very large retail project for a client whose brand experience is just as important as their products, if not more so.

When I was much younger, I trained and worked for Nordstrom. Nordstrom was obsessed with customer service, and every day was a new lesson in catering to customers and understanding how to anticipate their needs. Did Nordstrom carry superior products? Absolutely! But their brand was (and continues to be) exceptional customer service. You expect that experience when you walk through their doors.

Brand Experience is defined as . . .

Sensations, feelings, cognitions, and behavioral responses evoked by brand-related stimuli that are part of a brand’s design and identity, packaging, communications, and environments. A brands experience scale includes four dimensions: sensory, affective, intellectual, and behavioral. Moreover, brand experience affects consumer satisfaction and loyalty directly and indirectly through brand personality associations.

Nike is another Northwest company that has done far better than most in creating their Brand Experience. When you walk into a Nike Store you feel one or all of the following:

  • How can I live an active lifestyle
  • How can I improve my workout
  • I feel inspired to start exercising
  • I feel like an athlete
  • I want to swing a baseball bat, go for a run, or shoot hoops

Nike has several levels of stores: Nike Town, Nike Outlet Stores, Nike Factory Stores, and of course if you live in the Northwest, the ever-exclusive Nike Employee Store which is invite only.

I appreciate how the Nike stores, and all the Nike retailers, such as Dick’s or Sports Authority, carry the same Brand Experience. It does not matter if you are at the Nike Outlet in Florida, Nike Town on Michigan Avenue, or the Nike department at Dicks Sporting Goods. Their brand, and the way they display it, carries the same message and experience.

Disney is another great example. Whether you are walking into Disneyland or the Disney Store at your mall, you experience the same emotions and thoughts.

  • You feel part of the magic
  • All your senses are stimulated
  • You feel like a child regardless of your age
  • You want to use your imagination
  • You feel warm and safe

Creating a sustained brand experience is tough. It requires vision and discipline. Too often, marketing departments want to chase the latest fad or tamper with the brand to fit a “cool” idea. But, brands and the experience have to evolve as well. Look at Geico. They’ve managed to create multiple identities, riding each one only as long as the idea sparks interest (or no longer fails to annoy).

Other companies have/had a superior brand experience, but that brand experience is dated or dead. Saturn took their experience for granted and it lost its meaning as GM tampered with the product mix and the message. Buick, on the other hand, has been transformed. The codger-mobile, long reserved for grandpa’s, bankers, and southern preachers, has been taken off life support and is now suitable for anyone without a pacemaker or stents.

While I could give examples all day long (Apple, Starbucks, Target), I would like to hear what your favorites are or where you have seen Brand Experiences come to life — the best and worst. Who succeeds . . . Who fails?

Have a wonderful week. I look forward to your comments.

–Kevin Carty

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

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Your EDPA VIP Pass Courtesy of Classic Exhibits Inc.

November 16th, 2011 Mel White COMMENTS

Access 2011 in Las Vegas

Be sure to enter the discount code “seVIP11.” Please visit us in the EDPA Product Showcase to see examples of SEG aluminum extrusions and iPad counter solutions. Kevin Carty, Jim Shelman, Reid Sherwood, and Mel White will be attending the event.

Access 2011 VIP Pass from Classic Exhibits Inc.

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The “Seek Reid” Promotion Winners

November 15th, 2011 Mel White COMMENTS

The Winners of the “Seek Reid” Promotion

Congratulations to the winners of the “Seek Reid” promotion who found our furry friend in Exhibit Design Search at VK-5075, a 20 x 20 island. Their names were chosen randomly from all the correct entries.

  • Gary Camarato, Optima Graphics
  • Chuck Michel, ELITeXPO

Gary and Chuck won Amazon Kindle Fire Tablets. Nice.

EDS Changes and Enhancements:

  • 28 Product Galleries
  • NEW 30 Second Audio Clips
  • Comprehensive links to Renderings, Photos, and Accessories
  • Updated Design Detail Pages
  • Site Specific Email and Design Request Tools
  • Still Only $300

Discover why so many Classic Exhibits Distributors rely on Exhibit Design Search to drive sales. For more information about EDS and how you can add it to your website, contact Mel White, VP of Marketing and Business Development.

May the force be with you . . . .

–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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Finish What You Start: Word on the Street — Nov. 7th thru Nov. 11th

November 13th, 2011 Mel White COMMENTS
Finish What You Start

Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

“Finish What You Start.”

It doesn’t matter whether it’s a chore assigned to us as a child or, or as an adult, a home project we start with good intentions only to let it linger. Your parents and now your spouse is rarely sympathetic. There’s a darn good chance they’ll launch into the “Finish what you start” speech.

Finishing something, all too often, is a frustrating challenge we encounter in business as well. As a “customer,” you want a contractor, an employee, or a colleague to honor their word, their promise, their obligation. We had an agreement. Perhaps not a contractual agreement, but at a minimum, a moral and ethical pact. We trusted one another to do the right thing.

Recently, a family member hired what I will refer to as “a contractor” for the sake of this article. This contractor was to provide a service which my family member did not have the expertise to do himself.

Well, this process has been going on for two years now with both sides completing their due diligence. This week in a meeting, my family member was told that the contractor was backing out and could not perform his duties any longer. Frankly, the reason was lame. There was no family emergency or poor health or an ethical quandary. Just a matter of fact desire not to continue. What makes it worse is that the scheduled completion date is only four months away.

Finish What You StartIn doing so, the contractor said he would be more than happy to refer my family member to someone else, but acted as if it were no big deal for someone else to pick up the ball and run with it, which is certainly not the case. This contractor is forgetting that a lot of trust and time has been put into his hands to handle these services.

Can you imagine if this happened in our industry? Someone hired you to design and build a $50,000 exhibit to help launch a new product. You did all the discovery work, the design work, and even built all the parts of the exhibit only to walk away saying, “Don’t worry. You will have no problem finding someone to finish everything, even though your show opens next week.”

That would never fly!

And then imagine if you had the audacity to mention in closing that you expected to be paid in full for all your time and services!

You would likely be served with a lawsuit, right? That is what I am thinking.

Aside from the large inconvenience to your customer, you have left them with a lot of uncertainty, fear, and questions about whether or not they would ever want to participate in trade show marketing again.

The right and honorable thing to do is to finish the work as promised. And if you are in over your head, then seek out the right partners to help you complete the work for your client.

If I sound a little “ranty,” it’s because I am on this. But it just seems that sometimes service providers in today’s world forget what it means to finish what they start and to be honest about their capabilities.

–Kevin Carty

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

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EDPA Access 2011 — Why Classic Exhibits Participates: Word on the Street — Oct. 31st thru Nov. 4th

November 6th, 2011 Mel White 1 COMMENT
EDPA Access

Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

And Why You Should Too

For several years now, Classic Exhibits Inc. has been a very active participant in EDPA and the EDPA Access event held every year. Proudly I might add. Often we are asked by distributors, vendors, and other service providers why we feel the event is so important. So I thought I would share the reasons why we go, in part to persuade those who have been on the fence about attending this year.

Education

Every year, EDPA puts a tremendous amount of effort into providing a relevant education program for attendees. This is not a simple task considering we all come from different segments of the industry: Display Designers and Producers, Freight Service providers, Lighting companies, Graphics providers, and Labor Service companies.

In years past, EDPA has tackled a diverse range of topics. Everything from Social Media to Bundling. This year is no different. Some highlights this year are “Building and Maintaining your Sales Pipeline” and “New Systems and the Hybrid Trend.”

Influence

We have always appreciated the opportunity to have a voice regarding the issues that we all encounter regardless of our business models.

For me personally, I am fortunate to have a seat on the EDPA Board where I sit with vendors, customers, and competitors alike helping to shape the direction of our industry as a whole.

Partnerships

EDPA at its core has always been the best opportunity for Classic to forge long-term relationships/partnerships. It’s the one time each year where the focus is less about the “show” and more about the “relationship and connections” with other industry leaders and business owners.

I often have said that we learn more about the pulse of the industry from EDPA than we do from EXHIBITOR and TS2 combined. There is not all the “selling” to worry about. Just an opportunity to speak openly and honestly about your business issues, successes, and failures. And to hear from others about the same.

Betterment for All

I truly believe that EDPA Access creates better experiences for our shared customers: the end-users that put food on all our plates.

I often wish we had more opportunities for our shared clients to be a fly on the wall at EDPA and for them to see the work we do to make their experiences better on the show floor. A few years back at EDPA, a guest speaker from a Fortune 500 company commented to me that she was truly impressed to see that our industry was addressing many of the issues that her company faced in trade show marketing.

EDPA Foundation Fundraiser

The foundation fundraiser is one of my personal favorites because I have seen what it accomplishes. The foundation provides educational scholarships as well as monetary assistance for those in times of distress or tragedy.

As a side note, even if you can’t attend, take a moment to see the Silent Auction information and please sponsor an item. There are items for all budgets 🙂

http://www.myregistry.com/public/auction2011

The Showcase

Classic Exhibits, like other EDPA members, also takes part in the Product Showcase. It’s less of a trade show, and more of a chance for members to familiarize themselves with what other members of EDPA provide. And it’s a great time to catch up with some old friends and meet new ones.

These are just some of my thoughts as to why Classic Exhibits attends. With that, I would be remiss if I did not mention that there has been one glaring void as it relates to the attendees of EDPA Access — Classic Distributors. I strongly encourage more of you to attend. In the past, EDPA was viewed more as a meeting for custom houses, labor providers, and freight companies. If that is still your impression, let me correct that impression. EDPA represents all segments of our industry. And in the past two years, we have seen more portable/modular owners attend, but even more are needed and would benefit from participating.

Remember you can always attend before joining.

Have a wonderful weekend. Be well.

–Kevin Carty

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

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