A Distant Connection

In the first segment of this episode of Digital Signage Digest, Llanor Alleyne is joined by AVIXA’s Senior Director of Market Intelligence Sean Wargo to discuss the state of the digital signage channel within the AV industry at large as it faces constantly shifting winds during the COVID-19 pandemic. Wargo, who is also part of AVIXA’s Impact Survey team, is blunt about the negative impact the pandemic has had on the AV business, but offers a positive perspective on how many integrators in digital signage are coping, including utilizing resources to prepare for a post-pandemic  economy, how digital signage is still hard at work as an essential service in several areas of daily life, and the possible emergence of stronger ties between digital signage and the collaboration space. Wargo also addresses how InfoComm 2020 Connected came to fruition and how the AVIXA team are working out the kinks and shoring up the benefits of a virtual trade show.

Exponation’s President and COO, Chris Gibbs, joins us in our second segment to discuss the rescheduling of Digital Signage Expo for September 2020. Just a week after CEDIA, the rescheduled DSE 2020 is unlikely to have much crossover with the residential-AV focused show, Gibbs says, and will likely work out to be a better time of year to host the show going forward. Gibbs walks us through how the Exponation team landed on the new dates and how vendors and attendees reacted to the news. Gibbs also outlines how DSE developed the digital signage track of LAVNCH WEEK —the virtual weeklong conference in partnership with The rAVe Agency — and what attendees can expect during the series of workshops and keynotes that began this week.