Event preview DSS Europe 2019 Munich


DSS Europe is the leading European strategy event exploring the business and technology of Digital Signage and Digital-out-of-Home (DooH). Now in its 14th year, it provides a unique mix of keynotes, conference channels, awards and exhibition showcase involving some of the world’s leading digital signage experts, thought leaders and leading technology and service suppliers. It is held in a five-star airport hotel, ensuring a premium environment ideal for both learning and networking.


The theme of this year’s DSS Europe conference is ‘Customer Centricity in the Age of Person- alisation, Experiences and AI’. The two-day event will explore tools for creating customer-cen- tric experiences, present best practices


in artificial intelli-


gence-powered analytics, and discuss digital trends and driv- ers in various vertical markets. DSS Europe takes place on 3-4 July 2019 and returns to the recently extended Hilton Munich Airport, Germany. The event is a joint venture between Integrated Systems Events, pro- ducers of the Integrated Sys- tems Europe exhibition, and invidis consulting, a leading German digital signage consul- tancy.


Florian Rotberg, Managing Director of invidis consulting, explained: “Digital Signage Summit Europe comes at a very exciting time for the industry. At last, solutions are coming on stream that promise to deliver the personalised customer jour- neys that the industry has been


Event report PLASA Focus Leeds


PLASA Focus Leeds returned to the Royal Armouries from 14-15 May for its 11th edition. With an 8% increase in visitors, the show once again proved to be a key social and business event in the entertainment technology calendar, welcom- ing professionals from across the industry over two days. With a popular capped stand format, the show provides a re- laxed and friendly atmosphere, as Davie Bell from Stage Elec- trics explains, “That’s where PLASA Focus Leeds is partic- ularly relevant – with smaller stands you can get close to all sorts of people. As a result, we have been fantastically busy.” Peter Condron, UK Sales Manager for Martin Audio con- firms this sentiment: “It’s been a great show, due to the family


feel which the show is known for. It’s just the right size and the fact it’s spread over two halls also makes it feel more spacious and relaxed. It has been really busy with both val- ued clients and potential cus- tomers coming by our stand. The show has been very posi- tive.”


The show floor spanned two halls,


offering products and


solutions from a mix of audio, AV, lighting, staging and rigging brands, with several new faces who were keen to capitalise on their debut. “As we are new to PLASA Fo- cus Leeds we tried to do things a little differently,” says 2B Heard’s


Director, Sam Nan-


kivell. “We achieved this by installing an immersive audio system at our stand which in-


cluded twenty speakers for a full 3D soundscape. This surprised many visitors and we had a number of new en- quiries.”


Following their debut ap- pearance last year, HH Elec- tronics enjoyed meeting visi- tors spanning generations as Adam Groves explains, “This is our second year at PLASA Focus Leeds and we’ve had some great visitors to the stand, including many who re- member HH from many years ago as well as plenty of aspir- ing DJs.”


Regular exhibitors GLP re- located this year to maximise their latest eye-catching light- ing products. Simon Barrett comments, “Leeds is my fa- vourite UK show, yet this is the first time we have exhib-


ited with a stand facing the main entrance – it’s been brilliant! We have loads of products that we’re showing people, so it really feels like the right time for us to be here.”


A considerable number of


visitors took advantage of the expert-led programme which presented a selection of this year’s biggest creative projects, technical updates and practical training.


It was a full house for ‘More than a Venue’ which unpacked the challenging audio installa- tion for the Royal Albert Hall, a venue known for its acoustic imperfections. It was a challenge taken on by d&b audiotechnik who revealed how they created the world’s largest single-room speaker system. Another high- light was Stormzy’s audio en-


gineer, Raphael Williams who explained his unique challenges and preparations for the grime star’s debut headline Glaston- bury performance this summer. PLASA’s Head of Events Sophie Atkinson says, “We are thrilled that PLASA Focus Leeds con- tinues to grow in popularity and diversity, facilitating connection


across the entire industry.” “We are proud of our friend- ly Focus events and are very much looking forward to roll- ing out a revived PLASA Fo- cus Glasgow from 3-4 March 2020, as well as returning to Olympia London from 15-17 September with our flagship PLASA Show.”


seeking for many years – and deliver them in new and differ- ent ways. At the same time, the digital signage value chain con- tinues to evolve as new players enter the market and estab- lished players re-examine how they can best add value.” Mike Blackman, Managing Director of Integrated Systems Events, commented: “The Dig- ital Signage Summit is sim- ply the best business strategy conference out there for Digi- tal Signage and Digital out of Home professionals. Our part- ners at invidis consulting know the industry better than any- one, so attendees can look for- ward to two days packed with insights and best practices that will help their businesses to thrive in this rapidly changing market.”


Conference programme


Digital concepts for retail cus- tomer journeys are increasingly being designed by global agen- cies and professional


service


organisations that may strug- gle with the unique challeng- es of


digital signage. What are the preferred tools for designing customer centric experiences? The Summit will analyse, discuss and compare digital experience platforms and the role of digital signage software.


AI enables integrators and customers to obtain valuable insights from the millions of data points collected by instore sensors. Following years of frustration, the time is ready for analytics and the ‘instore cookie’. DSS Europe will present best practice ap- proaches and the lessons that have been learned, as well as a panel on addressing the concerns of the public about analytics, particularly with re- gard to privacy and data pro- tection.


Also, on the agenda will be sessions on the requirements for outdoor signage, and on consolidation and changes in the digital signage value


chain. More than 400 delegates are expected to attend DSS Eu- rope 2019. Typically, these con- sist of integrators, hardware and software manufacturers, end customers, agencies, network operators and marketers. Attendees at Digital Signage Summit Europe will be able to stay in a King Guest Room at


the summit venue hotel


at a special DSS Europe rate of €199 per night, including breakfast. (Bookings can be made online at http://bit.ly/ dss-hilton. A credit card will be needed to secure a reservation.) Running parallel to the confer- ence, an exhibition takes place on both days with leading Dig- ital Signage companies show- casing their technologies and solutions:


including displays,


touch solutions, signage acces- sories, software and hardware. On both days, there will be an extensive networking lunch as well as an afternoon break. On 3 July, the day closes with an evening event to which all conference visitors are invit-


ed. In addition to launch of the annual ‘invidis Digital Signage Yearbook’, visitors will be able to enjoy first-class catering. The evening event will take place in the nearby Airbräu Munich Air- port.


Keynote Speakers at DSS Europe include:


Louise Richley, Managing Director, Beyond Digital


Solutions: Richley’s


keynote is entitled ‘How to Pitch.’ Stephen Gottlich, Senior Vice Presi- dent, Gable: Gottlich will speak about ‘The convergence of industries in the visual communications world.’ Florian Rotberg, Managing Director, and Stefan Schieker, Partner, of in- vidis Consulting, will give keynotes on the factors driving market growth and on the role of digital in customer journeys and personalisation. Gary Kayye, Co-Founder & Director, The Rave Agency: Kayye will unveil new best practices for Digital Sig- nage and DooH agreed by five indus- try trade associations.


Tickets for DSS


The DSS Europe conference ticket allows access on both days to the conference and exhibition area, as well as to the evening event on 3 July. Included in the conference ticket price are all beverag- es, lunch on both days and food and beverages at the evening event.


The standard ticket price is €750 (plus VAT).


AVIXA members and CEDIA members can enjoy a 30% discount (ticket price €525 plus VAT).


For further information and registration for the event, please visit https://digi- talsignagesummit.org/eu- rope/


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