Blog | ISE 2023 Wrap Up

It’s been three weeks since ISE 2023 and we had an amazing time showcasing our digital marketing solutions, connecting with partners, meeting new people and seeing the latest in AV integration systems! Here’s the inside scoop from the Scala team about their experience at the show.

Since ISE is a trade show that focuses on AV integration systems, how did Scala’s booth solutions fit into what show visitors were hoping to see?

Darren Cremins, Senior Sales Director UK & Ireland: Scala has been a core exhibitor at ISE’s Digital Signage Hall for many years. We sell through our partner channel, so ISE provides us with the opportunity to meet up with them, chat face to face about new projects and present new solutions that meet the end user requirements.

Were there specific solutions, capabilities or hardware that resonated with booth visitors?

Darren: The AV industry understands that Scala has a great platform. We use ISE as a canvas to showcase the Scala capabilities that go beyond content on screens. Yes, we had our hardware on show, but the real engagement was how we solve problems via our solutions. As always, our Lift & Learn, with ASK stops people in their tracks. The smooth transitions, the remote video call and the backend analytics shows how Scala pulls it all together. That and our shelf edge units being used in retail and locker solutions really caught people’s attention and sparked conversation.

What industries or organizations did you find were visiting the Scala booth? Was it high street fashion looking to make a comeback with tech? Or maybe a surprising number of petrol stations or corp comm seekers?

Darren: Of course we saw a good amount of AV integrators, but we also engaged with design agencies and end clients that ranged from retail and corporates to universities and hospitality. That’s the great thing about Scala solutions, our platform caters for many scenarios.

As a long time attendee of ISE and expert in the digital signage industry, what are your main takeaways from this year’s show?

Jorge Mira, Director of Creative Services: As you know, ISE is more of an integrators show than end customers, so there were many discussions with partners and future partners. What I saw was a “back to business” vibe in general, post-COVID, and as always our storytelling with specific solutions that depict a specific customer journey works very well to inspire our audience.

Hardware wise, our digital shelf edge displays continue to capture everyone’s attention!

Were your conversations with booth visitors more around fundamental digital signage at scale, or were visitors interested in deeper integrations and personalization?

Harry Horn, General Manager EMEA & VP of Global Marketing: Partners and brands who visit our booth are interested in Scala’s full solution, including digital signage, but also what’s new, what’s the latest technology or feature that we have in our in-house digital signage software platform, what are the new integrations, what hardware is new to Scala’s offering and how have we enhanced our existing digital signage hardware. With our own sensor-based solution, Walkbase, personalization is always part of the conversation. A great example of this is our Assisted Selling Kiosk with Lift & Learn. We’ve had “lift, learn, compare” functionality for a long time. But we’ve added features such as digital shelf edge displays and “ask an expert” ‘with peer-to-peer video which grabs attention and adds a layer of customized shopper experience that’s both memorable and efficient for store operations.

Scala always kicks off the year strong, with a big presence in the STRATACACHE booth at NRF in New York, and a fast-follow in EMEA at ISE and EuroShop. Are there similar themes and solutions that the teams work through?

Harry: EuroShop, which Scala is attending next week, and NRF are similar in that they are specifically focused on retail. These might be ecommerce solutions or even store fixtures, whereas Scala’s solutions are in-store retail technology, but it’s all about meeting with retailers and major brands and hearing what challenges they are facing, are they using tech, is it working, how can we help? At ISE, we have a wider range of brands, companies and industries we’re speaking with, and it’s interesting to hear the themes that carry through. We were showcasing how technology can bring points of automation, increase efficiency and engagement, better inform customers and audiences, as well as measure and optimize through personalization.

Scala was nominated in the top ten of booth designs for the show. What do you think made the Scala booth stand out from the rest?

Jorge: The booth worked very well at so many levels. First, from a gut feeling, vibe and first-look impression, it looked really nice. Spacing, proportions, colors, textures, content all had this harmony that made each wall pop up in a way that made you want to “bring this home,” as in “get me three of those lift and learn solutions and put them here.”

And again, the storytelling here plays a role too, as you could figure out what was going on in each corner, wall and solution. Not 100%, but to a point where, based on their looks as well as your curiosity, you’d want to come closer and give them a try.

What were some of the main themes or challenges you were hearing while having discussions in the booth?

Ton van Hout, Senior Director of Operations EMEA: Main challenges we hear is retail marketing leaders looking for ways to have a more interactive personalized approach in store with their customers and combining that with the “i want to buy local and have local products” approach or believe that has come up during last couple of years while covid was hugely impactful.

For Scala partners who were unable to attend ISE, what were some of the main challenges attendees are looking to solve? What capabilities were attendees most interested in?

Ton: More and more people that we talk to want to be able to have their online an offline environment be one world. Next to that increasing showroom space vs having all products in store is a topic that was hot on the floor.

It was amazing being back in Barcelona for ISE 2023. Now, we’re packing our bags for Düsseldorf, Germany to attend EuroShop 2023! The event starts in just two days and we can’t wait to exhibit our solutions at the world’s #1 retail tradeshow! We hope to see you there. If you are interested in scheduling a tour of our booth, click here.