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Posts Tagged ‘Aero Overhead Hanging Signs’

Word on the Street — March 28th thru April 1st

April 3rd, 2011 Mel White 3 COMMENTS
EXHIBITOR 2011 Follow-up

Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

EXHIBITOR Show Follow-up

To those who attended EXHIBITOR in Las Vegas, I hope you had an enjoyable time.

This past month was a very exciting one at Classic. I am delighted to announce that March will be the second largest sales month in Classic Exhibits’ history! Thanks to you, our distributors and friends, for your support, your orders, and for believing in our “Shared Success” philosophy.

Since I did not attend EXHIBITOR this year, I hope you will share your feedback and reactions via the blog. The Classic Team had only positive comments about the show: great traffic, quality leads, and an overall upbeat tone.

As you may have noticed if you were at the show, Classic Exhibits, ClassicMODUL, and Exhibits NW were fortunate to have built not just our own booth but also several others on the show floor.

Here are just a few. Let us know what you thought of these designs:

Cort Furnishings. The island display included ClassicMODUL black anodized extrusion, Aero Overhead Hanging Structures, and tension fabric graphics from Optima Graphics . . . and of course all the beautiful trade show furnishings from Cort.

Display Supply and Lighting @ Exhibitor 2011Display Supply and Lighting (DS&L). This inline included Silicone Edge Graphic profiles from ClassicMODUL, SEG fabric graphics from Optima, and some truly amazing LED lighting from Display Supply. Check out the picture, but don’t miss the video. Great work to Rob Cohen and his team. And additional kudos to Steve Pinette for a stunning design.

EliteXPO at Exhibitor 2011EliteXPO. This inline had a very cool lounge theme. It included several ClassicMODUL profiles, large format Duratrans and tension fabric graphics from Optima Graphics as well as LED backlighting panels from Display Supply and Lighting. Kudos to Dave, Lara, and Chuck. I heard a lot of great feedback from attendees on your booth design and theme. Nicely done!

New Leads 10 x 10. A great example of a Classic Exhibits 10 x 10 Sacagawea hybrid! Take a look. Turned out very beautiful and highlighted a very functional design. New Leads at Exhibitor 2011And special thanks to New Leads for allowing us to use their lead retrieval technology which runs off iPads. Very easy to use.

Optima Exhibitor 2011Optima Graphics Island. Not only was there a nice ClassicMODUL Tower in the booth, but did you see that Aero Hanging Sign structure?  Well done Jim, Dave, and the whole team at Optima.

EXHIBITOR Magazine. EXHIBITOR’s inline booth was a custom rental exhibit from Classic Rentals with a dynamic A/V presentation. The display demonstrated our flexible rental inventory and design capabilities. This was no kit. It was built using their design requirements for the show. Exhibitor2011_Booth

Classic Exhibits / Eco-systems Sustainable. And last but not least. I hope you enjoyed OUR booth: Your Home for Exhibits. Take a look at the pictures. What you might not know is that the structure is a Rental Exhibit! It highlights the true custom nature and capability of Jim Shelman and his whole crew at Classic Rentals / Exhibits NW. Thanks to Flying High Design for all the beautiful graphic work, to Optima for the printing, to Brumark for the carpeting, to Cort Furnishings for the comfy chairs and stools, to Nature Wall for the cool “real” grass wall in the ECO-Systems portion of the display. At the end of the day, that was probably the best overall design and display we have ever shown.

That being said, I want to say a personal thanks to Mel, Jim, James, Laura, Erik, Eric, Michael, Tim and of course Reid for their hard work last week. Not being there myself, I want you all to know how proud I am of our team and the job you did. Thanks!

Lastly, a huge thank you to our strategic partners:  Eco-systems Sustainable, Momentum Management, Cort, Optima Graphics, EliteXPO, and Display Supply and Lighting. Your guidance, generosity, and support made this year’s show particularly special.

Please share your comments about the show.

Have a great and restful weekend.

–Kevin Carty

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

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Word on the Street — January 11th thru January 15th

January 17th, 2010 Mel White COMMENTS
Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

A Lasting Impression

Ever leave a meeting or sales presentation and wonder if what you said “stuck”? Better yet, after giving a presentation, have you ever discovered that your client went in another direction? Worse, the direction they chose was something you could have handled as well. Wonder why?

It happens to all of us. For me, it makes me look back at what I did not convey properly in my presentation to that person or group. So I wonder . . . what are the keys to making a lasting impression?

1. Emotion

Experts will tell you, the stronger the emotion, the stronger the impression. Sometimes the biggest error we make is to get “too comfortable” with our service and product offerings. We assume that the folks we’re talking to have the same understanding of how “great” our products or services are, that they see the features and benefits, and finally, that they are just as passionate about these unique advantages as we are. This can easily happen if you are not careful, especially if you are giving the same presentation over and over.

Once we turn eighteen, the word “Cheerleader” doesn’t have the same impact. That’s too bad because all companies need cheerleaders who are passionate about their products and services. We remember cheerleaders. In our hearts, we all want that same passion and commitment. Steve Jobs at Apple is a great example of that unabashed “cheering” of the company’s products and culture. Wrong or right, we all want to hear what he has to say because we know he believes and he cares.  

2. Use Images

People’s memories are triggered more through the use of effective images than through words. Think about it, it’s the key to making a good commercial or ad right? Well, the same applies to presentations for a live audience. The images you choose are critical. Using images that are too simple or plain will not only be ineffective, but can also actually turn off the crowd. For example, if presenting Aero Overhead Hanging Signs, I would show the jobs that highlight the most creative and custom shapes. Showing the standard shapes and sizes would be less effective. I’ve learned over time that there is a natural assumption made by the audience that you can do the standard stuff, when you WOW them with the truly custom stuff.

3. Differentiate Yourself and Your Product or Service

When there are several other companies that make or sell similar products, you need to emphasize what makes you truly “different.” Differentiation can be in service and capabilities. For example, look at Nordstrom. They sell many of the same brands as the other stores, but their service is unmatched. You know when you buy something from Nordstrom that you are going to receive the best customer service at the time of the purchase — AND, should you ever have to return the product, you know you will get a “no questions asked” approach when you walk back into the store

From a product standpoint, capabilities are the key! For example, for over 10 years, the Quadro S has been a leader in Pop-up Systems. The reason is simple — it’s the only system of its kind that can hold up to 200 lbs on any internal shelf on the straight frame. It can hold multiple flat screen LCD’s within one unit, and it is the only pop up that can double as a full video presentation wall with 9 large LCD’s inset into a straight frame.

What are some methods that you use to help leave a lasting impression on your clients?

Please share your comments via the blog comment section and have a safe and restful weekend!

–Kevin Carty

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

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Word on the Street — June 29th thru July 3rd

July 3rd, 2009 Mel White COMMENTS
classic-exhibits-word-on-the-street

Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

Rumors on the Street

Since this was a short week and many of the people I call on or chat with were on vacation, I opted to write about something a little bit different: Rumors on the Street.

There is a bit of an inside joke with this week’s blog.

Many who know me and or who have known Classic for some time know that Classic’s closest vendor partner is Optima Graphics in St. Louis. Optima provides all the tension fabric graphics for the Magellan Displays, Perfect 10 Displays, Visionary Designs Displays, Aero Table Top Displays and Aero Overhead Structures. This had led to the most asked question and assumed rumor over the past 18 months.

Does Optima and/or Jim Hoffmann own Classic Exhibits? If I told you I field this question once a week, I would be lying. Some weeks, I get that question (or a related comment) up to three times a week. Mr. Hoffmann tells me he gets the same question all the time.

Do you ever wonder where industry rumors and assumptions like this come from? I do. Most are harmless and can even be funny.

In doing my “research” for this blog, I went straight to the source, Jim Hoffmann. Here is how the conversation went . . .

Kevin — “So big bossman . . . I mean Mr. Hoffmann, do you own Classic? You know the same Classic Exhibits where I have worked for 15 years?”

Mr. Hoffman — “I get that question a lot Kev. My answer is simple. In my dreams!  🙂 Now get back to work, I am not paying you to goof off!”

In all seriousness, Classic Exhibits is not owned by Jim Hoffmann or Optima Graphics. We are, however, very close Vendor Partners that share a lot of common customers in the trade show exhibit industry.

So, how about you? Have you heard any good juicy industry rumors that you would like to share? Have you been the subject of any tantalizing rumors recently?

Have a great 4th of July Weekend with your families.

Talk to you next week.

Be Well!

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

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