PPDS has confirmed that it will be joining strategic global partner, Crestron, on its European Road Trip, showcasing Crestron’s latest ecosystem of workplace solutions combined with Crestron-integrated Philips professional displays.
Part of a deeply aligned and highly collaborative partnership between the two leading AV innovators, the inaugural, ‘Crestron Next Road Trip Europe’ tour will see Crestron and PPDS travel more than 20,000 kilometres (12,500 miles) in a state-of-the-art, fully-customised and co-branded exhibition truck, visiting partners and customers in 38 stops across 19 different European countries, over a 47 day period.
Beginning in Brussels, Belgium (March 14) and concluding in Rotterdam, Netherlands (June 24) the tour, which also includes Microsoft, Intel and Zoom all on-board, has been organised to provide the AV community operating in corporate, education and public sector verticals with a “comparable and convenient alternative experience” to attending ISE 2022 in Barcelona, set within a “relaxed and socially-distanced” exhibition environment.
A total of eight Philips OPS UHD displays (55in – 65in), with Crestron tech integrated, have been selected to be installed on the exhibition truck, including the Philips T-Line (education) and Philips C-Line (corporate) interactive ranges, plus the Philips P-Line, Q-Line and D-Line (corporate, public venues) digital signage models.
Each will be used to showcase the full range of benefits and capabilities achievable using Philips professional displays across a range of video conferencing, room scheduling, wireless presenting and screen management solutions, including Crestron XiO Cloud, Crestron AirMedia and Crestron Flex, among others. A 65in Philips digital signage display will also be present to welcome visitors on board.
Open from 10:00-17:00 (local time), pre-registered visitors can experience all these solutions (and more) for themselves, receiving hands-on, one-to-one demonstrations and product training. Local PPDS representatives will also be present across all locations to welcome partners and to answer any questions.
“Large shows like ISE are a fantastic opportunity for us to be able to engage directly with our customers and partners to engage directly, and to provide the latest product and business updates from the business,” explained Tim de Ruiter, global business manager at PPDS. “We understand that travel is not always possible, though, and taking a more flexible approach to personal opportunities with our customers makes perfect sense. So, for 2022, in addition to hosting our popular online ‘PPDS NEXT’ events, we’ve decided that instead of – or as well as – them coming to us, we’ll come to them.”
The exhibition truck will arrive in the UK in June, with scheduled visits to Edinburgh (June 6), Dublin (June 8-9), Manchester (June 13), Birmingham (June 14), Bristol (June 15), London – Westend (June 16-17), London – City (June 20-21).
Dates for of all locations and how to register can be found here. Precise details on where the exhibition truck can be found will be communicated approximately one week prior to the event.
“We’re genuinely thrilled and excited to be joining Crestron on the upcoming ‘Crestron Next Road Trip’ around Europe and be able show our customers in person the power of two great innovators, with the very best display technology and solutions available in the current market,” said Franck Racapé, vice president EMEA, at PPDS. “While virtual meetings are fantastic, and we continue to have tremendous success with our online PPDS NEXT Events, there is no substitute for physical interaction. This tour will help us get closer to our customers and to support them in their businesses.”
Crestron first launched its ‘Crestron Next Road Trip’ concept for InfoComm 2021 in Orlando, with additional visits to Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia completed last year. Due to overwhelming success, dates for New York, Washington, Salt Lake City among others have also been scheduled for this year.
Bob Bavolacco, director, technology partnerships at Crestron, said he was delighted to have PPDS on board: “The partnership between PPDS and Crestron continues to go from strength to strength and we’re delighted they will be joining us on this incredibly exciting and ambitious tour as we look to help support more and more businesses with their everyday workplace activities with industry leading hardware and software. The feedback for our Next Road Trip in North America was unbelievably positive, with a real desire from the market for us to do more. We felt it was equally important to offer the same fantastic opportunities to our valued partners and customers in Europe, while being able to collaborate closely with our friends at PPDS.”
