BURLINGTON, MASS.—For many, the weekend of April 22-23 will be the calm before the NAB Show storm, but for some making their way out to Las Vegas it’ll be the opening course. For the fourth consecutive year Avid will host Avid Connect on the Saturday and Sunday before the NAB Show officially gets underway, and as Avid’s President Jeff Rosica pointed out, the event helps many attendees get in the zone before the broadcast industry’s marquee conference.
“The good thing about the [Avid Connect Event], we say to people ‘come to Connect and stay for NAB,’” Rosica told TV Technology. “It’s a great opportunity to kind of dig into things and interact with a lot of industry people.”
Industry professionals attending the Avid Connect will consist of members of the Avid Customer Association (ACA). Created four years ago, Avid Connect is primarily designed by and for ACA members, which currently sits at more than 10,000. For this year’s Avid Connect, Rosica said they expect nearly 1,500 ACA members to attend.
Louis Hernandez Jr. gives state of the company address during 2016 Avid Connect.
The event will open with a keynote from Louis Hernandez Jr., CEO of Avid, who will offer up his state of the industry, provide a company update and reveal Avid’s strategy and new products. Something special about the business side of the event this year is that for the first time Avid has conducted what it is calling the ACA Vote. This new initiative allowed ACA members to nominate and vote on the priorities they would like Avid to pursue for company strategy and product portfolio. The results will be unveiled during Avid Connect.
Beyond business, Avid Connect will also offer informative sessions to attendees covering a range of topics, most of which will fall under the event’s three tracks: Transforming the Media Enterprise: Innovation in Business & Technology; Empowering Collaboration: Talent, Tools and Technology; and Mastering Your Craft: The Art of Cutting Edge Storytelling. Themes expected to be addressed in these sessions include the cloud, immersive media, 4K/UHD, media distribution disruption and how to stay ahead of the curve in this dynamic environment. All of the tracks and sessions are led by ACA members.
Friday, before the official start of the event, Avid will also host an ACA Meeting and ACA Dinner for the ACA Leaders.
“Over the years the community has grown in having a louder and louder voice,” Rosica said about the ACA, and Avid Connect is the chance for them to directly connect with Avid and share in what the company is pursuing. “Hopefully, our community walks away with the feeling like they had a very good opportunity to engage with Avid and all of our partners in an intimate and quality way; that they had an opportunity to share and contribute to our strategy and direction.”
Avid Connect 2017 will take place from April 22-23 at the Wynn Las Vegas. For more information, visit www.avidconnect2017.com.
