International. Integrated Systems Events highlighted the successful version of the Digital Signage Summit Europe (DSS Europe), which was held at the Hilton Munich Airport hotel on July 3 and 4. It is Europe's leading strategy conference for the digital signage and digital home (DooH) industry.
In a two-day conference program, nearly 500 attendees signed up to hear from more than 50 expert speakers analyzing the latest developments in the digital signage and digital home market.
In their keynote presentation, Florian Rotberg, Managing Director of Invidis Consulting and Stefan Schieker, Partner of the company, presented the most important market trends and current figures. The global large format display market grew by 18% to reach a value of €14.6 billion in 2018: EMEA growth was 14%. In EMEA, Germany, Austria and Switzerland accounted for 16% of the market, 13%, followed by the UK and Ireland with 14% (3%), while the Nordic countries comprised 12%, with growth of 13%.
In the exhibition area, about 25 exhibitors showed their latest digital signage solutions.
Mike Blackman, Managing Director of Integrated Systems Events, commented: "We combined the elements of the conference that attendees always enjoyed with new initiatives designed to keep it fresh. And, recognizing that networking opportunities are an invaluable element of DSSE, we launched a free MeetToMatch service to make it easier to host pre-event meetings. The Hilton Airport Hotel was always a favorite among attendees due to its location, ease of access, ambience, and world-class facilities, so when the hotel created additional capacity, we were thrilled to be able to return. Our decision to return was totally justified: the conference was a great success."
"There is no doubt that the digital signage market is thriving, and that was confirmed by those who presented and those who participated in this year's DSS Europe," said Florian Rotberg, Managing Director of Invidis Consulting. "The theme of this year's conference was how our industry is becoming increasingly customer-centric and offering more one-on-one encounters in an era of personalization, experiences and artificial intelligence. Technology is enabling digital signage to communicate with consumers in a way that resonates and engages consumers like no other medium can, and we're seeing the results in the way the digital signage market is growing."
This year's dominant themes also included customer journey and experience; market consolidation; the emergence of the first digital experience platforms (DXPs) that will be progressively incorporated into traditional digital signage content management systems; the growing importance of LED as a display technology; and how screen prices are expected to see a rapid decline.
DSSE 2019 saw the return of the Global Round Up Panel, in which a panel of five key figures in the digital signage industry discussed topics including the challenges of doing business in Russia, where there are nine time zones; the impact of Brexit and a possible trade war between the United States and China; the expectation that, by 2024, digital signage will be the largest of all segments of the professional audiovisual industry; the dynamic market for museums and exhibitions; and the possibility for integrators to create truly global partnerships.
