POV: ICIA Councils Take Action at InfoComm
Aug 1, 2005 12:00 PM
As more than 26,000 attendees convened at InfoComm 05 to see new innovations and understand how AV industry trends may affect them, members of the International Communications Industries Association (ICIA), the show’s sponsor, met to help determine the association’s course.
ICIA’s “Big Tent” concept is to unite the pro-AV industry under one umbrella as manufacturers, sellers, and buyers of products and services. By working in groups that interact with one another, ICIA is operating to advance industry causes and enhance collaboration.
ICIA’s 13 member councils and committees share common interests, such as:
- Communicating to others what ICIA’s individual groups represent and how they fit into the pro-AV trade
- Initiatives to expand the councils by encouraging new members and increased participation
- Standardization of documents made available as a service to ICIA and council members
- Establishing baselines for information through surveys, market research, and focused discussion.
Each group meets at Infocomm and regularly throughout the year by audioconference to advance its agenda. ICIA members have access to a listserv for each council and a private “Members Only” web page so information on council activities and minutes from meetings are always accessible.
Topics discussed this year are as follows:
The Independent Consultants in Audiovisual Technologies Council (ICAT) discussed follow-up plans on the AV Best Practices Guide (developed jointly with SAVVI and the Technology Managers Council), and ICIA’s collaboration with Building Industry Consulting Service International (BICSI).
The Independent Representatives Council worked to advance a questionnaire to serve as a professional development tool for the independent representative community and discussed the implications of the ERA Rep Commission Protection Act.
The Manufacturers Council discussed its Manufacturers Training courses offered at InfoComm. The council is also working on a standard pricing template to help streamline the process of distributing and updating pricing and product descriptions.
The Membership Committee discussed ways to promote the association’s visibility at InfoComm and upcoming outreach programs, along with merits of proposed member benefits.
The Presentations Council subcommittee on Best Practices made a presentation highlighting its work to date, including laying the foundation for future work by defining the various roles presentation media professionals play in the industry, and presented a road map for developing a web-based best practice resource.
The Rental and Staging Council discussed what content to provide on its web page to best serve its market. Members talked about ways to design its survey tool, as well as new ideas to maximize rental or staging companies’ experience at InfoComm.
The Sound, AudioVisual and Video Integrators Council (SAVVI) discussed ways to market the recently published AV Best Practices Guide. The council also set up a framework for reference materials covering topics such as contracts, software licensing, and intellectual property.
The Technology Managers Council (formerly the End Users Council) discussed progress of its educational endeavors, including ICIA’s collaboration with BICSI, Design School Online, and the Principles of Technology Management course.
The Professional Education and Training Committee (PETC), which provides a strategic vision and determines the curriculum and content of ICIA’s education and certification programs, met to review the current InfoComm course list and begin to address needs for InfoComm 06.
The European Council was split into two separate councils, European and Australasian, which held inaugural meetings at InfoComm 05. Discussions centered on developing working infrastructures and planning preliminary meetings.
The Independent Programmers Council looked into the development of a best practices guide to show manufacturers how best to distribute product protocols to independent programmers. The council also discussed upcoming articles to be placed in various trade magazines to help promote its industry sector.
The Exhibitor Committee met to review InfoComm 05, discuss plans for the 2006 priority space selection, and look at future show locations. The committee examined the results of a future host city preference survey and recommended further investigation into available dates and cities.
If you are interested in any of the topics discussed, please contact [email protected] or visit www.infocomm.org.
Article courtesy ofInternational Communications Industries Association.
