Inventor of Mark Bric Display’s ISOframe® Display Is Available For Media Interviews

Richard Lawson, the inventor of Mark Bric Display’s award-winning ISOframe® display and exhibition system, will fly in from England for the ISA International Sign Expo 2013 Trade Show April 4-6 in Las Vegas, NV.

Lawson, who invented ISOframe after spotting a niche in the market for a tool-less, flexible portable display system, will be available throughout the trade show to greet visitors, and meet with and answer questions from the media. He will be at Mark Bric Display’s booths 311 and 313.

The ISOframe Wave products are considered the world’s first fully flexible display system. The product was launched in the UK in 2009 and became an instant bestseller. In 2011 Lawson partnered with Mark Bric Display of Sweden, with Mark Bric securing the sole overseas license to manufacture and sell ISOframe outside the UK. Through the Mark Bric Display network, ISOframe is now sold in over 70 countries worldwide. ISOframe Wave has also recently been chosen by readers of Wide-Format Imaging magazine as the 2013 Top Product in the Banner Stands/Portable Displays’ category.

“Designing a fully flexible display system seemed like a simple idea - how wrong I was, said Lawson of the challenges he faced. “The concept had to be stable, easy to build, easy to carry and, of course, look professional. It also needed to work with a standard, unchanging graphic width of 31.5". After 18 months of design and development, the solution was a unique, patented, flexible beam that adjusts its length automatically as it is flexed so the graphics always fits perfectly no matter what the shape.”

Lawson began his career in technical writing and marketing, waiting until 1999 to join his family’s display business Supalite Displays as managing director. The company was started by his father, who invented the first truly lightweight portable display system in the UK back in 1967.

Today, Lawson continues to develop new products, and is in the process of building his own house in the heart of the English countryside. In his spare time, he enjoys sailing Tempest keelboats, and is a keen windsurfer, cyclist and skier. He graduated from Portsmouth Polytechnic on England's south coast with an honors degree in Mechanical Engineering, majoring in design.

Mark Bric’s ISOframe Wave TM Display Wins National Award

Mark Bric Display’s ISOframe WaveTM display and exhibition system has been chosen by readers of Wide-Format Imaging magazine as the 2013 Top Product in the Banner Stands/Portable Displays’ category.

The eighth annual Wide-Format Imaging Readers’ Choice Top Products Awards feature breakthrough products that have caused the most excitement in the industry and have been a valuable asset to wide and grand-format businesses over the last year.

“It is a great honor to have our ISOframe Wave recognized by the readers of a leading industry publication,” said Larry Ragland, president of Marc Bric Display (North America). “This product has not only been a game changer for our customers and their clients, but for our business as a whole.”

ISOframe Wave is the world’s first fully flexible portable display system, which allows the exhibitor to custom-shape, extend or reduce the exhibit wall as needed at each venue, Ragland added.

The winners of the 2013 Readers’ Choice Top Products Awards will be recognized in the April issue of Wide-Format Imaging to be released on April 1. Awards will be presented during the ISA International Sign Expo in Las Vegas, NV, also in April.

Wide-Format Imaging covers the industry news, trends, products, services, and management issues that help wide-format printers grow their business. The magazine has 17,000-plus print recipients, over 27,500 digital edition recipients, and 23,000 weekly e-newsletter subscribers.

Mark Bric Display Unveils SnapUp “Elegance” Display System

Mark Bric Display announced today that it has added to its line of displays the Mark Bric SnapUp® “Elegance,” a new and innovative product from the family of SnapUp exhibit systems.


SnapUp Elegance is the next evolution in pop-up systems. It can be used with curved ends like a traditional pop-up system, or flat ends with decorative corner trims similar to Mark Bric’s top-selling ISOframe. This functionality gives the system a more contemporary "non-pop-up" look as well. The system also includes attached tables and state-of-the-art LED spotlights.

“What makes this system most unique, however, is that it is strong enough for the suspension of media screens,” said Larry Ragland, president of Marc Bric Display (North America). “The optional media holder can accommodate either an LCD screen or an iPad and that’s a first for the SnapUp line of displays. This is something that more of our customers were asking for, and it’s why we designed it to include this feature.”

The Elegance display is Mark Bric’s top-of-the-line SnapUp product. It is self-locking and cross-braced, which means that the graphics will always hang perfectly, despite the frequent challenge of uneven floors. This construction also makes the system extremely strong and stable. The slim frame of 190 mm/7.5" also looks great and saves stand space.

For exhibitors who need counter space or a podium, the Elegance system’s options include a semi-circular attachable table as well as a hard shipping case that carries the display system plus graphics, with the traditional case-to-counter conversion feature.

About Mark Bric SnapUp®

Mark Bric Display’s family of SnapUp exhibit systems allow for fast presentation of seamless large-format graphics. Text and graphics are totally uninterrupted and will attract full attention. The SnapUp product line is based on the pop-up principle. Backwalls of straight, curved and cylindrical shape, as well as counters and reception desks are available to fit all types of display requirements. All products offer unparalleled durability, portability and ease of use.

Mark Bric Display Returns To ISA International Sign Expo 2012 — Orlando, FL, March 22-24

Mark Bric Display is extremely excited to be at the ISA International Sign Expo 2012 in Orlando, our industry’s signature event, again this year and will be onsite from March 22 - 24.  We’ve been out of this loop for a while, and have so many great new things to show to show and discuss, old and new!

First of all, attending ISA is a great experience for anyone in the business of creating and displaying large format graphics. Here under one roof you’ll find the world’s best suppliers of printing equipment, finishing equipment, printing and laminating materials, and of course the display hardware for showcasing all of those great graphics. Digital electronic solutions are of course also a growing aspect of the show. You can get all of the related details by visiting the show web site www.signexpo.org.

As for Mark Bric Display, we look forward to demonstrating our newest display product—ISOframe.  This creative and unique new product line is already turning heads around the world after just a brief introductory period.  We launched ISOframe in the US last year to our core dealer/partner network, but this is the first time that we’ll be putting the line on display for our industry.  All of our early feedback on the line is extremely positive, and our dealers are already closing new deals with ISOframe every week. 

Also on public display for the first time, is our complete line of More-Expo products. Whereas with our main Mark Bric Display-branded products we aim to be the “best of the best,” this “red-tag” line for tight budgets is positioned as the “best of the budget” line. All More-Expo products carry a minimum one-year warranty, all have the full backing of Mark Bric Display, and all are targeted at being the best possible low-budget product that we can deliver to our dealers.

Finally, of course, you’ll be able to see all of the great products that have built our company over the years—from Flexiframe, our first display product, through BannerUp, our most popular retractable banner stand, and including EGO Exhibit system—all of these and more will be on display for your review. 

Our staff at the show will include myself, our VP and Sales Director Ed Marquez, our Operations Mgr. John Diaz, our Customer Service/Exec. Administrative Assistant Anita Skroback, our Swedish Director of Marketing Lars Carlsson, and our UK affiliate and designer of the new ISOframe, Richard Lawson.

Please stop by and visit with us at booth numbers 142 and 242, and let us know what you think of the expanded line of products that we’ve put together for you.

Larry Ragland
President
Mark Bric Display USA

“Speaking Out” For Individuals Awaiting Organ and Tissue Transplants

As many of you know, our new slogan is “Speak Out.” In fact, you might remember one of our previous blog posts about the tagline which was introduced with our new Website.

In the post, I mentioned that this phrase was carefully chosen to convey multiple meanings. We want you to ‘speak out’ to us when you need new products, when you have new ideas, and certainly when anything goes wrong with a Mark Bric project. We want your customers to ‘speak out’ to help us better understand their needs. And we want to be instrumental in helping you, and your customers, ‘speak out’ in the marketplace, so that your/their message stands out from the crowd.

Willie Cottle

Now we are speaking out ourselves with a message we think you need to hear. Currently there are more than 112,000 individuals in the United States waiting for an organ transplant. One of those individuals is our own dedicated, 15-year employee Willie Cottle who is waiting on a liver transplant. Willie is a valued employee and member of the Mark Bric Display family. 

Willie’s need has heightened the awareness of the importance of registering to be an organ or tissue donor among all of here at Mark Bric Display USA. We would like to use this holiday season as a way to increase your awareness of the need and are speaking out by launching a campaign during the month of December called “Providing the Gift of Hope.” There are two ways to participate in our campaign:

·      For every “Like” Mark Bric Display receives on its Facebook page during the month of December, we will make a donation to Donate Life America on your behalf.

·      Additionally, any person who registers to become an organ or tissue donor through the Donate Life America Website and lets us know that they did by posting it on our Facebook page, will be registered to win a $250 gift card to Amazon.com.

There are currently more than 112,000 people waiting for a transplant. Help us spread the word of the need by “Providing the Gift of Hope” for someone this holiday season.

If you do decide to register, know that your gift could one day be given to a person in need and help to save their life. It could be a father, mother, young child, or our good friend.

Larry Ragland - Mark Bric Display - USA

Thinking Big, Thinking Internationally

We at Mark Bric Display have been vividly reminded recently of the growing impact of global marketing. And we’ve been pleased to be positioned to provide helpful services to several of our US partners as their reach extends to overseas markets.

Sample SnappyFrame Display

Early this year, we were able to assist one of our dealers in setting up a multi-year arrangement to supply custom front-loading SnappyFrames (http://markbricdisplay.com/SnappyFrame/snappyframe.html) to locations worldwide. Their client, a major international staffing company, has offices in countries all over the world, with a heavy concentration in Europe and the US. Shipping large, assembled frames from the US to international locations was creating enormous headaches, trying to deal with country-by-country customs and duties, not to mention the exorbitant cost of freight. We worked up a plan to place inventory at our Virginia facility and at our parent company headquarters in Sweden. Since Sweden is a member of the European Union, we can ship to any of the other 26 countries in the Union as if we’re shipping from state to state in the US—no duties or customs fees, and very efficient freight costs.

Sample SnapUP Display

More recently, we had another partner building a SnapUP (http://markbricdisplay.com/Our-Brands/snapup.html) display for a customer whose first exhibition was in France. Again, we called on our Swedish offices, and they shipped the display hardware directly from their warehouse to the exhibition in France. Graphics were produced in the US by our dealer, and everything came together perfectly for the French exhibition.

Sample EGO Display

In October, one of our dealers designed a very classy EGO (http://markbricdisplay.com/Our-Brands/ego-system.html) display for their medical-devices customer, whose first planned use was inGermany, followed immediately by an exhibition in Switzerland. The display was built entirely in the US and shipped to Germany, but we then called on the Mark Bric network to arrange the set-up and take-down of the complete exhibit in both Frankfurt and in Basel, Switzerland.

Sample ISOframe Display

And now, we’re in the final stages of taking care of a dealer’s needs with yet another international opportunity. Their client selected one of our new ISOframe Wave (http://markbricdisplay.com/Our-Brands/isoframe.html) displays, with first use planned for London. The time-line for production was really tight, so rather than trying to rush through the details and hope to get everything right before shipping from the US to England, we made the offer to have the complete system, including graphics, built in England, delivered direct to the exhibition hall, AND set-up for them! Our dealer was thrilled that we could provide them with this easy hands-off option, even down to including the graphics and thereby eliminating all possible snags, with everything produced by one of our network members with the highest level of expertise with all things related to ISOframe.

Remember, we are here to help and often have the solution or partnerships to meet your needs, whether locally or internationally. Call on Mark Bric Display whenever you’re faced with a project that appears to need more horsepower than you might bring to bear on your own. Especially when international arrangements are needed, we have the network in place to pull it together for you. Even if it’s just a big domestic project, remember that we will play whatever role you need. We can custom design, special-pack, collate, drop ship, etc., for you—for 100, 1,000, or 10,000 locations.

Larry Ragland - Mark Bric USA

The Value of Value

There’s been a recent conversation on our LinkedIn site regarding the type of display product that has brought the most value to the market in the past decade.  Lars Carlsson, Marketing Director of Mark Bric Display in Sweden, placed a strong vote for retractable banner stands, or rollups, and I’d have to fully agree.  From the trade show floor to point of purchase, with all kinds of public spaces such as airports, sports arenas, and museums also included, no other new display product in the past decade has penetrated the market quite so successfully.

Talking about value, I’ve been doing a good bit of thinking during these past few recession-dominated years about value’s broader definition.  What makes one product or service a better value than the next?  One thing is certain---value and price are not interchangeable terms.  The word ‘value’ goes back to the same Latin root word as does the word ‘valor’—both originate with the Latin valere, which means ‘be strong’.  So value, in its purest sense, has close ties to those characteristics that bring worth to people, ideas, and things.

So a good way to talk about value would seem to be to talk about worth—what is ‘it’ worth to you, regardless of what ‘it’ is.  Looked at from this perspective, it’s pretty easy to see that purchase price is only one of many components in establishing the value of anything.  To gain the full measure of value, we really need to spend a little time reviewing the related issues for the product or service in question—issues such as:

•     What do I need from it—my minimum expectations?
•     What do I want from it—my ultimate wish list?
•     Will it solve my current challenge—or create new ones?
•     Will it make my life and my work simpler—or more difficult?
•     Can I trust the provider to support me when things go wrong?
•     Will I be comfortable recommending my choice to my best friend?

At Mark Bric Display, we will always do everything within our power to make sure that we meet all of these important value propositions with a strong affirmative ‘yes’.  And we’ll always try to make sure that you get more than your money’s worth. 

We cannot, of course guarantee to always have the lowest possible price on all products—in fact we don’t really think that’s a healthy business philosophy, since that ‘race to the bottom’ leads only one place—to the bottom.  But when you work with us, you can be sure that you’ll receive fair prices on products that are made to deliver your wants, your needs, and the solutions to your display problems, backed by a trustworthy organization that you can recommend to your best friends without reservation.

That’s the value that we always aim to deliver.  When we’re successful, we hope you’ll tell all your friends and business colleagues.  If we fall short, we hope that you’ll ‘Speak Out’ and bring it to our attention.

Larry Ragland, President, Mark Bric Display USA