Kevin shares his Happy Holiday vlog (I know. It just doesn’t sound right). He also discusses 2017 business trends, including predictions about corporate environments, Gravitee One-Step, and our internal expansion.
We would love to hear your thoughts about 2017 trends, and let us know if you enjoy these vposts (which sounds better to my ears).
It’s that time of year. The 2017 Portable Modular Award Finalists were released, along with the People’s Choice Voting page. From its inception four years ago, Classic Exhibits has been a huge supporter because we believe that portable and modular exhibits deserve creative recognition. And each year, the competition gets better, with spectacular designs from some of the best suppliers and exhibit houses in our industry.
This year, Classic Exhibits has six finalists, our most ever. You may recall that Classic has won a PMA award the past two years and has had multiple finalists each year.
This year we have finalists in the following categories:
We STRONGLY encourage you to visit the People’s Choice Voting page and vote for your favorite(s). You can cast one vote per day for the next three months. So, bookmark the page and vote often. We will. 😉
Also, we would enjoy hearing your comments about our banner ad on the People’s Choice page. We’re a reluctant advertiser as you know, but supporting the PMA takes precedence. The ad isn’t your typical exhibit manufacturer message. But, then again, we aren’t a typical exhibit manufacturer.
p.s. A BIG THANKS to Katina Rigall, our Creative Director, for pulling together Classic’s PMA entries.
–Mel White
mel@classicexhibits.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/melmwhite
https://twitter.com/melmwhite
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Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve. Then 2017. Yes, it might be a little early for predictions, but we just completed our 2017 budget so the future has been on our minds for several months.
Here’s what our Magic 8 Ball tells us. Industry predictions from Kevin and Mel.
Elections Always Bring Doubt. This year more than most. However, there’s a difference between uncertain uncertainty and certain uncertainty. Just in the past two weeks, we’ve seen a significant increase in design requests, whether trade show, corporate environments, or events. We expect that to continue through Q1 and Q2.
We believe that 2017 will mimic 2015. More new builds with a focus on “I want what I want.” Less of “I’ll get what I need.” If that holds true, we will all benefit.
Generalist vs. Specialist. In our collective little world, you better be an anal-retentive, opportunistic generalist. We can no longer pretend to just do trade shows or events or museum or retail design. We must embrace all 3D opportunities available. I’m amazed at the projects leaving our dock which will never be on a trade show floor. They’ll be at a sales meeting, in a mall, in a corporate conference room, or a bracket for a wireless product.
Change is inevitable. What you don’t know, you learn or partner with someone with “a particular set of skills.” Two years ago, we didn’t know squat about charging stations. Now, we can’t build them fast enough.
Charging Stations, Lightboxes, Rental Furniture. I won’t belabor this. You’ve heard us say it before. It’s basically free money on nearly every trade show order if you include charging stations, lightboxes, and rental furniture. Ignoring these hot trends will negatively impact your income.
Rental Exhibits and Accessories. It’s hard to ignore a 25% sales increase year-over-year for seven straight years. We expect rentals to continue at this pace. Just this year, Jim Shelman and his team added a significant inventory of Gravitee Modular Solutions which has proven to reduce I&D and drayage costs for clients while expanding his already impressive design portfolio.
Branded Environments. Customers want their corporate environments, show floor spaces, and events to be consistent. Meaning, branding in all spaces will only continue to grow. This includes re-purposing graphic messaging or, better yet, using parts of their exhibit in their corporate environments during off-show times.
Data Analytics on Steroids. Data analytics appears to be poised for a massive leap. This includes the ability to track movement, “hang time” in a space, and influence an event in real-time. All driven by the desire to track engagement and make adjustments on the fly to meet attendee needs during an event or a show.
Sustainability. It’s not a new topic, but it got shelved by many exhibitors during the recession. 2017 will see a renewed push for sustainable materials and practices in corporate exhibit and event programs.
Less is More. Exhibitors continue to rely on “system” structures like aluminum extrusions to build their properties. But less and less of it is seen via creative graphic applications or integrated custom wood fabrication, cladding, powder-coating, etc. Aluminum extrusion sales are increasing… we’re just seeing less of it visually.
Company-Managed Trade Shows. 2016 saw a big increase in companies managing their own shows. These were often branded as events but in reality were in-house mini-shows with their preferred partners and customers. It allows companies to define the attendee list and manage what attendees see (and don’t see). That’s not to say that companies are abandoning their exhibit programs at national shows. Not at all. But adding these events gives them a higher ROI for specific product launches, training sessions, or sales events.
Assembly, Shipping, and Drayage. These concerns never go away, whether it’s 2008 or 2017. If you’re not designing and engineering to minimize these issues, then you are an ostrich with your head in the sand. We believe that Gravitee represents the first comprehensive solution. No tools. No loose parts. Curves. Flat panels. Wire management. Fabric and direct print graphics. And seamless connectivity to the MODUL Aluminum Extrusion System. Yes, this is a blatant plug for Gravitee, but it’s also a prediction. Gravitee will be front and forward in 2017.
Please share your thoughts and predictions in the comments. What did we miss or get wrong?
–Mel White
mel@classicexhibits.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/melmwhite
https://twitter.com/melmwhite
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We wrapped up Shared Knowledge University last week. Another amazing group of attendees! There’s just something about SKU that sparks joy, delight, and the urge to sing kumbaya (at least silently). Kevin offers his take on SKU, EDPA Access, and several other topics in this vlog.
The Past is Not a Predictor of the Future.
Just ask Nokia and Blackberry. But that doesn’t mean you can ignore it. So, let’s end on a happy note and chat about trends. Namely, what we’ve seen in 2016 that (we believe) will continue in 2017.
Sometimes it’s good to be both lucky and smart. We’ve sold lots and lots and lots of charging tables and stations in 2016 by tapping into a design need. Exhibitors want charging options that don’t look like they stole them from the airport. They have to blend into the exhibit or event environment.
Charging stations say to clients, “Come into the booth and linger. Let’s talk about your business needs.” If you are a fishbowl exhibitor, then a charging option may not make sense, except for your staff. Which is OK too.
Rental Displays are the fastest growing division of Classic Exhibits Inc. That’s not going to change in 2017. Exhibitors are looking for financial and design flexibility. Quality rentals are no longer a compromise either for the exhibitor or for the exhibit sales professional. And truth be told, there’s far more money to be made on repeat rentals than on a purchase.
When a client enters your door, your first question should be, “Are you looking to purchase or rent?” You can’t lose if you offer both at the get-go.
I’m not telling you anything you don’t know. Lightboxes are on fire! Well, you know what I mean. What you may not realize is that LED lighting has become a hot add-on for counters, workstations, monitor stands, even perimeter graphics as well. The price is reasonable, and the visual effect is amazing.
We’ve become experts at RGB programmable LED lights. Tune them to the right color to match a logo or let them dance through the color spectrum.
The change is noticeable. We are seeing a double-digit uptick in orders in events, retail, and corporate environments. The event business is evenly divided between rentals and purchase. Corporate environments and retail are all purchases, evenly divided between custom builds and SEG solutions. We would all be naive to think this trend is slowing any time soon.
Is it just me or is there a lot more rental furniture on the trade show floor? I asked several Exhibit Appointed Contractors (EAC) last summer to estimate the percentage of booths with rental furniture. I expected them to say 20-30 percent. They told me 70-95%. Yowsa!
About 5 months ago, we partnered with CORT to add two Rental Furniture Galleries to Exhibit Design Search. We recognized that Classic distributors could make money on rental furniture by adding it to EDS with retail prices. Every time you don’t use it, you are giving money away to the General Service Contractors. Like they need any more money. Sheesh!
I hope you enjoyed these 25 tips. I know I did. Look for three new charging stations in Design Monday this week.
Have a terrific weekend.
–Mel White
mel@classicexhibits.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/melmwhite
https://twitter.com/melmwhite
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