ISE’s Barcelona Event Drew Just Over 2,400 In-Person Attendees

June 9, 2021 by Dave Haynes

The live event side of last week’s two-day physical ISE exhibition drew about 2,400 people to the Barcelona venue, with another 8,000 registered for the online presentations and virtual fair.

Integrated Systems Events Managing Director Mike Blackman, whose firm runs the show for co-owners AVIXA and CEDIA, says it was an important milestone for the AV and live events industries. “It’s been a 17-year journey to get to Barcelona so it’s bittersweet not to make the big bang we’d hoped for our debut, but we know the value of live events for forging trust, deeper business relationships and driving business. I hope this sends a message of confidence to cities around the world that live events can be safe and successful. We’ll be back in Barcelona, with all our might, in February 2022.” 

Says ISE:

The first hybrid event from ISE, which combined live and digital content, achieved 1,431 in-person attendees on Day 1, and 990 on Day 2 in Barcelona. Over 8,000 registered for ISE Digital, which had 120 live sessions and generated 13,759 unique views, 107,718 minutes watched (1,778 hours) and 442 online chats. 

All visitors within the venue had a negative COVID-19 anti-allergen test result prior to entry and wore FFP2 NR face masks inside the venue.

Exhibitor feedback:

“Barco attended ISE 2021 in Barcelona to connect with our customers. We have been in virtual, in video sessions for too long and we needed to meet face-to-face. The future is hybrid which means there will be some video, there will be some conference calling but there’s going to be a lot more face-to-face. Meeting back with our partners is what gives us energy,” says Peter Pauwels, VP Sales EMEA at Barco.

“To reconnect with current and potential customers and show that life goes on, that the digital signage industry continues to grow, and that the pandemic has only accelerated it. And we are all convinced that the 2022 edition will be a resounding success,” says Marta Fernández, CMO at nsign.tv.

There is another version of last week’s in-person event planned for London on June 23-24, with live keynotes and roundtables from a main stage, exhibits and an on-site pub built in the venue, because … London doesn’t have pubs??? Hmmm.

Register here: https://iseurope.org/register.php?actioncode=LONJUNE1

I dunno if 2,400 is amazing or amazingly feeble in terms of numbers. It would seem 2,400 people is a decent number for what was probably intensely regional in terms of the visitor profile. It’s also not really spelled out if a lot of the 990 are among the 1,400 who came the previous day, meaning duplicated numbers as opposed to 2,400 distinct individuals over two days.

Doesn’t really matter, in many respects. These events are outliers, and assessing them against a real ISE or other events in normal times lacks validity.