How good was InfoComm Southeast Asia 2019?

Now that the dust has settled and InfoComm Southeast Asia is over, we run the rule over proceedings. Did the exhibition deliver? Was it worth it to exhibit? What was the level of technology on show? We bring you answers to these questions and more.

The first InfoComm Southeast Asia was held in Bangkok, Thailand last week. While attempts at providing a regional AV exhibition have been undertaken in the past, InfoComm Southeast Asia represents a fresh go at the task from AVIXA.

Here are answers to some of the key questions circulating around the show.

InfoComm Southeast Asia or InfoComm Bangkok?

The answer to this is clear. While the exhibition might have been staged in Bangkok, it managed to attract visitors from an international pool. The Singaporean AV community was represented heavily along with visitors from the rest of Southeast Asia. The show also managed to pull attendees from Hong Kong, Australia and even USA.

We’ll have to wait for the exact visitor breakdown from AVIXA but our personal experience at the show pointed towards the fact that AV professionals from the region attended.

Quality technology on show?

Manufacturers tend to save their big reveals for ISE and the InfoComm shows in USA. Nonetheless, at InfoComm Southeast Asia, the technology on show felt fresh, perhaps due to the fact that not much time has passed since ISE.

Video over IP was the dominant tech on display with Crestron, Kramer, ZeeVee and Extron all present. Seeing that video over IP is a relatively new product segment the market is definitely looking for more information. There was also a general drive among the attendees to learn more about how to deliver video over IP networks.

Audio seemed under represented with many of the large loudspeaker manufacturers conspicuous by their absence. The lack of demo rooms in all probability being the primary factor. ISE is looking to solve this issue with a move from Amsterdam to Barcelona. While nothing this drastic is required just yet for InfoComm Southeast Asia it is still an aspect where the show can improve.

New leads, new end users?

Exhibiting at any show comes with an associated cost and exhibitors are always looking for a return on their investment. Whether InfoComm Southeast Asia delivered on this aspect is hard to determine.

Overall, the response from exhibitors was positive. Christian Liebenberg from Bose Professional stated that even with his experience in the industry he still made new connections at the show. Others stated that the show provided an excellent opportunity to show their established customers the range of their solutions.

Vichai Trading 1983, an established Thai integrator and distributor, had a booth and said that the showcase of technology enabled it to start promising conversations regarding future projects.

On the other hand, some exhibitors felt that their InfoComm Southeast Asia experience and outcome would be improved if they decided to attend as visitors rather than exhibitors.

Of course, the complete answer to this crucial question will only become evident once time has passed and exhibitors from the show have had time to process and act on the leads generated.

The venue?

No complaints against BITEC. Accessible easily by public transport, trains and road the venue was convenient to get to. The halls were spacious. Cell reception and Wi-Fi was spotty but that is a constant at every AV exhibition.

AVIXA has already announced that it will be continuing with BITEC as the location for InfoComm Southeast Asia 2020 and will be expanding the show to occupy two halls. The decision bodes well since now exhibitors can start planning their logistics early and do not have the deal with a new set of variables that would come with shifting the exhibition to another Southeast Asian country.

Is there anything else to do at the show?

You could always pop down to the Inavate booth for a chat and a healthy discussion about the industry!

Besides that, AV exhibitions come with their ancillary seminars and education initiatives. InfoComm Southeast Asia was no different. The only problem was with regards to finding out what options were available. Many attendees talked about discovering interesting talks only at the show itself and sometimes after the sessions had already passed. Others commented at the “show & tell” nature of the content.

Perhaps a better thought and more organised approach to staging these sessions, along with associated marketing would make these sessions better known and boost attendance numbers.

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