Volume 19, Issue 45 — December 2, 2021

RavePro — Volume 19, Issue 45 — December 2, 2021

December 2, 2021 | Volume: 19 | Issue: 45

Howdy, everyone. I hope you’re all having a fabulous Thursday!

As we venture into December and look back at 2021, it’s easy to think about all the tech from this past year. What was really popular with your customers? What fulfilled the most needs? If you’re thinking like Mark Coxon, you’ll notice that the tech the past year was not necessarily new or innovative, but was instead different iterations of what was already here. He expands on this in his latest column and talks about how to strive for innovation in 2022 and beyond.

Another column I have this week is from Scott Tiner … on what we in AV can learn from the exercise industry. You read that right! Peloton and similar companies already had a great business model when COVID-19 hit, so it makes sense these companies continued to skyrocket in popularity. But how can AV leverage a similar plan?

Finally, check out Katie Clark’s latest wrap-up on Almo’s E4 Evolution in Dallas. Wondering what you missed about this truly hybrid event? Read the column and/or catch the archive available here until Sunday.

Have a great rest of the week!

— Steph Beckett

COLUMNS

+ Innovation, Iteration and Disruption [Mark Coxon]

We had our first major return to trade shows this year in Orlando. It was a victory for AVIXA in that over 7,300 attendees and about 280 exhibitors showed up in person for the event. For those of us who couldn't make it this year, social media brought us a lot of images from the floor, but one thing that was glaringly missing this year was the new product announcements that we usually see.

+ Learning From the Exercise Industry [Scott Tiner]

As we begin to realize that COVID-19 will become endemic, perhaps becoming less dangerous, but never fully going away, we also should realize that these types of choices will continue to need to be made. In October I wrote about how InfoComm, and other trade shows, should embrace those people who make the choice not to attend. This month I have been thinking about other business opportunities that the AV industry could find in this ongoing environment.

+ E4 Evolution — Hybrid, Holographic and Hopeful [Katie Clark]

Celebrating 75 years in business, Almo Pro A/V presented its E4 Experience in partnership with THE rAVe Agency's LAVNCH VTS platform. E4 Experience is a way to explore concepts, engage with peers, get educated on trends and see an expo for AV and IT products. This year, Almo brought 40 leading audiovisual manufacturers together for the show. Let's look at what happened!