Commercial Integrator March 2021 - 3

EDITOR'S NOTE
What InfoComm 2021's
Move to October Could
Mean for Pro AV
THERE WAS SOME CONFUSION, consternation
and concern across the AV industry when
Integrated Systems Events announced last
year that it was postponing ISE's Barcelona
debut from February to June 2021, a move that
put it less than two weeks before the start of
InfoComm 2021 in Orlando, Fla.
Now that AVIXA has decided to postpone
the largest pro AV show in North America
to October, the logjam in most AVTweeps'
trade show calendar is loosened - and it
could mean more time for people to get the
coronavirus vaccine or feel more
confi dent about traveling.
AVIXA CEO David Labuskes
cited the association's " commitment
to delivering a platform
for commerce, learning, and
camaraderie " as the driver in
AV and integrated experiences. "
While it's true ISE and InfoComm are " unique
shows, " there's been an increased emphasis
on going to both shows by North American AV
integrators and manufacturers in recent years,
refl ected in the record-setting attendance and
need to move ISE to a larger venue to accommodate
that growth.
InfoComm
2021 has
postponing InfoComm 2021.
" As excited as the community
is about the show, and as hopeful
and optimistic as we remain in
combatting the pandemic, it is
believed that the U.S. will be
further along in the battle against
the pandemic by October than in June, " said
Labuskes.
Let's explore what the postponement of
offi cially been
postponed
from midJune
to late
October, and
will still be held
in Orlando.
Product Research and Development
It wasn't clear how AV manufacturers would
handle showing off new products at both ISE
and InfoComm when they were
both set for June. The appeal of
a trade show is making splashy
announcements and debuting
products people have never
seen. Would some of that luster
been off if people saw the same
products at both ISE and InfoComm
a couple of weeks apart?
We've explored in the past the
idea of AV manufacturers targeting
ISE and InfoComm as dates
to launch their new products and
now they have four more months
InfoComm 2021 from mid-June to late October
could mean for the global AV industry:
Higher attendance at ISE 2021
AVTweeps who answered our Twitter poll
aſt er ISE was rescheduled to June said it
would be tough for them to attend both that
show, the largest pro AV event in the world,
and InfoComm 2021 since they were so close
together on the calendar.
Now, we'll have to see if InfoComm's move to
October could mean more people at ISE 2021.
" Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) and
InfoComm 2021 will do everything possible to
deliver safe and meaningful events in Barcelona
in June and in Orlando in October, " said Labuskes.
" They remain unique shows in separate
geographies - both with a shared passion for
commercialintegrator.com
in both cases to do so. That means more tweaking
and perfecting of those new gadgets - and
hopefully a lot less vaporware - in 2021.
One interesting piece of AVIXA's decision is
what it says about the future of virtual events.
Faced with a similar decision about InfoComm
2020, AVIXA chose to host a virtual three-day
event last June on the original in-person show
dates. This year, the association is prioritizing
the in-person show with the delay.
Is that all just a matter of having more time to
plan for every eventuality this year as opposed
to having to scramble a bit more or is AVIXA
leadership telling us something about how
important they believe it is to have an in-person
InfoComm 2021, even if it means waiting four
months longer to do so?
Craig MacCormack, Executive Editor
craig.maccormack@emeraldx.com
@CraigMacCormack
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Commercial Integrator March 2021

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