Trade Show TalesBlog

Word on the Street — June 8th thru June 12th

June 12th, 2009 Mel White COMMENTS
Word on the Street

Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

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.

Week of June 8th thru June 12th

Budgets Looking Up Heading into 2010! 

That was the title of an article an industry friend sent my direction on Monday, and it really set the tone for the week.

In our business, we have seen a big spike in activity in design and quote requests so I thought i would make some calls and see if this was true for others. I spoke to some traditional Portable/Modular/Hybrid Distributors, Custom Houses, and a few suppliers of carpeting, lighting, and transportation services.

Their response confirmed our trend. With the exception of two companies, which said they are still hearing crickets rather than phones ringing, everyone else said that business has begun to pickup over the past two weeks. In addition, the projects seem real and have some meat. Not just “pie in the sky” speculative projects.

Everyone, myself included, is careful to mention that there has NOT been a comparable spike in sales, just in design and quoting. Which tells me that some money is being freed up for later summer and fall shows. The sales they are seeing right now are for refreshed graphics for existing exhibits and/or alternative “value” based exhibit options. At Classic, for example, we just introduced the Sacagawea Hybrid Series which has seen a lot of activity.

The other really consistent fact that all companies I spoke to confirmed was that their rental business is up anywhere from 25-50% over last year. Stands to reason right?!?!

They all agreed that May, June, and July will be spent getting back to basics. Making calls to as many people as possible. Keeping your company’s name out in the forefront is paramount during uncertain economic times like these. And for those who survive . . . the last thing you want to struggle with down the road is name recognition.

As I muddle and learn my way through this weekly blog thing, I encourage you to send me topics or questions that you would like feedback on. I would be happy to ask around as I make my calls each day and/or as I visit customers.

Talk to you all soon

Be Well

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

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Tips for a Successful Exhibit Installation & Dismantle

June 10th, 2009 Mel White 2 COMMENTS
Trade Show Installation and Dismantle

Trade Show Installation and Dismantle

The trade show floor can be like operating in a foreign country. However, if you follow a few basic tips, you can successfully and economically navigate the Installation and Dismantle waters of your next show.

1. Choose a Quality Labor Partner

  • Consider national coverage so you have consistency
  • What is their reputation for integrity and performance –ask around
  • Price – While cost per hour is important, keep in mind that comparing the rate of an independent contractor to a general contractor (GC) is not comparing apples to apples.  Independent contractor labor is typically far more efficient, thereby resulting in few hours billed 

2. Complete the Exhibitor Appointed Contractor Letter  (EAC Letter)

  • Check your exhibitor services manual for the due date.  This is typically 30 days prior to the show – but can be as much as 90 days
  • Complete the form, send it to the show contractor and send a copy to your labor contractor
  • If it is past the due date, call your labor contractor. They may be able to work it out with the show

3. Choose the Right Shipper

  • Choose an experienced trade show shipping partner
  • Price – Do not compare the price of shipping with a van line (point to point transportation) to that of a common show carrier (consolidates loads, breaks down skids, rough ride).  They are not equal.
  • Label each item on a skid separately.  Skids sometimes get broken down

4. Pre-Plan

  • Complete all service orders well in advance (electrical, carpet, hanging signs, material handling, etc.) to get best rates
  • Electrical – Be sure to include a dimensioned layout of where the electrical should go, along with an orientation for your booth (include surrounding booth numbers)
  • Send copies of all service orders to your labor partner

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Why Retail Managers Should Get More Respect

June 2nd, 2009 Mel White 1 COMMENT
Retail Management

Retail Management

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. Yes, you have a thankless job with terrible hours, mediocre benefits, and a paycheck that barely covers rent, utilities, and the Value Meal Deal. But you work hard. You motivate and train other employees to excel. You are nice, even when others are not nice. You are responsible — day after day, sale after sale, policy change after policy change.  

For All Those Reasons and More I Respect You. Here’s Why.

For seven years, I worked as a sales and training manager in a department store. I was young, not teenager young, but late 20’s early 30’s young. I had a college degree (in English), but no real management or customer service experience. I had worked in a bank in the IT Department and in a sub shop, and taught for awhile, but, frankly, I was drifting. I didn’t really have a career in mind. Then one day I was offered a sales manager job at a large department store. It was kind of a fluke actually, but I needed a job and I took it. I’m glad I did. I can’t image doing what I do now without that background, without that training, and without that guidance from thousands of employees, managers, and customers over those seven years. So, here’s my take on why retail managers should get more respect.

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Defining Interconnectivity

May 27th, 2009 Mel White 1 COMMENT

[See the Link Below to Win a Free Full Conference Pass to TS2 in Chicago]

interconnect

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.

Truth be known, I never really focused on it until about four weeks ago when a friend and colleague called out a “connection” that was both timely and bizarre. It got me thinking . . . why and how? And I am not sure I will ever really know.

With the advent of the social networking tools, the clarity of how connected we really are has become more evident than ever . . . though sometimes I think forced. There is a difference between being networked and being connected in my mind, although the line often gets blurred a bit.

A recent Facebook blog noted, “With greater connectedness has come the ability for people to influence one another with more speed and efficiency. We’ve seen this lead to people spreading information and organizing events on a mass scale, often within days and weeks.”

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Search for Exhibit Photos in P5D — New Feature

May 14th, 2009 Mel White COMMENTS
Past Five Days -- Search Thru Over 1000 Exhibit Photos

Past Five Days -- Search Over 1000 Exhibit Photos

On April 13, we posted “Past Five Days — Reviewing Photos in P5D” where we discussed the history and features of Classic’s daily photo log. 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 Photo Search Function

We’ve added search functionality. Now you can search the entire P5D database by size and/or keyword. We all know the expression, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Too often, the challenge is finding the just right picture or photo. When it comes to trade show exhibit design, you may prefer renderings, but someone else in your organization may prefer photos. Now both options are available for many Classic Exhibits’ designs.

Say, for instance, you like Visionary Designs VK-1032 Hybrid Exhibit. Click here to see the rendering. “Very cool,” you say to yourself, but you wonder if there is a photo available in P5D that shows a “real” version of VK-1032. In this case, there is. Not just one, but seven separate entries for this design. Click here to see one of those photos. Not every photo will be complete with graphics. After all, those photos are taken in our Setup Area, and it’s not uncommon for us to ship displays without the graphics. The graphics may have been shipped directly to the client, or the photo was taken before the graphics were installed. It happens. Also, it’s important to remember that P5D is a sampling of orders. Not all orders. So, not every kit on Classic’s website has a corresponding photo.

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