Listen Perspectives on ISE 2011

Last week I attended the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) show in Amsterdam. I’ve been attending the ISE Show for several years; however this year proved to be “the show” for Europe. The show boasted a 34,870 record attendance and was busy throughout all three days. 

The European economy seems to be showing signs of recovery as there were many discussions about several large projects in the government, tour group, and courtroom markets. I also had good discussions about success that our customers are having with providing FM and Infrared systems in lieu of induction loop system. Induction loop systems have been quite popular in the European market for assistive listening. However, our customers are seeing that by offering an FM or IR solution it broadens the solution beyond those that wear hearing aids and can also be used for language interpretation. I was pleased to see so many embracing the understanding that assistive listening is not just about accommodating the hearing impaired but about ensuring that people can fully experience an event because they can hear what is going on around them.

For me personally it was the best ISE show yet. I really enjoy the opportunity to continue building my relationships with people I have spent time with in previous years. Many consultants, distributors and system integrators came to see Listen and they came prepared to discuss business. Once again I confirmed it is universal that people like to do business with people they know. The AV industry in particular seems to be built upon this premise. Listen has begun to build strong relationships with the European AV industry and this is very rewarding to me.  

The Listen Tour Group product was used daily by Invidis Consulting GmbH Digital Signage Tour. The tour led participants all over the show floor to learn more about how to plan, create, rollout, and operate a full-scale Digital Signage network, from content to measurement. This was the second ISE Show that the Digital Signage Tour used the Listen Tour Group product. After last year’s success the organizers wanted to ensure that the tour participants could clearly hear the message as they walked through the noisy exhibit halls to see as the Digital Signage experts. ISEurope used the Listen Tour Group products for the Hosted Buyer’s Tour.  Trade shows are a challenging environment to hear and focus on someone’s message making the Listen products an ideal solution for this application. 

It was also great to be located across the aisle from our conferencing partners at DIS. The close proximity allowed us to share in the exciting news announced on Wednesday. Shure, Inc. of Niles, IL has acquired DIS. The Shure booth was also located across the aisle from DIS, so all three of us were able to celebrate this great news as the announcement was released. This acquisition will strengthen both Shure and DIS. DIS will now operate as one of Shure’s Business Units.  

I look forward to attending this show again in 2012 as clearly it has proven to be well worth the investment.