Ep 047 – Tips from Display Builder that Pivots to Virtual Displays – with Adam Sublett

Adam Sublett is an Account Manager at Benchmark Craftsmen – a trade show display builder that has been working with some of the largest brands in the US for decades. Adam talks about pivoting for survival during this pandemic.

Adam started full time at Benchmark in 2007, but has always been involved in the industry being third generation in the business. His career started on the service side supervising installations and dismantles of tradeshow booths and other exhibits all over the country. After that, Adam took what he learned on the road and relayed that experience into managing production for the better part of a decade.

He has managed key accounts for the company over the past few years including Diebold Nixdorf in North Canton, Ohio and Harley-Davidson Motor Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Most recently, Adam has been focusing on the overall operations of the company.

Adam’s top tips:

Tip #1 – Be steady and kind. The work we do in the trade show industry is challenging enough, certainly it can be stressful at times – a bad attitude makes that 10x worse. That’s something I have been trying to work on myself over the past few years (some days are better than others, admittedly). Try to have some fun with it all.

Tip #2 – Travelers out there – keep a notebook and write down all the cool restaurants or scenic spots that you go to. I feel like I failed miserably at this early in my career when I was traveling a lot – I would go to some great restaurant and never bother to write the name down. I would always try to remember that spot the next time I was in that particular city – and I never could. I worked with a guy that did actually keep a restaurant journal and now I have to bother him every time I travel and get the name of a cool spot in Chicago or Atlanta.

The top 1-2 takeaways you have for the listeners

I think as an industry, we find ourselves in a frustrating situation that we can not just work harder, or longer to fix the problem. Our industry is not loaded with patient people, I know I am not – but that is what we have to do right now. We are born problem solvers, so it is hard for us all to sit and spectate from the sidelines.

I think that our community has been impacted harder than most other industries during this time. We were one of the first to be shut down and will most likely one of the last back to relevance. I think it’s important to reach out to our elected officials and ask that they support the live events industry in the coming months. For so many small businesses, it is literally one day at a time and we will need the help to stay alive until live events return.

Check out the HiVe 360 demo:

https://benchmark-virtual.com/DEMO/

The HiVe 360° online experience is a tool to communicate, connect and engage. HiVe 360° expands your message.

Our goal is to merge the practicality of a live event with the functionality and innovation of the emerging virtual technologies.

Using your investments in custom event assets as the building blocks these will be pre-set, merchandised and digitally captured using your existing and new properties and demos to create an exclusive experience reflecting what your customers are familiar with.

The hybrid approach of functional reality and virtual engagement brings the hybrid event platform to life without feeling like a video game or phone app.

How to Get in Touch with Adam:

www.benchmark.us.com

Adam.Sublett@benchmark.us.com

Adam Sublett on LinkedIn