August 2014
26 BUSINESS FEATURE: VISITOR ATTRACTIONS Bring displays to life
The visitor attractions market is one that often showcases AV technologies and skills at their very best – but what does it take for an integrator to succeed in what is a distinct and challenging market? Ian McMurray goes behind the scenes with some industry insiders
Key
Dataton’s WATCHOUT multi-display software was at the heart of a recent multimedia exhibition celebrating Russian avant-garde art (Picture: Ivan Erofeev)
dubious pleasures of being bundled into the back of the car on a wet Sunday afternoon to be taken to some so-called visitor attraction, to be shown dry collections of dusty relics in glass cases presided over by an unquestionably knowledgeable, but less than engaging, guide. The children of today expect entertainment, interactivity, involvement – and that’s being brought to them by AV integrators.
A
generation is growing up that has never known, and will likely never know, the
“There has been an
increased focus on wanting to use the latest technology to bring displays to life in a more compelling way,” notes Stuart Hetherington, CEO of Holovis, “especially using virtual solutions to immerse and engage audiences.” “Companies, institutions and museums are more and more ready to invest in sophisticated multimedia,” adds Tobias Stumpfl, commercial director at AV Stumpfl, “and sophisticated multimedia these days is not sophisticated in terms of rocket science. It is more available and more powerful than it was 10 years ago.”
Trend setting “There is increasing pressure to produce more interactive and immersive experiences,” points out Scott Harkless, director of sales at Alcorn McBride. “Typically the latest – and most expensive – technology rolls out in the top-tier themed attractions, so we look to the largest theme parks and museums worldwide to set the trends. As technology advances at increasing speeds, the ‘latest and greatest’ gets pushed out faster than ever. This drives costs down and opens up applications for a broader audience.”
The current
attractiveness of the market for integrators, however, is somewhat dependent on geography. “At the moment, the museum market in Benelux is suffering a lot from the budget cuts from the government, especially in the Netherlands,” says John Sormani, managing director of Dutch AV distributor New Media Concepts. “Museums are trying to find ways to attract extra funds to finance their operations.” “Many of the larger
projects are EU- or government-funded, and the number of projects
Points
Growth in the visitor attractions market varies by geography and attraction type; theme parks and the Middle and Far East are hot
There is no substitute for integrator experience in a market where an attraction’s profitability depends on the quality of the installation
Having the broad product knowledge to appropriately interpret and implement a customer’s vision is a key integrator skill and a large part of the value added
An appropriate balance needs to be struck between AV technologies that are proven and reliable, and those that are less so but can potentially bring more to the visitor experience
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