The 20th anniversary edition of ISE is officially underway, and Mike Blackman, managing director of Integrated Systems Events, organiser of ISE, is excited. Really, really, excited. “This is the biggest show ever,” he said. “We have over 1,349 exhibitors and 82,000 net square metres of floor space. It’s 30% bigger than last year, and about 15% bigger than 2019, which was our record year. Pre-registration is running ahead of where we were in 2019, so we are looking at a record show. I can’t be anything but excited.”
Blackman was speaking to the ISE Daily in front of the South Access, where a massive LED screen greets visitors entering ISE 2024. “This screen is a landmark,” said Blackman. “It’s the biggest LED screen on any exhibition venue in Europe, and the biggest LED screen anywhere in Barcelona. It means our attendees see AV before they even get in the show.”
ISE 2024 marks the show’s 20th anniversary and there’s certainly plenty to celebrate.
“There are so many things happening here all week. It’s hard to pinpoint one,” enthused Blackman. “In Hall 4 we’ve got the America’s Cup Challenge Land Yacht, we’ve got several virtual studios doing live broadcasts, Samsung are making a global launch here, and we have some very important people coming from the government.
“We’re getting senior executives from the most important companies in the industry coming to attend ISE. It’s a credit to my team, and it’s a credit to our exhibitors that they should see the significance of the show.”
ISE attendees will notice the expanding presence of broadcast technology at ISE. Blackman says it’s because “broadcast is growing into AV”.
“They’re using AV technology more and more, so those customers are coming here,” he continued. “We’re also seeing growth in live events, in lighting and staging, as well as in collaboration. Again, it’s because their customers are here. It’s not that ISE is trying to be the be-all and end-all. It’s that our industry is incorporating more and more different sectors, and people are coming here to find out about AV. We’re growing in so many areas – and that just makes this show so exciting.”
A catalyst for AV market growth
ISE 2024 co-owner AVIXA is bringing its industry expertise to this year’s event in a bid to connect to the wider AV community.
The association’s CEO Dave Labuskes (pictured left) revealed how the organisation will align its presence with the show, leveraging the 2.6 million views it received last year on AVIXA TV and the thousands of online visitors to AVIXA Xchange all year round.
“The idea of AVIXA TV is to be able to present thought leadership in an engaging fashion during the show, that relies upon the energy of the show and its attendees, but lives beyond the show,” said Labuskes. “The idea of Xchange LIVE on the other hand is almost in reverse; we’re bringing our online community together here into this physical space to communicate on areas of interest to them.”
AVIXA Xchange LIVE is the in-person activation of the virtual community AVIXA Xchange. At ISE 2024, the association is presenting four days of interactive sessions covering disruptive tech, environmental social governance in AV, professional development, AI, mental health in the hybrid workplace, and much more. These sessions take place on stand 4G300.
“AVIXA exists for two reasons; one is to be a catalyst for market growth,” Labuskes added. “If the AV industry market grows, and we can contribute to that growth, then we’re serving one of our key missions. The other is to be a hub for the professional community to bring people who identify themselves as AV professionals together.”
On Friday, AVIXA and CEDIA are focusing on AV careers, discussing the power of Certified Technology Specialist (CTS) certification and welcoming esports professionals to talk about how to get into such careers.
“This year we have hundreds of students coming in from all over Europe, and we’re connecting them with employers that are looking for talent,” said Labuskes. “The cool thing for me is watching people get excited about how they can actually do this for a living. It’s a fantastic way to end the week.”
Shining a light on residential tech
Show co-owner CEDIA is using ISE 2024 to share the story of its three pillars – advocacy, connection and education – with the masses.
This was the thought of CEDIA global president & CEO Daryl Friedman, who explained how the association continues to work with governments all around the world to make sure the industry is protected, and its members can work effectively in those markets.
“We’ve brought our world-class education programme to Barcelona, and we also have an app for our online community that we’ll be announcing this year,” he reveals. “This year we’re really focusing on educating consumers, getting them to understand the value of working with an integrator and the professionalism that brings to your home.”
CEDIA has moved its annual meeting to ISE 2024, providing the opportunity for meaningful dialogue between its members and to explain the advancements in residential technology. It will also serve as an opportunity to talk about the functions of CEDIA and how its operations can be improved, making it a more viable and valuable institution for its members.
One of the key themes the association will be covering is workforce: “Talent shortages are still a problem, and we want to make sure that people get into this industry,” says Friedman. “We’ll also be talking about our new RP22 which is the immersive audio standard, and a major breakthrough in terms of standardising and professionalising the audio industry.”
At last year’s show CEDIA launched CEDIA Next Gen, a platform designed to attract and retain industry talent. The crown jewel of the platform is a video designed for young people that it will leverage at ISE 2024.
Meanwhile, CEDIA’s 2023 Professional Smart Home Market Analysis (revealed on Thursday at 15:00 on the Smart Home Technology Stage) found that the size of the industry is much larger than expected. Friedman sees huge optimism for growth with the industry essentially still in its infancy.
“Wellness and sustainability are going to be major new categories for our integrators because they’re so important to consumers,” he added. “While AI is of course going to be a massive game changer in our industry.”
