- David Keene– At last week’s InfoComm show, I was once again honored with being one of the (five) official Judges for the “NEC Best of InfoComm Award”, the now-annual program organized by NEC. And this year, as always, it’s tough to judge the entries. Not just because all were good, but also because they’re mostly from different product categories. But judge we did–and this year with the help of a “sixth” judge, the attendees at the show who were able to vote on the winner and whose collective vote tally constituted a sixth vote (the Top Five finalists maintained NEC U-Shoot kiosks in their booths for show attendees to share their own thoughts on camera and vote for their favorite Best of InfoComm entries). So after all the votes were in, and the videos made (very entertaining BTW), the winner was Peerless-AV, for their new “Full Service Video Wall Mount”. Yes, video walls are back in a big way, for digital signage particularly, and products like the Peerless entry that allows for mounting of multiple flat panels in a video wall/grid, and easy access to servicing of the mounted panels mean that these are not your father’s video walls.
- Peerless-AV was selected from among the products and services of five finalist companies, including Apantac LLC, Extron Electronics, Inc., projectiondesign, and Tecom Electronics Ltd.
- Peerless-AV donated the $25,000 prize from NEC Display Solutions to Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, the world's largest breast cancer organization.
- NEC Display Solutions President and COO Pierre Richer presented the award to Peerless-AV representatives Nick Belcore, Vice President of Sales for North America, Brian McClimans, Managing Director of Business Development, and Kayde Spilde, Manager of Marketing Communications, during an awards ceremony held June 17 at the annual global professional AV and digital signage forum at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.
- "We're very excited with the enthusiasm and energy generated by the third annual NEC Best of InfoComm Award program," said Ashley Flaska, Vice President of Marketing at NEC Display Solutions. "The caliber of the videos produced by the Top Five finalists was overwhelming and added a new dimension to the InfoComm experience. Congratulations are in order for Peerless-AV on its hard-fought victory."
- In addition to their own videos, the Top Five finalists maintained NEC U-Shoot kiosks in their booths for show attendees to share their own thoughts on camera and vote for their favorite Best of InfoComm entries. The attendees' video votes were played on a double helix structure in NEC's booth, comprised of ten 46-inch X461S super slim displays.To promote the NEC U-Shoot campaign, an NEC flash mob invigorated attendees in the lobby with three dance routines each day of the show.
- "We want to thank NEC for putting this Best of InfoComm award program together and reminding us that we can have a lot of fun in this industry, while still accomplishing something great," Peerless-AV's Belcore said. "Peerless-AV mounting solutions help display technology users maximize their investments, saving time and money. We're grateful for the acknowledgement of our work that this award brings."
- 2011 Best of InfoComm judges included:
- - Lyle Bunn - Principal and Strategy Architect, BUNN Co.
- - Gary Kayye - Certified Technology Specialist and Founder, rAVe Publications
- - David Keene - Executive Editor, NewBay Media
- - Randal A. Lemke, Ph.D. - Executive Director, InfoComm International
- - Chuck Wilson - Executive Director, National Systems Contractors Association
- More than 900 attendee video votes served as the sixth judge in the competition.
- For information:
- www.necdisplay.com
- www.peerless-av.com
