Gail and I spent a very, very worthwhile two days in New York City attending and covering the Digital Signage Investor Conference.
Steve Nesbitt
Dave Haynes commented over on his blog [1] that the attendance was “pretty good given the economy” and we’d very much agree with that but point out that the best bit about the event was the great mix of attendees (software, networks, agencies, retailers, VCs, consultants etc).
Steve Nesbit did an excellent job moderating and chairing the sessions (really excellent). The event has had some good moderators in the past but I think it is safe to say that Steve did the best job of all – great humour interspersed in-between sessions and his knowledge and love of the industry showed through as well.
- Day 1 was much better [2] than Day 2 but both days were seriously good.
Most speakers got 10/10 from us, we weren’t that keen on the content panel on day one and some attendees agreed with Dave Haynes that the Wall Street guys (Day 1 morning panel discussion) and we quote “seemed a little jaded and absorbed and spoke in Wall Street-speak” but we understood some of it and thought that it all jelled together eventually (yes eventually).
Day 1’s Speed Dating session [3] was also incredibly well received.
- Day 2’s keynote for us was poor BUT we were the only one who thought that – everyone else in the audience seemed to enjoy it.
Regular readers know (and those who follow our Twitter [4]especially) that we don’t like panel sessions. Day 2 VC panel session however was superb but then the panel session at the end of Day 2 shouldn’t have been that at all – we just wanted to listen to Rob Gorrie from Adcentricity speak.
All conferences need careful planning on the last day as people are tired from a combination of jet leg, several days without sunshine / outside air / stuck in a room and are all antsy with planes to catch. Laura Davis-Taylor’s take on picking up the pace was to speak so fast that my middle aged brain could take in none of what she said (she did give me a copy of her book ‘Lighting Up The Aisle [5]‘ though which was gratefully received).
Ana Stewart, Etienne Reignoux and Ajay Chowdhury [6] were the token Europeans speaking. They were all very good but we have volunteered to help out more next year and get more Europeans and more Asian region folks to attend and speak.
OVAB got lots and lots of mentions from the majority of the network owners who spoke (and also those who posed questions from the floor). If you are a network owner in the US or Europe and haven’t joined then their is no better recommendation from the last 2 days for why you should!
We suggested to Suzanne La Forgia (nee Alecia), president of OVAB [7] at the end of the event that next year they might like to try and coincide OVAB’s annual summit and this event next to each other in the calendar (there are some Europeans for example who will be back in NYC in 10 days time for the OVAB Digital Media Summit on 28th October [8]).
So we end by re-iterating how good the event was. All those who spent money to attend would have DEFINITELY got value for money and we can guarantee that they will ALL be back next year.
All of our twitter can be followed using @DailyDOOH #investorsconference
4 Comments To "How Good Was The Digital Signage Investor Conference?"
#1 Comment By Stuart Tiedeman On 8 October 2009 @ 07:51 @368
We are keen to understand the role of OVAB in Europe, but as far as we can observe, there are significant differences between the model adopted very credibly within the US and the version which has appeared wearing an OVAB badge in Europe…
As our industry is going to benefit from such a body in whatever guise it eventually matures into, does anyone else feel that a clear set of parralel guidelines and principles should apply globally, rather than just locally?
Should people be holding onto their money until they have absolute clarity over where it goes, and who benefits in the short, medium and longer term…?
#2 Comment By Yashod Bhardwaj On 8 October 2009 @ 14:53 @661
Many thanks to Adrian and the DailyDOOH team for covering the Investor conference – DailyDOOH has definitely proved its Lead Media Partnership position: Thank you crew! We completely agree with Dave’s comment, looking at the economy the conference did really well with delegates showing up from all the industry verticals and of course the number of venture capitalists was fairly good.
Also would like to mention that SI’s next DOOH event is The Fifth Annual Building your Digital Signage Conference in Chicago, IL – Don’t Miss! [9]
#3 Comment By Lee Taylor On 8 October 2009 @ 14:58 @665
Bringing Laura Davis-Taylor on last is certainly a mistake – giving her a mere 20 minutes is an even more significant mistake.
2 weeks ago, I attended a conference called New Media Atlanta, and Chris Brogan, the author of Trust Agents, a guy with 30000 blog followers, was the last speaker.
He killed – we gave him an hour, plus 30 minutes of open Q&A.
My lovely wife Laura told me about “Adrian’s latest post.”
Adrian – you bring up an excellent point.
No, not that you are slow and middle aged…the point about “all conferences need careful planning.”
I know that Laura is way more compelling than some of the typical nerdy male dullards who populate her conference world. I’ve sat in on some of these, and let me tell you, some of these dorks – they couldn’t bust a grape in a fruit fight.
If you want to wrap up a “Strategy” Institute conference with a high-minded strategy session, and if you really want to engage an entire audience in something more passionate than the typical fare, then Laura is your ticket to a vigorous “strategy” dialogue…
…and she’s easy on the eyes.
(Chris Brogan – not so easy on the eyes, but he is pretty fly for a white guy…)
At the end of the New Media Atlanta conference, about 100 people, many from out of town, went bowling and drinking with the keynote speaker, all of the other speakers, and the rest of our community.
Now, that’s planning.
Would something like that make a “Strategy Institute” event a little more compelling, and engaging, and worthwhile, next year?
Signed,
Significantly Biased in Atlanta
#4 Comment By J. Woolsey Jr. On 8 October 2009 @ 15:37 @692
Stuart,
It depends on your version of absolute ROI, you can’t generate revenue if you’re not in the game.
As for a unilateral definition or badge, I feel network providers will succumb to the guise of each audience.
My feeling is that the differences between models are socially driven by the norms of each digital environment, so perhaps the caveat to a unilateral body starts by defining the values and interpreting the reason for the messaging by defining each environment as it’s own body, content will always be socially driven.
Your have to be in it to win it, and you will have to pay to play. The only absolute is birth to death, the trick is enjoying the ride….
Best regards,
J. Woolsey Jr.