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The Greenbuild International Conference and Expo

August 5th, 2011 Mel White 1 COMMENT
Greenbuild International Show

Greenbuild 2010

Using GREEN to Grow Businesses

The Greenbuild International Conference & Expo is right around the corner, taking place in Toronto, ON from October 4-7. For those who have never been, the show is spectacular, filled with some of the most innovative sustainable products that you will ever see.

The Greenbuild Expo exemplifies the idea of utilizing GREEN to grow businesses. The show provides an unrivaled opportunity to learn about the latest innovations, explore new products and exchange ideas with other professionals. The 3-day event also includes numerous educational seminars and workshops, and is the four-time winner of Tradeshow Week’s Fastest 50 growing trade shows in the U.S.  Last year, in Chicago, IL, the event drew nearly 40,000 attendees and over 1,000 exhibiting companies.

Greenbuild’s attendee base is large, diverse, and geographically distributed. In 2010, the show welcomed attendees from 114 countries, many of which were high-level decision makers.  This year, as the show moves to Toronto, the international intrigue only expects to rise.

Eco-Systems Sustainable Exhibits prepares for this event months in advance, expecting a spike in sales and RFP’s. Although Eco-Systems is not “officially” affiliated with Greenbuild, many exhibitors are drawn to our line of sustainable displays. Last year, Eco-Systems built over 35 exhibits that were displayed at the show. Some of the materials used in the construction of these exhibits include:

  • Recycled Aluminum Extrusion
  • Graphics made from 100% Recycled Soda Bottles
  • LED Energy Efficient Lights
  • Biodegradable Infill and Graphic Panels
  • Bamboo Shelves and Cabinetry
  • And much more . . .

See examples of our Sustainable Exhibits Here:

Textured Coatings of America Inc. purchased a 20′ x 20′ Eco-Systems exhibit for the Greenbuild Show last year. President and CEO Jay Haines had this to say:

“I think it’s one of the greenest booths here, and we’re extremely happy to showcase it at the Greenbuild Show.”

For more information about the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, please visit the website:  http://www.greenbuildexpo.org/Home.aspx.

Greenbuild International 2010

Greenbuild International 2010

To contact Eco-Systems Sustainable Exhibits regarding exhibit options for Greenbuild or any other show, please contact Eric Albery:

Eric Albery
VP of Marketing & Business Development
eric@ecosystemsdisplays.com
Direct: 616.726.6269
Main: 866.463.2611 x 303

(Source: http://www.greenbuildexpo.org/Home.aspx)

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Posted in green displays | 1 Comment »

First-Timer Stories: Word on the Street — July 18th thru July 22nd

July 24th, 2011 Mel White COMMENTS
First Timers

Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

Stranger in a Strange Land

Three months ago, we embarked on a new relationship with an IT vendor, and it has been nothing short of stellar. The vendor, Convergence Networks, has quickly vaulted into one of our best relationships. because they are responsive, knowledgeable, and totally customer focused.

Last month, Convergence came to Classic Exhibits asking for our assistance. They had agreed to be the main sponsor of a business-to-business event organized by the Portland Business Journal. This would be their very first trade show of any kind, which made their sponsorship commitment even scarier. Needless to say, we were delighted to guide them through the maze that is trade shows.

It proved to be an interesting experience for both Mel and me. Like many veterans of this business, we tend to forget what it must be like going to your first event. What we have all come to assume as second nature is actually totally foreign to those new to the game. Just having to traverse through all the rules, regulations and complexities that come with attending a show meant learning a new language and a new business model for them, one that doesn’t always seem transparent and logical.

Confused by Trade ShowsFor example, navigating your way through the exhibitor manual can be daunting. Recall the first time you read through that manual and attempted to complete those forms. It’s a nightmare. At one point, I asked Convergence if they knew how much electricity would be provided for their booth, which was the largest space in the show. Had we not asked, they would have had just enough juice to power a Crest Spinbrush or a cell phone charger.

Even for us, there were surprises like the move-in and move-out schedule. Except for Convergence, everyone had a 10 x 10′ (but more on that in a moment). We built them a 10 x 20 Visionary Designs Hybrid Exhibit with two computer counters along the front aisle. All packed into a small crate. You can imagine our surprise when we noticed that the move-in was limited to 5-7 p.m. and that there were no drayage services! This important fact was not shared with them when they paid for their sponsorship. Maybe show management thought that they could conjure up a display using a magical incantation and then levitate it into their show space. 🙂

Anyway, I am not beating anyone up here. In reality thanks to DWA Tradeshow Service (the general contractor) everything came together very nicely. And Convergence was the class act of the show by having a custom hybrid exhibit with tension fabric graphics, counters, lighting, and carpet. Everyone else had banner stands, posters hanging from the pipe and drape, or a pop up. They were the McMansion on a street of manufactured houses. Convergence really stood out as the title sponsor, which brought them lots of leads. The owner told me that he expects to recoup his investment many times over and put much of the credit on their “presence” at the show.

Please share your example(s) of helping a First Timer with their first trade show experience. What did they learn (or not learn) and how did those experiences influence how you assist other First Timers. I know you “old timers” have many humorous, painful, and interesting stories to pass along to the Classic Distributor Network.

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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Urban Exhibitionary

June 22nd, 2011 Mel White 20 COMMENTS

Beginning in mid-July, Classic Exhibits and ClassicMODUL will run a series of banner ads in the ExhibitorOnline weekly e-broadcast. Most of you receive this email every Thursday or Friday from EXHIBITOR Magazine.

We’ll showcase a new banner ad each week (for 18 weeks). We decided to mimic the Urban Dictionary, but with exhibit industry terms and definitions. We call it the Urban Exhibitionary. To prime the pump, we reached out to some industry friends for ideas, and some of their clever definitions are listed below, but this is merely the first step to creating a comprehensive exhibit dictionary. We want your witty ideas and would love to use the best ones in the ads.

Here are some of the more interesting ones so far.

———

Blink: Special effects lighting that’s often used to compensate for a not-so-great display. Blink rules the dance floor, but isn’t quite as flashy as its rapper cousin, Bling.

That company’s got so much Blink on display, I couldn’t even read their sign.

———

Masterwaiting: Realizing you’re going to have to “go it alone” on the big presentation when your boss is delayed.

Please check on the flight status for Mr. K’s arrival, I’m in the hallway just Masterwaiting and the customer looks pretty anxious.

———

TTWN: Too Tired for Wednesday Night.

I know it’s the last night of EXHIBITOR, but I’m TTWN.

———

Port-not-able: Unwieldy, overweight exhibits that carry the claim “portable.”

At 300 lbs., that display goes in the Port-not-able Hall of Shame.

———

Face-to-Space: Used to describe “virtual” events and teleconferences.

Trade shows will always be the place to be seen. It’s impossible to close the deal when you’re working Face-to-Space.

———

Assertain: When someone wastes your time with small talk or jokes instead of providing factual information about pricing or warranty. Often used as a tactic to stall. (Alt.) Slang: What happens when an unlikable person attempts to entertain.

It took me two weeks to get the pricing info I requested, but the sales dude called everyday just to assertain me. (Alt.) Slang: He may think he’s an Elvis impersonator, but it’s really just assertainment.

———

Trinketeer: A show attendee whose primary focus is to gather as many trinkets and trash as possible. No giveaway item is too small or insignificant for this exhibit hall swashbuckler!

Did you see the two Trinketeers fighting over the last promotional Stress Ball at Booth 2234?

———

Arch-ritis: The pain from wearing new shoes at a trade show.

I told Sally not to wear those new pumps. Now, she’s got a serious case of arch-ritis.

———

CuervoSweat: Literally perspiring alcohol after a very late night entertaining clients.

You need to move away from me Jack, or I’ll be hammered by noon from your CuervoSweat fumes.

———

Booth Zombie: The comatose exhibitor who doesn’t like to talk to strangers, make eye contact, or stand for seven hours straight.

The Booth Zombie sat behind the table and stared blindly away from attendees, stopping only to check her emails, file her nails, and drink coffee.

———

Annie-halled:  The realization that you’ve been abandoned (orphaned) in the exhibit hall while dismantling your display.

I was tearing down the exhibit when I realized I’d been annie-halled by my co-workers. Leapin’ lizards!

———

Ban-boozled: The “too good to be true” $99 banner stand bargain . . . that wasn’t.

I knew I’d been ban-boozled when the directions were sturdier than the banner stand.

———

Guttastrophe: The SUDDEN realization at a trade show that eating and drinking too much while wearing last year’s belt size has consequences.

He was in the middle of a very large exhibit hall when the telltale signs of a major Guttastrophe were upon him.

———

We’d love to include your terms in the Urban Exhibitionary. You’re a creative bunch. Post your terms and definitions. We’ll use the very best ones and collect the rest into a dictionary.

. . . Frankly, I’m a little frightened of what you’ll share. 😉

–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.

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Posted in Classic Exhibit Systems, Fun, Mel White, Uncategorized | 20 Comments »

Islands and Summer Just Go Together: Word on the Street — June 13th thru June 17th

June 18th, 2011 Mel White COMMENTS
Islands and Summer

Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

Five Weeks of New Island Designs

It is officially summer next week . . .  although in the Pacific Northwest you would be hard pressed to know that. Until a week ago, we’ve rarely approached highs of 70 all spring. But today, as I write this, it’s 75 degrees with no clouds in the sky. About time!

As the title of the blog suggests, summer is when we dream of a tropical island vacation.  While I can’t offer you that, I can announce the release of a five new Island Designs. Beginning this week and over the next five weeks in Design Monday, we’ll showcase five fresh and exciting Island kits.

Admittedly, our focus has been on inline designs over the past two years. We reacted to the market. Our responsibility was to create kits for a recessionary economy that appealed to more modest budgets. We think we did a pretty darn good job — Magellan, Sacagawea, and SEGUE Sunrise to name a few. But we didn’t completely ignore islands. Our rental islands have been strong, and our rental division has done a spectacular job designing affordable, yet customizable kits. But from the purchase side, we have been designed to specific distributor projects rather than to creating island kits. With the economy improving, we have spent the past six months designing five unique “kits.” We hope these kits will appeal to your clients for their late summer and fall shows.

The basic plan of attack was simple. First, we listened to you and to what your clients wanted. Namely, islands that not only could stand alone on their design merits, but could also be reconfigured into other island and inline configurations.

Trade Show Island Design from Classic Exhibits

VK-5075 Island Design

Second, we designed these kits to take advantage of large format fabric and SEG graphics, TSP profiles from ClassicMODUL (where possible), and creative accent lighting options. We also recognized that truly custom elements, such as fully assembled counters and workstations, add design heft to islands without adding significant weight.

Finally, while the designs are custom-looking from an aesthetic standpoint, they are designed for “repeatability” and “expandability.” Those two factors allow us to price them more competitively, since we believe these kits (or variations of these designs) will be purchased again and again, much like Sacagawea or Perfect 10 kits. This week, we’re presenting the VK-5075,  branded for Barnes and Noble. By using similar towers and counter units, this unit can easily be rearranged with minimal effort and money to create alternate footprints for the second, third, and fourth shows.

So enjoy! Please let us know what you think. Your comments and suggestions are always welcome.

Be well and have a great weekend. And for all the fathers out there, relax and enjoy time with your family.

–Kevin Carty

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

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Trade Show Bullies

June 11th, 2011 Mel White COMMENTS

While on a business trip this week, I bought Inc. Magazine to read on the plane. Oddly enough, on page 35 there was an article, a column actually by Norm Brodsky, about the trade show industry. I thought I’d share, although it doesn’t cast a flattering light on our business. Here’s the first paragraph as a preview . . .

Anyone who has ever exhibited at a major trade show knows exactly what Seth Burstein is referring to. The rules are ridiculous and the fees outrageous, but if you don’t go along with them, you’ll face warnings and threats, and your exhibit could even be shut down. So, can you force the powers that be to change their ways without becoming a martyr?

http://www.inc.com/magazine/201106/norm-brodsky-small-business-advice-how-to-stop-bullying.html

Imagine any other business where 50 percent of the industry works hard, is dedicated to customer service, and offers reasonable, cost-effective solutions. And the other 50 percent provide service at their whim, charge exorbitant rates, and care little about the long-term success of the industry. It’s frustrating folks. Unfortunately, the industry titans who have the most to lose seem content to operate “as usual.” Who can blame them . . . they are making a killing.

–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.

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Posted in Kevin Carty, Uncategorized | No Comments »

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