Trade Show TalesBlog

Posts Tagged ‘Trade Shows’

Tom Beard is Retiring. Say It Isn’t So!

August 25th, 2021 2 COMMENTS

Tom’s Farewell Letter

As many of you have heard, I’m retiring and calling it a career. It’s been a fantastic 27-year run working in the trade show and events industry for some great companies including Eco-Systems Sustainable and Classic Exhibits. I’m leaving with many great memories and with more friendships than I can count. Our industry has some of the hardest working, creative, and caring people I’ve encountered in my 45-year working career, and I feel blessed to have stumbled into this crazy industry! The past 18 months have been difficult for all of us, but it has brought to light the true collaboration and culture of Classic and Classic Distributor Partners. It was pretty amazing to witness!

Having traveled extensively over the years, I’ve seen the United States through the lens of airports, hotels, convention centers, and businesses, and it’s time to hit the road and see what the country looks like outside of these areas. You never know… I might stop by and regale you with stories about a giant ball of twine or other amazing sights in the US.

Your friendship and support over the years made my decision to retire very difficult, but I will stay involved with the Midwest EDPA Chapter and hopefully attend future EXHIBITORLIVE shows so I look forward to connecting down the road. I’ll say good-bye for now and leave you in the capable hands of Jen, Harold, and Mel.

Feel free to contact me at tombeard345@gmail.com.

— Tom Beard

To Boldly Go… Trade Shows in the 24th Century

June 30th, 2021 2 COMMENTS

Guest Post by Marlys Arnold

I Admit It – I’m a Big Star Trek fan.

No, not to the point where I dress up as a Klingon and stroll the aisles of Comic-Con – although I did thoroughly enjoy roaming around with them back when the Star Trek Experience was a Vegas attraction. But I digress…

One of the things I love most about Star Trek is the way it shows us the potential of how much life can change for the better in the next 200 or so years. I mean, traveling at warp speed, scanning devices that heal wounds.

So it got me to thinking: How might trade shows advance in the next two centuries… or will they?

If you look back at the past 200 years, trade shows haven’t evolved all that much. At the core, they’re still long aisles of exhibits with company representatives attempting to draw crowds into their booths.

But the Potential is There for So Much More!

What if trade shows could be truly experiential? Could exhibits one day become mini-Holodeck environments with 3D simulations? I’d sign up for that! Just imagine being able to transport attendees to any place or time (real or imaginary) within the confines of your booth space.

And what about using replicators to create any object attendees request – is that so far removed from the 3D printers we have today? Exhibitors could use them in a booth to generate a physical representation of most any kind of item.

Perhaps one day we can even have teams of androids or holograms to help staff our booths. (That could be a good thing or a bad thing!)

But on a more serious note, I truly hope that the trade shows of the 2300s look wildly different, yet remarkably similar to today’s. I want them to be innovative and out-of-this-world, yet still be focused on creating relationships between buyers and sellers, between people and products.

While the purpose of a trade show exhibit will continue to be on sharing innovation and solutions, I hope the execution of that purpose looks much more Star Trek-ish.

Are Trade Shows a Final Frontier?

I hope so. Because if we fail to innovate and evolve, trade shows will not survive. And as we’ve all learned this past year, that would be a very bad way for the story to end.

Marlys Arnold

Author Bio: With experience as both an exhibitor and show organizer, Marlys Arnold has a unique perspective on trade show exhibiting. She consults with and trains both exhibitors and show managers from across the country and is the author of Exhibit Design That Works and Build a Better Trade Show Image, host of the Trade Show Insights blog/podcast, creator of the ExhibitorEd Success System, and founder of the Exhibit Marketers Café and Exhibit Marketers Academy online learning community. She can be contacted via her website, www.exhibitmarketerscafe.com.

Ready to Work Statement from EDPA and EACA

June 29th, 2021 COMMENTS

EDPA and EACA have issued a joint statement about the readiness of their collective members to get back to work as our industry re-opens. See statement below.

“Both organizations are grateful that we have reached the time when the industry is opening, and we can plan for the return of events. Yet, as we move forward, some questions are being raised.

One question is about the strength of the industry’s workforce. We have heard show organizers question whether companies that design, build and install displays at trade shows may not have adequate labor resources. EACA and EDPA can answer that question right now as our collective member companies are ready to get back to work. The exhibitor community is looking forward to working with us again as their preferred suppliers.”

EDPA and EACA Ready to Work Statement

Gravitee One-Step| The World’s Easiest Modular Wall System

June 15th, 2021 COMMENTS
Traditional Modular Wall Connectors for beMatrix and Aluvision.
Traditional Modular Wall Connectors (not Gravitee)

When we launched Gravitee five years ago, we knew it would be an uphill battle. Many Classic Distributors were already comfortable with other modular wall systems. That, however, didn’t deter us. Here’s why…

Unlike traditional modular wall systems, Gravitee has no loose connectors. The frames are constructed with durable engineered aluminum extrusion and the system uses time-tested patented technology.

At some point, every Classic Distributor would touch Gravitee. It was inevitable since there are over 100 rental and purchase designs in Exhibit Design Search. Those positive experiences, along with testimonials from show labor, would tell the story. And they did. You’ve told us that Gravitee is the easiest, most intuitive modular wall system in the world. 

Literature and Price List

We’re seeing a surge in Gravitee orders as business resumes. For anyone unfamiliar with this innovative modular wall system, click on the images below to download the Gravitee Literature and Price List.

Gravitee One-Step Modular System
Gravitee Modular | The Building Blocks
Gravitee Modular | Panel Connections
Gravitee Modular | Corner Connections
Gravitee Modular | Options

–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.

PP (Post Pandemic) Trade Show Design Trends

May 12th, 2021 COMMENTS

Last summer, we “predicted” (5) post-pandemic display trends (based on hunches, educated guesses, and a six pack of PBR tall boys). So… how well did we do?

What We’re Seeing:

  1. Graphics – Not surprising. Mostly for smaller displays; however we anticipate larger graphic orders in Q3 & Q4 as exhibitors dust-off their storage properties.  
  2. Portables – We expected the new Symphony Portable System to do well. However not this well. What’s even more shocking… it’s being driven by end-users who specifically ask for Symphony.
  3. Rentals – We predicted far more inline than island requests. We’re seeing more islands than inlines. Very encouraging!
  4. Custom Modular (and Lightboxes) – The eager beaver exhibitors are driving this. Since shows are still evolving, exhibitors are forced to be flexible. As a result, we’re seeing a significant interest in Gravitee Modular Wall designs and SuperNova Lightboxes (both tool-less and modular).
  5. Pandemic – It would end by September 2020. 😉

Well, #5 was a swing and a miss. And #3 is very encouraging. All the others are spot on!

I asked Edie Arambula, Classic’s Customer Service Manager, and Jim Shelman, GM Classic Rental Solutions, to share what Classic Distributors have requested over the past two weeks. We thought you might find the trends interesting.

Symphony Portable Displays

Custom Modular (and Lightboxes)

Rental Islands

Rental Inlines

Are you seeing any other trends?  If so, let us know so we can share with our sales, project management, and design teams.

–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.