The summer holiday season has taken its toll. Due to repeated requests from the sector, the submission deadline for the Digital Signage Best Practice Award has been extended by nine days. Agencies, system integrators as well as software and hardware developers from across Europe now have until Sunday, 7 September 2014, to enter their projects in the contest. What's at stake is a trophy for the winner and, for each nominee, one of the coveted stand spaces at the high-traffic award section at viscom world of inspiration. Featuring a strong digital signage segment, viscom, the international trade fair for visual communication, is home to the largest showcase of application samples anywhere in Europe and offers excellent cross-sectoral networking opportunities for award participants. This year's trade fair will take place in Frankfurt from 5 to 7 November.
Each year, the Digital Signage Best Practice Award recognises the best projects from all over Europe. Already in its eighth edition by now and the only prize evaluating projects in their entirety, this prestigious event long ago became the industry benchmark. There are four categories altogether: Retail Signage – applications for retail spaces, Information Signage – applications showing information on public displays, Guiding Signage – applications as guidance systems in public spaces, and Interactive Signage – innovative applications incorporating interactive components.
New: networking event "Meet the Nominees"
Being nominated for the Digital Signage Best Practice Award – presented for the eighth time already this year – is worth it more than ever before: besides having a shot at winning, exhibiting at viscom and effecting Europe-wide communication, the doers behind the projects will also be at the centre of the high-calibre matchmaking event "Meet the Nominees" on the evening before viscom frankfurt. Here the nominees will present their projects to an illustrious group of attentive retail, industry and marketing decision-makers before partaking in a professional exchange of ideas in a casual setting.
The event is geared specifically toward brand manufacturers and distributors, agencies and project managers. Anyone currently planning, enhancing or revamping digital signage projects will find this unique networking event with its practical approach and direct tie-in with the trade fair of particular interest. The hosted speed-dating format will give participants an opportunity to learn about every project from development to implementation; project leads will be available to talk about their work and answer questions.
The 2014 jury
The composition of the Digital Signage Best Practice Award jury traditionally emulates the various perspectives coming to bear in an actual digital signage project. This year the jury will have nine members. Besides technical expertise and an agency and network perspective, areas such as design, architecture and press/PR also play a role. Additionally, experts representing individual application areas for digital signage solutions will also sit on the jury. And one member of the decision-making body will be one of last year's award winners. Here are the members of the 2014 jury:
Silvia Talmon, Creative Director, Management
The Store Designers®, www.the-store-designers.com
Klaus Lach, Managing Director/ Vice President
VMM Europäischer Verband Visuelles Marketing Merchandising e.V., www.vmm.eu
Bryan Crotaz, Managing Director
Silver Curve, www.silvercurve.co.uk
Dipl. Wirtsch.-Ing. Marcus-Michael Müller, Director Business Unit Retail
exempTec GmbH, www.exemptec.eu
Christian Lie, Senior Advisor Digital Signage
DNB Bank ASA, www.dnb.no
Mag. Christian Lunger, Service Design, Consultation
Lunger & Scheiber OG, www.motasdesign.com
Dr. Andreas Koller, Chief Digital Officer
Medienfabrik Gütersloh GmbH, www.medienfabrik.de
Christiane Treckmann, Editor-in-Chief
lead DIGITAL, www.lead-digital.de
Petra Lassahn, Event Director viscom
Reed Exhibitions GmbH, www.viscom-messe.com
About the Digital Signage Best Practice Award
The Digital Signage Best Practice Award is presented annually at viscom. The contest aims at recognising and introducing to a broad trade audience outstanding digital signage projects that are efficiently designed and creatively executed as well as innovative and successful. The beginnings of the Digital Signage Best Practice Award can be traced back to Thomas Dockter, who organised the first edition in collaboration with Reed Exhibitions during viscom 2007. Since the passing of Thomas Dockter in 2014, the award is being managed by Forteam Kommunikation GmbH. Their goal is to continue the event in the spirit of its founder.
www.viscom-messe.com