Jamie Sampson founded Distinctive Displays in 1969 in Portland, Oregon. Sampson was at the end of his ice hockey career and the thought of working for someone else did not appeal to him. Previously he had worked part time as an industrial designer, he had enjoyed that field of work, so in turn he had created Distinctive Displays.

Distinctive Displays specialized in custom-made exhibits for national trade shows. The majority of the company's clients were firms that needed exhibits for trade shows sponsored by various associations. They provided exhibit designs, fabrications, graphics, set ups and dismounting of displays, and storage for these shows as well as offices, meeting rooms and in store displays.

Clients who attended the shows were purchasing products for their inventory for the following year or were looking for various advertising and marketing support for their companies. Distinctive Displays made exhibits appealing for those attending the shows so clients would be drawn to and remember their exhibits.

Distinctive Displays was an action-oriented company whose motivation was to achieve results. It prided itself on analyzing needs, solving problems, and selecting forms and materials expressive of the dynamics of visual and structural communication. (Page

4 of Case Study) The firm had developed impressive resources in order to have powerful selling tools for their clients as well and staying within...

These resources included 1.specialized skill and equipment and people 2.an attitude of meeting challenges 3. creative talent. The company's objective was to sell its products and services with creativity and imagination.
The potential clients primary contact with Distinctive Displays was with the account executives. To ensure quality service, the account executive would meet with the potential client to determine the size of the exhibits, products they would like to promote, marketing objectives and which trade shows the client would like to attend.

Once these needs were addresses, the account executive would pas the information to the designer, who would create a model for the clients' approval. It was important to the company to ensure absolute satisfaction of the client so the client would in turn be a continuing client. Once the client would approve the model, the model would then go to the production department. From there, the professional builders would construct the exhibit in three-dimensional format.

In comparison to the company's competition, Distinctive Displays fared very well. They had the highest sales per employee, the second highest sales per square foot space, highest net worth, highest current ratio, and the highest credit rating. Their accounts ranged in size from $10,000 to $200,000 annually and once a clients needs were met the client would…