The amount of InfoComm end users on the show floor each year — that’s you — sometimes stirs up controversy on the integrator side. Don’t misunderstand: they want and need your business, but the key issue is the projection that InfoComm parent organization AVIXA projects.
AVIXA executive director David Labuskes made it his mission at InfoComm 2018 to continue spreading the gospel of AVIXA to anyone who wanted to hear it. He is certainly not shying away from or hiding in the wake of the decision last September to change the association’s brand from InfoComm International to “Audio Visual Integrated Experience Association.”
In about 2 ½ days at InfoComm 2018 myself, I saw Labuskes at the Global Presence Alliance’s 10th anniversary celebration high above Vegas; at the AV Nation AVTweetup after the first day of the show wrapped up on Wednesday; at the PSNI Global Alliance partner breakfast on Thursday morning; in the AVIXA member lounge; and, somehow, even on the trade show floor.
Related: 10 of the Most Impressive Projectors, Screens and More Pro Video Products from InfoComm 2018
At the PSNI breakfast, Labuskes acknowledged the reaction to the AVIXA acronym was immediate, even within his own home, where his son Landon wondered why his father was advocating a name change to something that sounded like a prescription drug.
“We looked at who we are, who we want to be and how we can elevate the value of this industry,” Labuskes told PSNI members. “That demanded we be something more than InfoComm the show.
“We do so much more than communicate information. These experiences are what we create with AV,” he said to the group in explaining the rationale behind the brand change.
Convincing the Integrators
In social media discussions after InfoComm 2018 wrapped up and the last exhibitor booth was torn down for another year, the topic turned to how AVIXA is continuing to keep its integrator members happy as it reaches out to bring in more end users, one reason InfoComm 2018 set the show’s Las Vegas attendance record.
The sentiment of being left behind or even forgotten in the wake of InfoComm end users was perhaps best encapsulated by Westbury National (a large integration firm) sales manager Brock McGinnis, who was a staunch advocate of the brand refresh last fall.
The rebrand was cool and timely and energizing.
What I think we’ve come to learn, though, is that it signalled a complete change in direction – away from manufacturers and resellers, and towards AV customers, end users and those who design/develop venues in which AV is used. https://t.co/f2sZ1VO160
— Brock McGinnis (@brockmcginnis) June 11, 2018
AVIXA communications director Brad Grimes assured McGinnis the association is not turning its back on its members, but welcoming more people into the fold to learn about the wonder of AV.
“It’s important, as the AV industry association, to have a message for customers about the value AV can bring to their organizations,” Grimes tweeted. “AVIXA delivers the message in support of its valued members: manufacturers, resellers, integrators, designers, distributors.”
Labuskes assured McGinnis that association leadership, including himself, are doing whatever they can to make sure all members get the most out of being part of AVIXA.
The rebrand was cool and timely and energizing.
What I think we’ve come to learn, though, is that it signalled a complete change in direction – away from manufacturers and resellers, and towards AV customers, end users and those who design/develop venues in which AV is used. https://t.co/f2sZ1VO160
— Brock McGinnis (@brockmcginnis) June 11, 2018
Impressing InfoComm End Users
Back to the PSNI breakfast, Labuskes urged members to continue thinking in spectacular and large-scale terms about the solutions they provide end users.
“The people in this room can actually change the way people experience each other,” he said. And, while the comment wasn’t in any way related to the subsequent Twitter exchange about integrators’ place in the new association with end users, it certainly could apply there, too.
The one thing we know for sure is Labuskes isn’t afraid to tell AVIXA’s story: why the brand needed to change, what the brand change means and how it will make the AV integration world better for all involved, from manufacturers to integrators to even *(gulp)* end users.
This story premiered on our sister site, Commercial Integrator
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