I like InfoComm. I like it a lot more since the floor planners put the audio area next to the lighting and staging area. It made a lot of sense and should have been done years ago. What did this accomplish besides cutting down on the number of steps I took? Well, it added a lot of traffic to the lighting and staging pavilion. I had many lighting and staging exhibitors tell me it was one of the busiest shows they’ve had there.
InfoComm is a great show. It is especially important for people who install AV products in classrooms, boardrooms, courts, airports, malls and the like. For our audience (those who are involved in performance-related audio/video/lighting), InfoComm just comes at the wrong time of the year. It’s during the height of the touring season, and the fair and festival season. It’s hard to justify going to a tradeshow when there are paying gigs on the line.
This year, the main item on my agenda for InfoComm was to spread the word about the Parnelli Awards’ move to the Winter NAMM Show. I must say, I received a lot of positive feedback and commitments for participation at InfoComm from the audio community. I heard from many that were always supportive of the Parnelli Awards, yet as there was no audio at LDI, it was hard to justify the expense. However, now that it will be during a tradeshow they will be attending, many are moving full speed ahead to become a sponsor.
›› NAMM Live
The other part of my agenda was to talk to the lighting and staging people at the show about what NAMM Live was all about. NAMM has always had several lighting exhibitors at their show, but until the Anaheim Convention Center announced the construction of a new 200,000 square-foot area of exhibit space, it really didn’t have the room to accommodate our industry in full.
I wanted to make sure that our advertisers knew that there was a paradigm shift happening. NAMM Live will be during the right time of the year — January, when there are no touring or fairs and festivals. It will be in the right place — Anaheim, CA, where the weather most-always cooperates with warmth and sunshine. Most importantly, that we — PLSN/FOH/Stage Directions — are committed to help make this a success.
It’s not just us… A number of the industry’s key players have come onboard to help make this happen. ESTA will be holding their annual meetings during NAMM Live, and AES will be a part of NAMM Live as well.
So, what does this mean to you? If you are an exhibitor, please know that everything in the world is being done to bring your customers to NAMM Live. If you are an attendee, know that NAMM Live will do everything possible to make sure your experience is full of great “free” learning opportunities, great social events, and will have the vendors you want to see on the tradeshow floor there for you.
As you can probably tell, I am quite excited about this. I am sure this is the best road for the industry to move forward. All of us here at PLSN/FOH/Stage Directions are proud to be a part of this new endeavor. I hope we will see you in Anaheim at NAMM Live… January 25 to 28, 2018!
For more information, please visit www.namm.org, www.parnelliawards.com and www.infocomm.org.
