Looking Back, Looking Forward
Oct 1, 2001 12:00 PM
Though to show attendees InfoComm 2001 may have looked seamless, the preparation for the show came with a frenzy of changes geared toward aiming ICIA and InfoComm at a broader range of professionals over a greater part of the calendar year — namely, all of it. Within eight short weeks, ICIA acquired an online service, defined a marketing and implementation strategy, and developed a new branding direction. These pre-show shifts were designed to capture the attention of nearly 23,000 InfoComm attendees.
The push for updated services and branding included serveral factors:
Address the Entire Community
ICIA’s 2700 members include manufacturer and dealer companies, as well as a number of A/V professionals in end-user organizations, beyond the core A/V community.
Catalyze Economic Activity
To catalyze economic activity for its core commercial members, ICIA’s strategy focuses on helping the industry serve its customers in business, government, education, religious institutions and healthcare.
Educate the Public
ICIA’s mission includes the goal to “develop public relations programs that will inform the public of the value of the commercial communications industries.” Recognition by non-A/V professionals of the complexity, business value and relevance of today’s A/V technologies and services requires that the association reach for broader visibility.
Add Value for Members
ICIA now offers much more than its valuable educational program and its mainstay InfoComm tradeshows. In March, ICIA expanded its value to the entire industry by acquiring a fully developed online suite of tools. It is based on an encyclopedia of products from more than 600 manufacturers.
All of these decisions, and especially the launch of the new online service, necessitated a comprehensive assessment and evolution of ICIA’s brand acceptance.
