Backstage Pass with Alford Media

How the Events Industry is Reacting to COVID-19 with Tom Alford, Amber Jenkins and Paul Johnson

On this episode of Backstage Pass, an Alford Media Services podcast, Voice of B2B https://marketscale.com/industries/contributors/daniel-litwin/ was joined by a trio of events industry experts in https://www.alfordmedia.com/ Executive Vice President and General Manager Tom Alford, President and COO of Snap! Event Productions Amber Jenkins, and Paul Johnson, founder of Paul Johnson, Inc. In the wake of the spread of the novel coronavirus and the ensuing COVID-19 pandemic, the events industry, like all of the world’s industries, has felt the disease’s ripple effects. “It’s been pretty devastating to the industry,” Tom said. “There are virtually no meetings except for webcasting. … All of us are working to do the new meeting style.” The pandemic has not only inhibited in-person events and presentations, but has raised questions about the events industry’s preparedness, employee aid, adaptation for shelter-in-place protocols, and what level of demand the industry can expect after the dust settles and things return to what’s likely to be a new normal. To answer those questions, Daniel, Tom, Amber and Paul touched on how they’ve seen the events industry adapt and rebound from the initial shock, what protocols were already in place for a scenario like this and which will likely be put in place for the future, how their individual companies have responded, and what they expect to see in the industry on the other side of the pandemic. Many people in the industry are changing up their focus and traditional approach to their work. “We’re trying to pivot to do more content creation,” Paul said. “Those sorts of prudent pivots that you’re inventing for yourself to put your capabilities out there, are key right now” Additionally, we’re all looking toward the future and how this will change the industry. Tom states, “I think what’s going to happen when this is all over is the best of (digital) will be adopted in… Some of the things that really work well will become a part of our everyday life.” Amber adds how these digital adoptions can elevate events from what we’ve seen so far,“ “I think that events involving more of a digital aspect – webcasts and what have you – I think there’s a big opportunity going forward for these to become more robust. What we have now is great, and it gets us through, but there’s so much opportunity there, and I think that there are ways that these types of technologies can really complement live events.”

A Conversation and Q&A with Tom and Steve Alford

Steve Alford, President, and Tom Alford, Executive Vice President, of https://www.alfordmedia.com/ joined Backstage Pass to talk about the events industry, evolving technology and what makes Alford Media successful. They also answered the burning questions listeners wanted to know. Over 35 years in the events industry, Alford Media has experienced the evolution and changes in the industry. Steve said the industry is trending up over the past ten years, and technology continues to change. “The big challenge today,” Tom said, “is finding new and exciting ways to present information that grabs people’s attention.” What do Tom and Steve think are the next big technological trends in the industry? Steve believes 5G will play an important role in increased speed and bandwidth in ballrooms and event spaces. Tom said there is now a backward trend in the utilization of lower resolution LED; people who want bigger screens at a lesser price-point. Due to advances in technology, lasers are now cheaper than before, which Tom sees as an old trend becoming a new one. In terms of what makes their organization successful, both agreed it is the people working at Alford Media that are the difference-makers in providing exceptional service and results for their customers. . As Tom put it, “If you don’t have the right people in place, all the best tech in the world isn’t going to get you there.” For the latest news, videos, and podcasts in the Pro AV Industry, be sure to subscribe to our industry publication.

What We Saw At NAMM 2020 with Ben MacKinney

January is a big month for trade shows, pro audio, and event tech industries. That includes https://www.namm.org/, the National Association of Music Merchants Trade Show. https://marketscale.com/industries/contributors/ben-mackinney/, Audio Services Manager for https://www.alfordmedia.com/, was Alford's boots on the ground for the event. He joins host https://marketscale.com/industries/contributors/daniel-litwin/ on this episode of Backstage Pass to give us the NAMM 2020 recap, and shares all the exciting products and innovations that he saw at the event. Ben said that one trend driving the conversation at the show was providing more options in speakers. He said that one cool thing he saw was a small speaker that allowed individual control with signal and power coming from a single cable. Another trend he saw at the show for the event tech crowd was networking becoming more and more integrated with their systems. "We’re not far away from microphones having a network port on it, and we’re not plugging it in with an XLR anymore, we’re using a Cat 5,” he said. Some microphones with the port already exist, and Ben said that the trend is coming whether we like it or not. On the more quirky side of technology, he mentioned some interesting finds at the show. One was a soft release of a 360-degree camera on top of a Zoom 360 audio recorder. Another product he saw was initially a gag item -- a bed in a road case. What started as a joke to lure people to a company’s booth turned into a product they actually sold. One of Ben’s biggest takeaways from the show is that audio technology seems to be more or less settled. “We’re now just refining,” he said. “There’s not really a new way to put sound into the air, but you can refine the unit that puts sound into the air and make it better and more efficient.”

LDI 2019: New Lighting Innovations are Upending the Event Tech Industry

The audiovisual industry is bursting with new technologies and innovations. These new developments debuted at https://www.ldishow.com/ldi19/Public/Enter.aspx , the leading conference and tradeshow for live design professionals from all over the world. Backstage Pass has the first scoop on what AV professionals are saying about the show with guests https://marketscale.com/industries/contributors/blake-taylor/, Lighting Services Manager, and Aaron Walters, Lighting Service Technician, at https://www.alfordmedia.com/. Event technology is innately attention-grabbing, but the designs at LDI were both riveting and intriguing. Taylor and Walters noted the resurgence of throwback styles and retro lighting apparatus’, now powered with the energy-efficiency of LED. These stylized lights are finding popularity not just from the light they produce, but from the fixtures themselves, which often play a part on a set for film, tv, or theater. Walters remarks at the LED curtains, a mappable, series of lights chained together via hardware. Like a video wall, the larger LEDs are an interesting feature for unique set design. “Chunky,” older hardware is finding new life with LEDs, while delivering rich light, longer and more efficiently. Overall, the two lighting specialists agree that the event technology industry is working together to significant effect. Operators, designers, and programmers are asking each other questions, sharing data, and welcoming input from manufacturers. This sense of collaboration ultimately leads to creating product users want.

Notes from XLIVE 2019 with Ali McMahan and Dave Pooser

In this episode of Backstage Pass, Ali McMahan, Marketing & Communications Manager, and https://marketscale.com/industries/contributors/dave-pooser/, Director of Product Innovation, both from https://www.alfordmedia.com/, joined host Daniel Litwin, the Voice of B2B, to discuss the recent XLIVE Conference & Expo held in Las Vegas held Nov 17-19, 2019. McMahan and Pooser both attended the annual Live Events & Entertainment trade show. Tech with a purpose and audience immersion emerged as two themes that loomed large over the three-day conference. McMahan summed the technology part up as a shift from trying to chase the coolest and best technology to outdo the last event to ‘how does that technology enhance the attendee experience?’ “When people pay money to come out to a conference, a convention, an event of any kind,” McMahan added, “They want to go have an experience.” Pooser pointed out, in the B2B conference and event space, an attendee may be there because of a company mandate. But that doesn’t mean she or he is interested. It is the job of the company planning the event to immerse that attendee in the experience and get them engaged. Some of the industry trends McMahan noted from XLIVE were Bluetooth and RFID Tracking. McMahan said these methods, which are popular in the B2C space, are gaining a foothold in B2B as well. McMahan also mentioned the uptick of AR in mixed/merged reality as something with growth potential in the corporate market. Pooser’s most significant takeaway from the conference was the message of not relying on ‘technology itself’ to do the wowing of event attendees, but to use the right technology to create an amazing experience for the attendee. “Do that,” Pooser said, “and the social media follow-through from attendees will come.”