Commercial Integrator March 2021 - 30

INDUSTRY Trade Shows
LABUSKES
ALL-IN ON
RESCHEDULED
INFOCOMM
2021 PLAN
AVIXA CEO highlights why the association postponed
the show from June and what the new date means for the
AV industry. By D. Craig MacCormack
AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE, AVIXA's decision
to postpone InfoComm 2021 from
mid-June to late October wasn't a decision
that was made quickly or lightly.
In fact, AVIXA CEO David Labuskes says
event organizers have been talking about
" how do we deliver the best event we can
deliver for the industry? " since last year at
this time.
They made the decision to move the
conference to Oct. 23-29 and trade show
to Oct. 27-29 after Orange County Convention
Center officials made them aware that
that block was available and they got what
Labuskes calls " overwhelming support from
stakeholders. "
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Commercial Integrator MARCH 2021
" Moving a trade show with 40,000 or
50,000 of your closest friends isn't like
picking up your phone and changing your
dinner reservations, " says Labuskes.
As for why AVIXA didn't just transform
InfoComm 2021 to a virtual event like they
did with the 2020 show that was scheduled
for Las Vegas, " it's a different year and a
completely different set of factors, " he says.
" What's evolved over the last year is the
conversation about digital and in-person
events is 'do you like to watch movies or
read books?' It's not an either or. It's both, "
says Labuskes. " We need to extend a physical
event into virtual environment.
AVIXA's decision to postpone InfoComm
2021 to October also " certainly
eliminates the logjam of calendar time
frame " that existed when Integrated
Systems Europe was postponed from
February to the first week of June, less than
two weeks before InfoComm was slated to
begin, " he says.
" This is certainly going to reduce some
of the logistical challenges exhibitors were
facing, " says Labuskes. " This should certainly
make it easier for all of the stakeholders of
the show. It's fundamentally impossible for
me to find anything bad about making this
decision.
" This just seemed from all perspectives
to be an opportunity to serve the industry
more effectively, deliver a show more effectively
and provide people an opportunity to
get together in an environment that is likely
to be safer, " he says.
The InfoComm 2021 postponement
also gives manufacturers more time to
spend in research and development of
new products.
" We know the trade shows are a key part
of the product cycle, " says Labuskes. Manufacturers
anticipate when they're going to
have a large, attractive audience to share
their road map. Exhibitors recognize there's
nothing normal about the calendar and
have been incredibly innovative.
" What hasn't slowed down is the pace
of innovation and excitement and the
demands and needs that the AV industry
satisfies. That's not going to change whether
we have a trade show in February, June or
October, " he says.
Labuskes has noticed a shift in the
general sentiment toward in-person events,
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Commercial Integrator March 2021

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