21st Century Distributing, a consumer electronics distributor serving the Southeast and a PowerHouse Alliance member, has concluded its Annual Roadshow. The three day event, which was hosted virtually for the first time on Oct. 19-21, provided a platform for dealers to learn about the latest custom install products, attend live trainings and participate in a virtual golf tournament.
“This year’s event took the 21st Century Annual Roadshow to a whole new level,” said Josh Vicini, director of business development and growth at 21st Century Distributing. “The ‘gamification’ of our virtual convention center with live trainings and interactive booths have led to overwhelmingly positive feedback from both dealers and manufacturers. The way in which dealers and vendors were able to interact effortlessly over a three day period was a huge win for all.”
Platinum sponsors included IC Realtime, Legrand AV, Lutron, Samsung, Sony and Vanco International.
“One of our favorite distributor events every year is 21st Century’s annual roadshow,” said Aaron Rozanski, director of distribution markets, Vanco International. “The transition this year from multiple in-person events to a fully virtual show was surprisingly seamless. With unique vendor pages to showcase top products, like Vanco’s Evolution EVO-IP HDMI over IP System and Beale Street Audio speakers and training events spread across three days, the show surpassed our expectations and allowed us to connect with nearly 200 integrators.”
Ian McColley, senior sales representative at Lutron, added, “In a year when travel and face to face meetings are on pause, I was so pleased to have a professional place to engage with our customers again. I was especially impressed with the creativity and interactivity of the virtual experience that made connecting with our industry friends so seamless.”
When planning this year’s virtual roadshow, the 21st Century team considered staples from past in-person shows including an opportunity for dealers to have fun. 21st Century opted a virtual golf tournament hosted through the WGT TopGolf application. In addition, attendees could visit the “food court” to obtain a $10 GrubHub gift card to order lunch right from their seat. Throughout the course of the three-day event, dealers earned points toward raffle tickets by visiting booths, joining trainings and playing in the virtual golf tournament. Participating vendors provided over $10,000 worth of prizes for the virtual raffle including a 55-inch Samsung TVs, Ring Video Doorbells and IC Realtime security products.
“2020 has been a challenging year for our industry making it difficult to connect with manufacturers and learn about new products and technologies,” said John Thall, owner of Knightwing Audio. “21st Century really thought outside the box to create an engaging virtual experience for dealers, installers and manufacturers to come together and knowledge share. The time invested to attend the virtual roadshow and attend manufacturer trainings and presentations was worth the payoff to be sure.”
Live and recorded trainings including sessions from the roadshow, new content and a dealer toolbox with supporting technical and marketing documents for dozens of products will live on in the virtual platform and be regularly updated.
To learn more about 21st Century Distributing, visit www.21stcenturydist.com.
