Digital Signage Expo (DSE) 2016, which runs from March 15–18 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV, has planned to have more opportunities than ever before for systems integrators to improve their businesses.
Andrea Varrone, show director of DSE “We’ve got an expanded education conference,” said Andrea Varrone, show director of DSE. “We have an actual pre-show event on Tuesday called the Connected Screen Conference with SCN. We’re really excited about that.”
The Tuesday event, an integrator-specific all-day seminar, will cover the topic of “Building Better AV Integration Business Models for Digital Signage,” and is presented by Systems Contractor News, presented by SCN editor-at-large Kirsten Nelson. It is designed to provide AV integrators with practical business perspectives on how to move beyond the screen and into more complex and profitable digital signage implementations, and will feature guest panelists from high-end digital signage companies and some of the most successful AV integrators in the space.
Other classes at DSE include introductory-level offerings to help integrators get in the door to signage: “Doing Dynamic Digital Signage Right the First Time as an Integrator,” and “Capitalizing on Your Opportunities: Dynamic Signage for Integrators,” as well as courses on audio, customer service, and liability. “We tried to add specific courses—I know one of the things I hear from the masses is that integrators are sometimes intimidated by digital signage, and don’t know where to begin,” Varrone said. “And because we feel there is lots of potential for them to get new business, we tried to add into the program as much as we could for them.”
Other differences in this year’s show include an increase in international visitors and exhibitors—Varrone said that there are specific pavilions planned for guests from South America, Mexico, and Korea—as well as the addition of a Self-Service Pavilion, which will focus on kiosks, one of the industry’s fastest-growing segments.
Additionally, this year’s Apex Awards ceremony will be combined with the annual free networking reception, featuring hors d’oeuvres and cocktails, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 16. Varrone said the combination of the two events—to which every exhibitor and attendee is invited—is expected to increase attendance for both, making the networking opportunity even more valuable.
“Networking is the number-one reason that people come,” Varrone said. “We’re trying to put buyers and sellers together, so anything that we can do to get everybody in the same room talking is beneficial for all.”
Varrone concluded, “We know how hard it is to find the right people, and that’s what we bring to the table, is finding the right buyers for digital signage.”
Andrea is the Show Director for Digital Signage Expo (DSE). She joined Exponation in 2008 as a sales associate. She was promoted to Sales Manager in 2011, after achieving significant sales milestones in her territory. That combined with her increasing knowledge of the industry and relationship building within the digital signage community led to her promotion in 2015 to Show Director. She completed her Digital Signage Experts Group Certification in July 2012. Andrea is a graduate of the University of Georgia.
