#Toronto, @DSrupted 2015 Conference

Gail Chiasson, North American Editor

The use of real-time data to inform, trigger, shape and be the content is the primary theme for the second annual DSrupted conference on disruptive technologies in digital signage and advertising, set for Sept. 16, 2015, in Toronto.

DSripted 2014

The one-day conference will brings together subject-matter experts to talk about emerging technologies and trends that are re-shaping the business of running content and advertising on distributed networks of digital screens for retail, advertising and business communications. Last year’s conference attracted an audience of more than 100.

Each DSrupted presenter has a full hour to explore his/her topic, including 15 minutes for Q&A.

Speakers and themes for DSrupted 2015 include:

  • Data-driven Content: Martin Porter, group director of Posterscope, London. Porter will talk about how real-time data from multiple sources dramatically alters the possibilities for digital out-of-home advertising networks – making it possible to tailor 1,000s of campaign messages to location, time, context and moment.
  • Data Visualization: Mike Pell, a designer and envisionary with Microsoft. Pell will come from Seattle to talk about how live and real-time data can be organized and visualized to create stunning, high-impact content and creative for digital screens.
  • Internet of Things: Stephen Eyre runs the Internet of Things ecosystem for TELUS, Vancouver, one of Canada’s largest telecom companies. Eyre will clear the fog on what IoT is all about, and what it means for signage. There’s connective tissue there, as data-driven content and data viz don’t really happen without IoT data.
  • Content Reimagined: Brad Parler. Perler is coming up from Houston to talk about the brilliant work he’s done on corporate communications with Blinds.com, and outline the broader idea and techniques that can re-imagine normally bland business communications.
  • Future of Displays: OLED? Quantum dots? E-paper? Laser projection? James Robinson, senior director, Research and Innovation, at Christie Digital Systems, Kitchener, Ontario. Robinson will talk about where display technology is headed over the next five-to-ten years.

“It took time to pull this group together, but I particularly like the common threads between the sessions around IoT and data,” says Dave Haynes, DSrupted founder and organizer, digital signage industry consultant and blogger. “IoT only works in signage if you can make sense of the data and present it properly, and on the flip side, the content tools badly need new data to be rich and relevant.”

DSrupted 2015 will again be held at The TELUS Conference Centre in downtown Toronto.

“If you are in the digital signage business directly, or do creative or media planning and strategy work that touches digital display in retail or advertising, this will be an incredibly valuable, worthwhile day,” says Haynes. “Companies like Liveposter are doing work that is highly disruptive, and this conference is a chance to learn how and why.”

Like last year, an industry mixer for networking will be organized for the evening of Sept. 15th, ahead of the conference.

The event is hosted by TELUS and this year’s sponsors are: Rise Vision, NEC Display Solutions, Pattison Onestop, Christie and Cineplex Display Solutions.

Tickets include lunch and access to all sessions through the day; They are $345, but attendees can save $50 by getting early-bird tickets before the end of July..

You can register online here.


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