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Posts Tagged ‘Past Five Days’

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Exhibit Design Search Webinar Recording w/ Outline

July 29th, 2021 Mel White COMMENTS

EDS Tips and Tricks Webinar

On Wednesday, July 28, Classic Exhibits conducted two Exhibit Design Search Tips and Tricks webinars for Classic Exhibits Distributors. The video recording of the second session covers both basic and advanced techniques for navigating EDS including Past 5 Days, Trade Show Tips, and My Gallery.

The outline below provides a general guide of the topics covered during the webinar.

The Basics (@1:20 min)

  • Design Database of 1500 displays, 9000 photo, and 84 articles
  • Public Website(s), developed for Classic Distributors and their clients
  • 32 Product/Design galleries, mostly Classic but also (2) Optima [OP], (2) CORT [CT], (1) Brumark [BR], and (1) DS&L [DL]
  • Divided into sizes or product groups
    • Island, Inlines, 10 ft., 20 ft.
    • Rentals, Sustainable, Charging Solutions, Counters, etc.
  • Quick click menus to search by size, price, or product line
  • Specials and Lightning Deals
  • Within galleries: product descriptions via bullets, text, and hyperlinks
  • Video and audio clips
  • Unbranded literature
  • Retail prices

Advanced Skills (@ 7:25 min)

  • Classic, Branded, Unbranded w/ prices, Unbranded w/o prices
  • Search (kit, feature, or any text)
    • GK-2005
    • Associated or related kits
  • Advanced Search – Fine-tune your search parameters (@ 10:33 min)
    • Price range
    • Include or exclude rentals
    • Booth size
    • Sort
    • Text
    • Or by Product Gallery Groups
    • Check All/Uncheck All
    • Example
      • $7,000 to $14,000
      • 10 x 20
      • Exhibits
      • 68 designs
      • Fine-tuning:  Unclick the pop-ups
      • 46 designs
      • Lightbox
      • 4 designs
  • Past 5 Days (@ 15:27 min)
    • Background
    • Why it matters
    • Search all weeks, View by week, Random
    • Search by sizes
    • Text search: 10 x 20, custom
    • Links to products and job numbers
    • My Gallery
  • Home Page/Modern Inline Exhibits (@ 19:24 min)
    • Corner Clues: backlit, modular, eco-friendly
    • Corner Clues:  rent
    • My Gallery
    • VK-1334 | Modular Inline
      • Purchase and Rental Prices
      • Add to My Gallery
      • Rental Price – hardware and graphics
      • Links to “Associated Kits”
      • Photos
      • Print button
      • Specs Tab:  Downloadable setup instructions, graphic dims. FAQs, Warranty, along with general information about lead times, exhibit weight (and shipping), and electrical cord management
      • P5D – My Gallery
      • Permalink
  • Trade Show Tips (@ 27:00 min)
    • 84 articles organized into 11 categories about trade show regulations, marketing, design, logistics, and a wide range of other topics.  
    • Why is this important?
      • Think of them as Cliff Notes: While you may not need them, your clients do (and you can’t possibly coach them on every topic). You want knowledgeable, smart, and savvy customers because those are the ones that succeed at trade shows. These articles make you the library, the source of that information.
      • Secondly, it’s a tutorial, guidebook, textbook for any new employee.
    • Examples and how to use it
      • My Gallery
      • Standard USA Booth Regulations
      • 10 Common Trade Show Myths
      • 13 Common Trade Show Mistakes
      • How to Cut Your Trade Show Costs, Part 1, 2, and 3
      • Literally any of the articles about Rentals
  • My Gallery – Single-most valuable tool in EDS (@31:16 min)
    • Includes Kits, Photos, and Trade Show Tips
    • Send My Selections:  Simple, straightforward. Unique URL for each My Gallery
    • Branded vs. Unbranded
    • Saved (2) Ways:  Temporarily as a cookie and on our server for 3-4 months
    • Virtual Changes
    • Clear My Gallery vs. Reset

–Mel White
mel@classicexhibits.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/melmwhite

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Classic Exhibits Inc. designs and manufacturers portable, modular, hybrid, and custom exhibit solutions, including Symphony Portable Displays. 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 or www.classicexhibits.com.

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Posted in Classic Exhibits Inc., Exhibit Design Search, Past 5 Days | No Comments »

Up Your Game Newsletter | February 2020

February 20th, 2020 Mel White COMMENTS

EuroShop 2020

EuroShop 2020

In Dusseldorf at EuroShop? Kevin Carty and Katina Rigall Zipay are there too. They will be walking the floor and connecting with colleagues at the EDPA booth, along with meeting our European partners in Germany and France. And, if all goes as planned, they will share photos and their reactions in several blog posts and on Instagram. See Photos #1, Photos #2, and Photos #3.

Feel free to contact Kevin or Katina if you would like to chat with them while they’re at EuroShop. Or just arrange to meet them in the mannequin hall, the creepiest hall at EuroShop.

EXHIBITORLIVE 2020

EXHIBITORLIVE 2020

Do you remember when EXHIBITOR announced the 2020 date for EXHIBITORLIVE and you were puzzled by the late March date? We were, but now were delighted since it’s crazy busy at Classic Exhibits. That’s not to say, we aren’t checking off our EXHIBITORLIVE tasks. Here are a few things to expect from us.

  • We’ll have two booths this year — #220 (10 x 30) and #242 (10 x 15), both perimeter spaces. There’s a reason for this, which you’ll just have to discover at the show. 😉
  • Classic Exhibits is sponsoring the 2020 Annual Portable Modular Awards. You are invited to attend as our guest. It will be held on Tuesday after show hours. Also, are you STILL voting on the People’s Choice Award? Don’t make us nag!
  • Interested in attending the Women in Exhibitions Breakfast? Contact Katina or register here. Seats are limited so early registration is strongly encouraged.
  • Would you like to schedule a meeting with us at the show? Just let us know. Kevin, Mel, Jim, Katina, Kim, Jen, Harold, and Tom will be in Las Vegas for all or a part of EXHIBITORLIVE.
  • Oh yes… the NEW Symphony Portable Display line is entered in the New Product Showcase. Yea!
  • Still need to register for a free show hall pass? Go to this page and enter Code 4044. There’s no limit so share (and share) away. 

Classic Sales Territories

Classic Exhibits -- National Sales Territories

Beginning in January, we realigned the Sales Territories for Jen LaBruzza, Tom Beard, and Harold Mintz. You can click here to view the map, but in general, Jen, Tom, and Harold cover the following geographic areas:

  • Jen LaBruzza, National Sales Manager: West and Southwest, excluding California
  • Harold Mintz, Regional Sales Manager: California, South, Mid-Atlantic, and Western Canada
  • Tom Beard, Regional Sales Manager: Midwest, Northeast, and Eastern Canada

Past Five Days

Past Five Days

Did you know that Past Five Days, the daily photo gallery, is the second most visited site on the Classic Exhibits website?

Since 2006 (yes, 2006!), we have posted photos of select projects passing through our shop and when possible, linked them to the designs in Exhibit Design Search. We can’t show everything, but we do our best to showcase exciting designs and builds in real time. All thanks to you! Your willingness to allow us to post these photos benefits the entire Classic Exhibits Community.

Don’t forget to tap into P5D as a search tool too. It’s a great place to search for exhibits with “shelves,” “custom charging” solutions, “lightboxes,” and “Gravitee” (for example).

Shared Knowledge University June 15 & 16

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Posted in Classic Exhibits Inc., EuroShop 2020, EXHIBITORLIVE, Past 5 Days, Shared Knowledge University | No Comments »

Your Exhibit Design Search Updates

October 11th, 2016 Mel White COMMENTS

EDSUpdateBlog

Exhibit Design Search is a work in progress where new features are added without fanfare. They just appear. So what’s new in the past three months?

EDS Home Page

captureAbout three weeks ago, we flipped the switch on a new visual feature on all Exhibit Design Search sites. It’s subtle but significant. The gallery images on the EDS home page now rotate. Visualize a slot machine. Each time you click the refresh button on your browser or simply return to the home page, the images change/rotate.

This makes each EDS site more distinctive. To see this at work, simply go to your EDS site or click here for the unbranded EDS website and refresh your browser. If you are easily amused, like me, do it repeatedly.

Photo Galleries

capture1Recently, distributors asked us how they could tap into our Custom, Rental, and Retail photo galleries without redirecting their clients to the Classic website. About 16 months ago, we added those galleries to the main Classic website to highlight the non-system projects flowing through our facility. On any given month, about 40 percent of our business falls into those categories. And it’s growing.

We listened. Now all branded EDS sites have a Photo Libraries button with a drop-down menu. The menu includes not only Past Five Days, but also galleries showing Custom, Rental, and Retail projects. Expect them to evolve as we add (and remove) projects.

Gravitee Modular Wall System

gravitee-cycleYou’ll be hearing LOTS and LOTS about Gravitee in the coming months. However, unlike other Classic systems, we’ve chosen not to create a defined product gallery in EDS. Why? Gravitee is a chameleon. It’s ideal as an island or an inline. It’s perfect for purchase or rental. Use it for an event, a corporate environment, a trade show, or retail space. It’s versatile, practical, and affordable. In short, it works in almost any 3D environment.

For now, the Gravitee kits will be in the Island, Visionary Designs, and SEGUE galleries. You can find them by searching “Gravitee.” Or, by going to the Exhibits menu on the main Classic website and clicking on Gravitee One-Step Modular System.

Interested in adding Gravitee to your rental inventory? Click to download the Starter Kit Special, available only to Classic Exhibits Distributors.

LED Lightboxes

vk-1966-view-3Lightboxes are the boy bands of the exhibit, event, and retail world. Even if you want to hate them… you can’t. They are just too damn cute and adorable. We decided to take a two-prong approach to lightboxes. Our proprietary SuperNova lightboxes can be purchased in any size, nearly any shape, and come in one or two-sided frames. The frames, unlike most on the market, are designed to withstand abuse. We dare you to compare them to the “little sisters of the poor” varieties, not only in their durability but also their light sealing features. They are better and brawnier.

Secondly, lightboxes need to be functional for trade show exhibitors. That means that attaching counters, headers, literature holders, iPad stands, shelves, monitors, etc. should be easy. We’ve designed kits that do more than look pretty. They are also practical. See VK-1966, VK-1963, VK-1961, and VK-1118 for examples.

Rental Furniture Galleries

rental-furnitureThis is important. Last summer, we added Rental Furniture Galleries #1 and #2 in EDS. These galleries are a partnership with CORT, the leader in trade show rental furniture. Rental furniture is no longer the exception in inline and island booths. It’s the rule.

Historically, it’s been challenging to assist your customers with rental furniture. Not anymore. These two retail galleries make it easy to show your clients rental furniture at retail prices. Once your client has selected the furniture, simply call CORT, tell them you’re a Classic Exhibits distributor, and they will provide you with a wholesale quote. They can even direct you to other rental furniture options in their online catalog, all with a special Classic Exhibits wholesale prices. My personal advice… don’t be a duffus! Show rental furniture. Sell rental furniture. With or without your assistance, your clients are going to have rental furniture in their booth.

As always, please let us know if you have any questions about Exhibit Design Search or about anything Classic Exhibits related.

–Mel White
mel@classicexhibits.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/melmwhite
https://twitter.com/melmwhite

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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 or www.classicexhibits.com.

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Posted in Exhibit Design Search, Gravitee, Mel White, Past 5 Days, Trade Show Marketing | No Comments »

Classic Exhibits… By the Numbers

March 15th, 2016 Mel White 4 COMMENTS

P5D_EDS_TTB_BlogHeader

Milestones

In business, as in life, we celebrate milestones. This morning after adding an article to Trade Show Tips, I decide to count them — 74 articles. It’s more than I thought, but 74 isn’t 740 or 7400 so the number didn’t freak me out.

Having started down this path, I decided to look at other numbers. For example, how many blog posts have we published in Trade Show Tales? WordPress makes finding that number easy — 704 posts (counting this one). Now I have to be honest with you — that did freak me out a bit. We publish 6-8 posts per month with the first one in 2009. So by the numbers, that’s about right. However, that doesn’t make 704 seem any less daunting. That’s a lot of words and images over the years. I’m not sure whether we should pat ourselves on the back or apologize to you (“Way to go team!” or “Sorry everyone”).

What Is This Anyway?

The First P5D Photo. What Is This Anyway?

So, you may be wondering how many photos are in Past 5 Days. P5D was launched on September 9, 2006 with this image. It’s an odd image for the first P5D, but we didn’t know what we were doing back then. According to Tony, our resident web guru, we’ve published 5840 photos. Most are linked to kits in Exhibit Design Search.

I’d be impressed, but I’m actually more exhausted thinking about how each photo had to be resized, saved for the web, and described. The upside is that P5D is the third most visited section of the Classic website, after the Classic and the EDS home pages (according to Google Analytics).

Which leads us to EDS. It’s a big number so let’s filter it a bit. Some kits are shown in multiple galleries. I’d estimate around 140. Our count won’t include inactive designs (we’ve killed probably 400+ kits over the years). We won’t count the Cases, Lighting, and Flooring (149 entries).

031116 MOD1430_aTotal = 1554. Let’s put that number in perspective. Some galleries have grown substantially the past two years, such as the Rental, eSmart, and Island Galleries (because of double-digit growth). During that same time, charging stations, tablet stands, and lightbox kits were added. Plus, the Quadro Floating Graphic System is new.

Twice a year, we delete slow selling kits, or give them a second chance by redesigning them. And then there’s Design Monday, which serves as constant design funnel for Exhibit Design Search.

I’ll spare you all the numbers for Design Monday except to say that back in December we hit the 560th week. DM, more than anything else in this list, makes my head hurt.

You are probably wondering if there’s a point to this blog post, other than reaching blog post 704? Whatever you think about Classic Exhibits, you have to give us credit for persistence, communication, and creativity. That alone should tell you who we are as a company and how much we value you as a Classic Distributor. Give us a break. We have a lot to share!

Is it really time to post another P5D? Sigh.

–Mel White
mel@classicexhibits.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/melmwhite
https://twitter.com/melmwhite

**********************************************

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 or www.classicexhibits.com.

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Posted in Classic Exhibit Systems, Mel White | 4 Comments »

5 PM’s — Chose 5 Designs — from Past 5 Days

February 17th, 2015 Mel White 1 COMMENT

CustomerService

We Love All Our Children But Some More Than Others

We shouldn’t have favorites when it comes to exhibit design projects. But we do. And, of course, everyone has designs they hold “near and dear.” We asked our five project managers to pick the five projects they liked best from 2014 that were featured in Past 5 Days. These were not necessarily jobs they worked on, but ones they loved on our Setup Floor. They all got greedy and picked six… and that’s OK. Sometimes it’s the last child that tugs at your heart the most.

You can see additional photos of each project by searching P5D by the date shown. Click to see larger photos in each PM gallery.

Our sincere thanks to the Classic Distributors for sending your projects to us and for allowing us to share them on P5D. Shared Success!

Bob Beuhl

Charlie Shivel

Cynthia Geddis

Edie Arambula

Jeff Garrett


Have questions? Send us an email or give us a call. We welcome your comments about trade show displays and exhibit marketing.

–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 or www.classicexhibits.com.

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Posted in Classic Exhibit Systems, Mel White, Past 5 Days | 1 Comment »

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