It’s officially December, but the year isn’t over yet. Neither are the virtual events.

Taking place Dec. 8-9, D=SIGN: The Digital Conference, powered by LAVNCH, is one to look forward to. And it starts just a week from today. D=SIGN was born from two key industry associations — AVIXA and the Digital Signage Federation — who bring us a brand new, fresh event focused solely on digital signage.

After all, digital signage is one of the fastest-growing AV solutions. It is expected to grow from $31 billion in 2020 to $42.7 billion in 2025, a compound annual growth rate of 7.5%, according to AVIXA’s 2020 AV Industry Outlook and Trends Analysis (IOTA). This is being driven by the increasing demand for on-premise and out-of-home communications (think digital signage for new security and health protocols — just one example). After the permanent closing of Digital Signage Expo too, it’s a much-needed end-of-year virtual gathering for this segment of the industry. Could D=SIGN partially fill the void, even if just this year, of what DSE once was?

With the event just around the corner, here’s an updated/revised look from our previous coverage of what you can expect from the show — lineup, time zones and all.

What Is D=SIGN?

D=SIGN is where you’ll find solutions, innovations and big ideas around digital signage and digital out-of-home (DOOH). The free, virtual conference will gather integrators, retailers, higher-ed professionals, agency execs and others who work in the digital signage ecosystem.

Is It Free?

YES! To join the Dec. 8-9 all-virtual D=SIGN conference, you first need to register. You can do that here. It’s totally free for attendees, which the show says will include the likes of:

• AV integrators
• Retail, hospitality, transportation, healthcare, wellness and QSR operators, and higher-ed AV managers
• Creative agencies
• Content developers
• Media network professionals

Who Will Be There?

We all want to know who’s going to show up. Check out the list of D=SIGN sponsors here.

Dates, Times & Agenda

The first day, kicking off with a keynote by Laura Davis-Taylor, will focus on “how to”s and hardware. The second day, the keynote to be delivered by Beth Warren, will explore CMS, creative and big ideas. Event times are listed in the Eastern Time Zone (we are in Standard Time). Located elsewhere? Here’s my favorite time zone converter. Full lineup as of Dec. 1 is below.

DAY 1: “How To” & Hardware Day (Dec. 8, 2020)
11 a.m.–5 p.m. EST
After-Hours Networking | 6 p.m.–7 p.m. EST

• 11 a.m. EST keynote: *D=SIGNing for the Present and Future: Revisiting and Recharging Your Potential (Laura Davis-Taylor)
• 12:05 p.m. EST: *From Hardware to the Cloud — The Many Advantages of Cloud-Connected Digital Signage Networks (Jeff Hastings)
• 12:40 p.m. EST: *Digital Signage 201 (Wayne Rasor)
• 1:20 p.m. EST: *New Tech Lightning Round: Displays 1 (Moderator: Nicole Richardson; Speakers: Kianna Pompa, Remi Del Mar, Steve Gallant)
• 2:25 p.m. EST: *Projection Technology Transforming the Customer Experience (Remi Del Mar)
• 3:00 p.m. EST: *Wayfinding: The Ultimate Digital Signage App in 6 Actionable Steps (Sean Matthews)
• 3:35 p.m. EST: *New Tech Lightning Round: Displays 2 (Moderator: Nicole Richardson; Speakers: Almir DeCarvalho, Jim Vasgaard)
• 4:45 p.m. EST: *Day 1 Wrap-Up Panel (Kelly Smith, Michael Katz, Tony Green)
• 5:30 p.m. EST: Digital Signage Case Studies
• 6:00 p.m. EST: Trivia (Host: Annette Sandler)

*AVIXA CTS RUs available for this event

DAY 2: CMS, Creative & Big Idea Day (Dec. 9, 2020)
11 a.m.–5 p.m. EST
After-Hours Networking | 6 p.m.–7 p.m. EST

• 11 a.m. EST keynote: *D=SIGNing Effective Customer Experiences Across the Digital Ecosystem (Beth Warren)
• 12:05 p.m. EST: *Selecting the Right Media Player (Ken Goldberg, Brian Gorg, Jacqueline Hoffmann, Rich Ventura)
• 12:40 p.m. EST: *Selecting a Digital Signage CMS 201 (Ryan Cahoy)
• 1:20 p.m. EST: *New Tech Lightning Round: Media Players (Moderator: Nicole Richardson; Speakers: Zach Woullard, Miles Schofield)
• 2:25 p.m. EST: *How to Calculate an ROI for Digital Signage (Stephanie Gutnik, Chris Freeman, Paul Fleuranges)
• 3:00 p.m. EST: *Future-Proofing a Digital Signage System (TJ DiQuollo, Mitchell Mittler, Sandi Stambaugh)
• 3:35 p.m. EST: *New Tech Lightning Round: Software (Moderator: Nicole Richardson; Speakers: Jeffrey Weitzman, George Preston, Alex VanPelt)
• 4:45 p.m. EST: *Activating the Future of Digital Signage (Ryan Pogy)
• 5:30 p.m. EST: Digital Signage Case Studies
• 6:00 p.m. EST: Happy Hour (Host: Dave Haynes)

*AVIXA CTS RUs available for this event

Short Version, Please

D=SIGN: The Digital Signage Conference will take place Dec. 8-9 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST (stay til 7 p.m. if you like the networking), and the content will be available on demand until Jan. 29, 2021, with registration. Speaking of registration, it’s currently open at http://avixa.org/dsign. See you there.

This story’s list of event speakers has been updated since it was first published.