Article

Digital Signage Expo plans biggest education schedule to date

February show expands seminars, Lunch & Learn sessions, workshops and awards program for 2010.

November 18, 2009 by Bill Yackey

Digital Signage Expo and its organizers at Exponation already are gearing up for the international digital signage conference's seventh installment, which will be held in February in Las Vegas. The show is planning the largest digital signage-focused conference ever staged, to be held in conjunction with its expo hall.

The conference consists of 40 industry peer-led seminars (expanded from 30 in 2009), 37 "Lunch & Learn Roundtable" industry-specific discussions and 20 on-floor workshops, with more than 160 speakers to run Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 24-25, 2010.

The 40 seminars will be presented in eight tracks of five, arranged by topic: 

• Two tracks for communications-based digital out-of-home deployments
• Two tracks for ad-based digital out-of-home deployments (one each for attendees who need an introduction to these topics and the other for attendees who need more advanced, in-depth information)
• One track specifically designed for brand managers/marketers and advertising agency professionals
• A Content University track
• A Technology track
• A track that will repeat the conference's most popular seminars to allow attendees to see more of what they want and avoid session scheduling conflicts

Also new this year is an industry-specific curriculum guide to help attendees sort through the seminar choices and identify both topics germane to their needs and peer presenters in their respective industries.

Super session

The opening panel on the first day of the expo is being called a Super Session and is named "Digital Out-of-Home's Future." Held from 8-9 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2009, speakers will discuss what to expect in digital out-of-home industry growth, the direction the technology is taking at retail and a future look at DOOH advertising networks.

Speakers featured on the opening session panel include OVAB president and CEO Suzanne La Forgia, Intel Corporation's director of Digital Signage Jose Avalos and Dynamic Retailing president Michael Hiatt.

APEX Awards

DSE also will present its sixth "Annual APEX & Content Awards" Feb. 24. This year the APEX Awards have been expanded to include 10 categories: Arts/Entertainment/Recreation, Corporate and Government, Education, Healthcare, Hotels, Public Spaces, Restaurants and Drinking Places, Retail, Stadiums, and Transportation.

Content nominees must have a new or current digital signage or interactive technology program installed or in rollout phase between Feb. 2009 and Feb. 2010. Independent industry panels will judge the APEX and Content Award entries submitted for all end-user categories.

To register for DSE's Awards, conference sessions and expo, visitdse2010.com.

Content University Seminar Program details 

The faculty and seminar topics slated for the Content University track include:

• Lowe's Companies' senior marketing, new business development specialist, Justin Carl, and Proscenium Partners' executive creative director, Jeff McQueen, will both be part of a roundtable discussion on "Contextual Content: It's All About Relevance."
• Tracy Locke's president/COO, Beth Ann Kaminkow, and Show & Tell's president, Phil Lenger, will copresent "4 Screen Campaigns: Putting Our Money Where Our Mouth Is."
• Megaphone's chief operating officer, Jim Bell, and DOOHit Digital's co-founder, vice president of business development, Lisa Katz, will copresent "The Latest & Greatest: Creative Meets Emerging Media."
• St. Joseph's Content's vice president of business development, Mark Zwicker, and Dawson & Company's principal, Carre Dawson, will copresent "Content Dollars & Sense: Cost-Effective Resources for Out-of-Home Content Creation & Management."
• Jones Digital Media's owner, executive creative director, Dylan Jones, Creative Realities' VP program management, Robin Rearton, and Retail Entertainment Design's president, Brian Hirsh, will all be part of a Creative Director's panel discussion on "Successful Approaches to Content Design for Digital OOH Networks."