The fact that AVIXA is bringing the innovative, non-traditional trade show experience of C2 to InfoComm 2018 is undoubtedly a reflection of how well the TIDE Conference — another unconventional AV industry trades show element — was received when it was unveiled at InfoComm 2017 and ISE 2018.
TIDE, of course, is back prior to InfoComm 2018, June 5 at Park MGM Las Vegas.
There is a connection in that “both provide the kind of content that we haven’t offered up until now,” says AVIXA senior VP of marketing and communications Dan Goldstein in a video interview with CI.
“It’s incumbent upon us to offer content that is unique, that is face-to-face, that’s not available online and which places all that technology that you have on the show floor in a broader context” — Dan Goldstein of AVIXA.
In the B2B trade show world, he says, “there’s definitely a shift in the direction of original content.”
Many of the exhibitors at the show might have launched their products online or via their dealer network.
Since many attendees don’t have to completely immerse themselves in product introductions, it opens up possibilities.
“The show gives them an opportunity to see and hear those products for the first time in person, and it’s the first opportunity that a lot of people have to have a conversation with those exhibitors about how those products might be used and incorporated into their systems and into their workflows,” Goldstein says, emphasizing that the product show floor remains a chief driver.
“But if all we had was new products, then I think the value of the show would be difficult to maintain, in the online, digital era. So I think it’s incumbent upon us to offer content that is unique, that is face-to-face, that’s not available online and which places all that technology that you have on the show floor in a broader context and that’s certainly what we’re trying to achieve with TIDE.”
TIDE Conference at InfoComm 2018
At InfoComm 2018 the TIDE Conference theme is “human-centered design,” Goldstein says.
[related]“We’ve got people talking about lighting, we’ve got people talking about data, we’ve got speakers from Uber and from Facebook, we’ve got somebody speaking from the Design Thinking class at the University of Washington.
“These are people who you wouldn’t have expected to speak at an InfoComm show in the past and their relationship with AV is in some cases tangential and in some cases, pretty tenuous, frankly, but they all have a story to tell and they all have a message that we think will resonate with our audience and I think that it is a great opportunity.
“TIDE is a great opportunity, the day before the show for attendees to get a different perspective, which may be might make the following three days of walking the show floor and doing the training, turn that into a slightly different experience.”
