This enjoyable and informative video shows the assembly of the 20 ft. Magellan Miracle VK-2093 Portable Hybrid Display with (2) workstations, (2) monitor mounts, (5) 50 watt halogen lights,and tension fabric graphics. Every Miracle Hybrid Display, including the 10 ft VK-1062 thru the VK-1065 and the 20 ft. VK-2091 thru the VK-2094 assembles with knobs and MODUL locks.
Posts Tagged ‘Magellan Hybrid Exhibits’
Magellan Miracle Portable Hybrid Display — Setup Animation Video (Very, Very Cool!)
July 6th, 2009
COMMENTS
Magellan MOR Portable Hybrid Display — Setup Animation Video (Very Cool!)
July 5th, 2009
COMMENTS
Another excellent animation by Mike Swartout, the Classic Exhibits Design Director, for the Magellan MOR Portable Hybrid Display. The animation video shows the Magellan MOR VK-1076 with curve wings, two 50 watt halogen lights, and a large tension fabric graphic. All the MOR designs, from the 10 ft. VK-1077 and VK-1078 to the 20 ft. VK-2098 and VK-2100, assemble with attached knobs and MODUL hex key locks.
Another excellent animation by Mike Swartout, the Classic Exhibits Design Director, for the Magellan MOR Portable Hybrid Display. The animation video shows the Magellan MOR VK-1076 with curve wings, two 50 watt halogen lights, and a large tension fabric graphic. All the MOR designs, from the 10 ft. VK-1077 and VK-1078 to the 20 ft. VK-2098 and VK-2100, assemble with attached knobs and MODUL hex key locks.
Word on the Street — June 29th thru July 3rd
July 3rd, 2009
COMMENTS
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
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
Word on the Street — June 22nd thru June 26th
June 26th, 2009
1 COMMENT
Word on the Street by Kevin Carty
What’s Your Value Proposition?
This was a frequent topic of conversation this week as I traveled. Both in my meetings and in a conversation with the person sitting next to me on my flight back to Portland.
Wikipedia defines Value Proposition as: “A Value Proposition consists of the sum total of benefits which a vendor promises that a customer will receive in return for the customer’s associated payment (or other value-transfer).”
Whether you are a manufacturer trying to secure a new distributor relationship or a distributor trying to sell a new exhibit, your Value Proposition is often one of the most important deciding factors whether a customer decides to do business with you.
It does not have to be one product, one service, or one quality. As a matter of fact, it should consist of several attributes and qualities. At Classic, we try to live by several that make up what I believe is the Classic Value Proposition.
Here are two examples:
1. The first is simple and many of you have heard me say it many times, “We do what others are unwilling or unable to do.” A great example of this is how we approach our CNC metal bending process. Our competitors generally shy away from bending aluminum extrusions along the “hard edge.” A good example can be seen in the VK-1043 Magellan Hybrid Display. Often, kits like this are born from projects that came to us because an existing provider could not or would not produce the unit the way the client wanted. I am proud to say this is how we have attracted so many new Classic Distributors.
2. The second is equally important, Our Customer Service Philosophy. At just 15, I started working for Nordstorms as a stock boy. You may not all be familiar with Nordstroms. It’s a department store chain, based in Seattle, that has locations in many major U.S. cities. The renowned Nordstoms’ Customer Service Philosophy was impressed on me at a very early age. The Nordstroms Way, a book by Robert Spector and Patrick McCarthy, quotes James Nordstroms, prior to his death in 1996, telling his eventual successors, “Continue to think long-term. If we give a better value today, five years from today we will be a better company.” It sounds easy enough, and it is, if you view service “as an act of faith!” I encourage you to read the book and discover what I learned by working at this remarkable company.
These are just two of the Value Propositions at Classic. I plan to explore others in in the weeks ahead. Are these two set in stone? Yes . . . but others are not. As a company and as a team, we need to be flexible to meet the needs of our customers.
How about you? What are the core attributes that create your Value Proposition? Excluding things like your stunning good looks, great sense of humor, and expense account, why do customers do business with you? I look forward to hearing from you.
Be Well!
–Kevin Carty
http://twitter.com/kevin_carty
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/kevin-carty/3/800/32a
Word on the Street by Kevin Carty
What’s Your Value Proposition?
This was a frequent topic of conversation this week as I traveled. Both in my meetings and in a conversation with the person sitting next to me on my flight back to Portland.
Wikipedia defines Value Proposition as: “A Value Proposition consists of the sum total of benefits which a vendor promises that a customer will receive in return for the customer’s associated payment (or other value-transfer).”
Whether you are a manufacturer trying to secure a new distributor relationship or a distributor trying to sell a new exhibit, your Value Proposition is often one of the most important deciding factors whether a customer decides to do business with you.
It does not have to be one product, one service, or one quality. As a matter of fact, it should consist of several attributes and qualities. At Classic, we try to live by several that make up what I believe is the Classic Value Proposition.
Here are two examples:
1. The first is simple and many of you have heard me say it many times, “We do what others are unwilling or unable to do.” A great example of this is how we approach our CNC metal bending process. Our competitors generally shy away from bending aluminum extrusions along the “hard edge.” A good example can be seen in the VK-1043 Magellan Hybrid Display. Often, kits like this are born from projects that came to us because an existing provider could not or would not produce the unit the way the client wanted. I am proud to say this is how we have attracted so many new Classic Distributors.
2. The second is equally important, Our Customer Service Philosophy. At just 15, I started working for Nordstorms as a stock boy. You may not all be familiar with Nordstroms. It’s a department store chain, based in Seattle, that has locations in many major U.S. cities. The renowned Nordstoms’ Customer Service Philosophy was impressed on me at a very early age. The Nordstroms Way, a book by Robert Spector and Patrick McCarthy, quotes James Nordstroms, prior to his death in 1996, telling his eventual successors, “Continue to think long-term. If we give a better value today, five years from today we will be a better company.” It sounds easy enough, and it is, if you view service “as an act of faith!” I encourage you to read the book and discover what I learned by working at this remarkable company.
These are just two of the Value Propositions at Classic. I plan to explore others in in the weeks ahead. Are these two set in stone? Yes . . . but others are not. As a company and as a team, we need to be flexible to meet the needs of our customers.
How about you? What are the core attributes that create your Value Proposition? Excluding things like your stunning good looks, great sense of humor, and expense account, why do customers do business with you? I look forward to hearing from you.
Be Well!
–Kevin Carty
http://twitter.com/kevin_carty
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/kevin-carty/3/800/32a
What to Do When Business is Slow!
June 18th, 2009
COMMENTS
Bee Positive
I have come to grips with the fact that the trade show industry isn’t going to grow by 20 percent in 2009. The joke has become that “flat” is the new growth! So what should we do when times are slow? Should we use this time to work on our golf game? Take every Friday and Monday off from May through August? Let your staff go home early so if somebody calls there is no one to answer the phone? An emphatic “NO!” to all of the above.
Times like this call for an abundance of common sense. This is the opportune time to get to know your customers better and to build relationships. Why now? Because business is slow all over America. Use this time to get in the car and go visit your customers with mid-morning bagels or mid-afternoon ice cream snacks. Your customer’s business is off just like yours, so they aren’t expecting 5-Star dinners and three martini lunches. Set the stage for the next buying season by staying in touch and in tune with your top clients.
What do I do? I spend my days talking to our customers about Sacagawea Portable Hybrids and Magellan MOR, our new price point hybrid displays. Sales are tough, but our customers still expect high design but at portable prices. If you expect to remain competitive and relevant, you either throw up your hands or you adapt to the market.
Why not use your time to educate your clients about your company’s products and services or simply have more “heart-to-heart” conversations with them?You both learn. Unfortunately in the midst of slow business, sometimes the “just get it done” philosophy takes precedent and the “good enough” mentality rears its ugly head.
Two things come to mind when I hear that:
- First of all – Good enough is neither good . . . nor enough!
- Second – You have just allowed your competition the opportunity unseat you.
Those types of things can be the death of many businesses. Apathy is a cancer in these economic times. Keep an upbeat tone in your voice, be happy, and believe that you are doing the right things to help the future even if the present is not what you want
To quote the South African golfer Gary Player, “The harder I work, the luckier I get.” Well get out there today and build your luck for tomorrow!
As the tail wags,
–Reid Sherwood
Bee Positive
I have come to grips with the fact that the trade show industry isn’t going to grow by 20 percent in 2009. The joke has become that “flat” is the new growth! So what should we do when times are slow? Should we use this time to work on our golf game? Take every Friday and Monday off from May through August? Let your staff go home early so if somebody calls there is no one to answer the phone? An emphatic “NO!” to all of the above.
Times like this call for an abundance of common sense. This is the opportune time to get to know your customers better and to build relationships. Why now? Because business is slow all over America. Use this time to get in the car and go visit your customers with mid-morning bagels or mid-afternoon ice cream snacks. Your customer’s business is off just like yours, so they aren’t expecting 5-Star dinners and three martini lunches. Set the stage for the next buying season by staying in touch and in tune with your top clients.
What do I do? I spend my days talking to our customers about Sacagawea Portable Hybrids and Magellan MOR, our new price point hybrid displays. Sales are tough, but our customers still expect high design but at portable prices. If you expect to remain competitive and relevant, you either throw up your hands or you adapt to the market.
Why not use your time to educate your clients about your company’s products and services or simply have more “heart-to-heart” conversations with them?You both learn. Unfortunately in the midst of slow business, sometimes the “just get it done” philosophy takes precedent and the “good enough” mentality rears its ugly head.
Two things come to mind when I hear that:
- First of all – Good enough is neither good . . . nor enough!
- Second – You have just allowed your competition the opportunity unseat you.
Those types of things can be the death of many businesses. Apathy is a cancer in these economic times. Keep an upbeat tone in your voice, be happy, and believe that you are doing the right things to help the future even if the present is not what you want
To quote the South African golfer Gary Player, “The harder I work, the luckier I get.” Well get out there today and build your luck for tomorrow!
As the tail wags,
–Reid Sherwood