Who says things are laid back in the South? That certainly was not the case at the recent AHA Distributing Big Show in Atlanta where nearly 500 integrators gathered over two days for intensive training and products. The event, produced by Catalyst AV group member AHA, is the fourth annual event and was held at the Marriott Atlanta Northwest at Galleria hotel, north of Atlanta.
The show featured 10 breakout training sessions, multiple dedicated demo rooms and a slew of show-discount deals from the 70 vendors on hand. Chris Gilray, president and CEO of AHA Distributing, labeled the event an “amazing success.”
Gilray says, “For our customers, this is the only event they feel they need to attend because the offering of so many vendors, training and education is incredible. For our vendors, this is the best event they have ever attended due to how engaged AHA customers are with the vendors.”
Catalyst AV Executive Director Helge Fischer adds, “At Catalyst AV we encourage our members to create and promote dealer/installer shows at the local level. It is really the only way to fully inform the dealers and installers about the benefits that all the new technologies create. We get manufacturers to speak directly to the installers and answer questions. At the larger shows, CES and CEDIA, a lot of the staff do not attend, at the local shows, it is neither the burden of time or finance to get in front of the manufacturer. AHA, Aim High created a great show and they are by far the most progressive distributor, now four locations, in the South East of the US. They have great insight and are very good at sharing knowledge and information with the rest of the Catalyst AV members.”
Among the educational session was a keynote by Jason Knott of CE Pro who offered a “state of the industry” presentation reviewing industry revenues, profits, labor rates, wages and salaries and more.
One of the comments heard over and over from attendees was that this was one of the most informative keynote presentations they had ever attended and they acquired so much hands on information to help them grow their own businesses.
Keynoter Knott of CE Pro notes, “The AHA BIG Show was one of the best regional events I have attended in many years. The integrators there were highly engaged at both the educational sessions and the exhibits. In fact, I think I got about 150 business cards (and post-event) emails from attendees based on my keynote presentation.”
Photo Gallery: Inside Catalyst AV’s AHA Big Show
Russell Warnhoff of Screen Innovations comments, “The dealer turnout was just great! It was remarkable and allowed us to show off our latest technological innovations. Our new Short Throw ST Screen had a lot of attention. We heard many dealers comment that they thought it was a flat panel display as they walked by. They couldn’t believe how bright the screen was and wanted to know how we achieved the level of brightness we exhibited at the show! We showed off four different screens with four great partners at the show: Vivitek, Wolf, JVÇ and Digital Projection. You just cannot have as much quality one-on one time, with as many dealer decision makers as you can at a show like this!”
Integrator Ron Snyder of Electronic Solutions says, “This show is not overwhelming, and it provides us with a great opportunity to see specific vendors in a more relaxed environment. This kind of quality time allows vendors to more fully access our customer needs; it’s important for both of us on a business and personal level. There were some great seminars/trainings. We are already Marantz and Denon dealers and their representative really hit a home run. I was equally as impressed with the Just Add Power seminar; it was excellent!”
Educational sessions included “Just Add Power Presents — The Truth About Distributing Ultra HD and Demystifying the Specs,” “RTI / Pro Control Presents — Winning Strategies For Selling Mid-Level Control Systems,” “Digital Projection Inc. — Value Added Projection Solution Strategies” and “Luxul Presents — How To Optimize Wireless Networks For Seamless Roaming.”
Gilray concludes, “Another highlight was that over $42,000 worth of prizes was given away including: Screen Innovations gave away over $4,000 in screens, Key Digital gave away over $3,000. in electronics and Middle Atlantic gave away an $1,000 rack; it was such an educational fun-filled event!”
Participating vendors included: Active Thermal Management, Acousticsmart, AudioControl, Aprilaire, Atlona, AVM, CasaTunes, Catalyst Wire and Cable, ClearView CCTV, IC Realtime, Nest, Rapid Mounts, Vanco, Vivitek, DataSat, Denon, Boston Acoustics, D-Tools, Draper, Datacomm, Definitive Technology, Digital Projection, Ethereal, HEOS, James Loudspeakers, JBL Synthesis, Just Add Power, JVC, Key Digital, Leon Speakers, Lexicon, Legrand, Luxul, Lyric Speakers, OnQ, Nuvo, Mark Levinson, Marantz, MartinLogan, Middle Atlantic, Metra Home Theater Group, NEAR, RTI, Peerless-AV, Platinum Tools, Prima Cinema, Origin Acoustics, ON Controls, Parasound, PRO Control, Revel, Rockustics, Russound, SurgeX, Screen Innovations, Speco, Spyclops, Straightwire, Soundtube, Seura, SureCall, TiVo, Transformative Engineering, UPG, Wavenet, Wilson Electronics, Wolf Cinema, Yale.
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