Timing is everything. Almo E4 AV Tour might not have the robust attendance of InfoComm (44,077 at InfoComm 2017) or Integrated Systems Europe (65,686 at ISE 2017), but distributor Almo Pro A/V has established a consistently healthy and engaged attendance of somewhere around 500 for its education and product events.
It’s no surprise exhibiting manufacturers are increasingly taking advantage of the opportunity to showcase new products at Almo E4 AV Tour. After all, the fall stops of the E4 AV Tour (today in Teaneck, N.J., and Oct. 3 in Irvine, Calif.) land conveniently between InfoComm 2017 and Integrated Systems Europe 2018.
The product show floor at Almo E4 AV Tour gives manufacturers that have announced products since InfoComm 2017 a chance to debut them to integrator attendees. Sometimes they actually introduce products at the Almo event.
“It started a few years ago when Samsung introduced some pro displays at one of our E4s and has continued on,” recalls Almo Pro A/V executive VP Sam Taylor.
At today’s E4 AV Tour stop, InFocus debuted its Jupiter Control 1000 Series Display Wall Processor, which it announced in July, and CMO Brady O. Bruce sees it as a logical move. “InFocus is proud to debut the Control 1000 at Almo’s E4 AV Tour,” he says.
“Almo is one of our biggest distributors, and we are happy to support them by showcasing the latest in our Jupiter by InFocus line of display wall processors. The Control 1000 offers our partners and customers a fully-featured, affordable 4K video wall solution that’s a perfect match for so many projects. We are so happy to partner with Almo and launch this product into the market.”
“There are a lot of new products on the floor that people are seeing first-hand for the first time in many cases,” Taylor says.
It’s a move that is starting to gain steam. “The E4 AV Tour has become a popular location for our manufacturing partners to roll out new products because of the incredible exposure and personalized time available to those who attend the event,” says Melody Craigmyle, Almo Pro A/V VP of marketing.
“The InFocus brand is always going to garner great attention at E4. We look forward to having our attendees get a first-look at the Control 1000, available first through Almo. This debut serves as a testament to both our strong relationship with InFocus and to the quality of resellers and integrators who come to the E4 events.”
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InFocus isn’t alone. “There are a lot of new products on the floor that people are seeing first-hand for the first time in many cases,” Taylor says.
LG made a big splash at InfoComm 2017 with its OLED wallpaper, but not everybody made it to Orlando, Fla., for the trade show. It’s showing dual-sided, super-thin display technology at E4 AV Tour.
Same with Barco, which showed its ClickShare CSE-800 at InfoComm 2017, but is taking the conversations with dealers to the next level at E4 AV Tour.
Samsung, which “is here with a lot of new products,” according to Taylor, is using Almo E4 AV Tour to make a commercial case for its residential market targeted “The Frame,” which is designed to be the focus of the room when the video display is on and to switch to artwork when it’s off. Taylor sees commercial applications for The Frame.
