Tag Archives: Digital Signage Show

My InfoComm Thoughts Without Even Being There

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I’m sad to say that I missed InfoComm 2010 in Vegas this past week.  Things back at the ranch are just crazy busy and I couldn’t break away, even for a couple of days.  I’ve been observing the action through my Twitter feed and while I missed seeing my buddies, I don’t think I missed much in terms of complete, industry-wide “mixing.”  Like the Digital Signage Expo and Kioskcom (now Customer Engagement Technology World), these shows are void of brands, marketers, and media-buyers.  They are filled with hardware and software makers that show the latest, greatest in technology, but these shows do not attract people from the other side of the equation.

So, here we go, any one of those show organizers who are listening:

Do something to recruit members of agencies (advertising, communications, media) and get them involved.  Create panels centered around less talking and more doing.  Create working sessions where challenges are given, require the entire “team” to put together and solution, and let’s watch them make it throughout the conference.  Bring together all at once the strategists that sell the idea, creatives that create the content, software makers that enable it all to work and hardware makers that show the thing.  And I’m not talking about static, push-messaging digital signage.  Show interactivity.  Utilize the agencies to bring consumer brands if you can’t get them there on your own.  Hold roundtables with these people.  Don’t forget about social or mobile integration, both of which are really nonexistent, unless you’ve got LocaModa or Aerva there.

These shows need to be moved from being “technology” shows to being emerging-solutions (not emerging-technology) shows if we really want to expand the audience.  Otherwise, I can watch all of them from the periphery, via my Twitter feed.

Social Talk at Kioskcom/Digital Signage Show?

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I’ve never been to Kioskcom/The Digital Signage Show, so I don’t have expectations beyond my normal expectations of any conference – find moments of education, meet new people, and hope to take away more good than bad. 

This one looks to be geared more towards an agency crowd than the Digital Signage Expo.  I hope that it is.  I hope to see more of my colleagues and hear more directed to us.  I don’t want 101-type sessions, but it will be interesting to see if that is the angle and if it is appropriate to the crowd.  We’ll see.

I like the way that they’ve got this set up with tracks focused on the audience, the business, the industry, and the operation.  It’s a nice mix.  I can’t say that many of the sessions wow me, but I’ve found that words on paper for these things either set expectations too high or don’t build them up enough.  There are a couple that I’ll be interested to check out – one focused on the idea of creating loyalty with your audience, one about proactively sharing information, and one about integrating other technologies into digital signage.

Here’s what I find interesting though – I don’t hear anyone talking about social integration into this medium.  I’m afraid that we’re missing an incredible opportunity to leverage the power of social media and communication.  I think about it often and will be interested to hear people’s take on it this week.  This is something that must not stay in Vegas, if in fact, it is talked about. 

I want to start exploring this openly through this forum, so expect to see more of this as the coming weeks progress.

Viva Las Vegas, Baby!

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I’m gearing up to go back out to Vegas next week for Kioskcom/Digital Signage Show.  This time, I’m not going out there as press, rather as a speaker.  I’m speaking on a panel with Adrian Cotterill from Daily DOOH and Dave Haynes from the Preset Group.  Both are extremely smart guys and have lots of industry experience.  I’m really looking forward to being a part of the session.

We’re part of a track set up specifically for DOOH, so I’m hoping we get good, focused attendance & interest in the field.  Our session is next Wednesday from 1:30 – 2:30:

Say What? Peeking Inside the Minds of Leading DOOH Electronic Media

In this session you will hear directly from leading electronic journalists/bloggers in the DOOH and digital signage space. They will address a myriad of timely and relevant issues, and provide their unique insight into the good, the bad, the ugly and the exciting world of Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) Media industry. 

If you’re there, stop on by.  If you’re not able to attend the session, ping me and let’s try to get together during the show.  I’ll be there Wednesday and Thursday. 

And if you want to hear anything specific in the session, let me know.