WAC Group is a technology-focused lighting company whose core stated mission is to bring smart, sustainable and beautiful light to every environment through its extensive portfolio of brands.
Originally known as WAC Lighting, the company has been in operation for over 40 years and at that time has drastically grown its offerings, adding brands like Modern Forms, Schonbek, and the integrator-exclusive brand AiSPIRE.
Being one of the earliest supporters of lighting in the channel, WAC Group, and now AiSPIRE, have become mainstays within custom integration. As the company continues to grow its support for the channel, however, the biggest challenge in providing what integrators need lies in knowing what problems integrators are facing today.
A Forum to Meet with Decision-Makers and Front-Line Workers
WAC Group faces a challenge that many businesses of their scale face, and that’s being able to talk face to face with their customers about their needs.
Feedback surveys and Zoom calls offer glimpses into an organization’s day-to-day, but they do little to uncover the intricacies and subtle pressures pushing against a business.
“Spending time in-person can’t be replaced with virtual meetings or on-the-fly passing introductions,” explains Patrick Laidlaw, Director of Business Development-Integration at AiSPIRE and WAC Group.
Laidlaw has been able to find an answer to that conundrum in CEDIA Expo/CIX, however. Since first attending five years ago, the company has quickly become a main fixture at the show, with booths that often excite and attract attendees through their demonstrations.
“[At CEDIA Expo/CIX] we get to speak with all levels of integrator team members for feedback on installation of our products, design, programming, and more,” he explains.
In fact, being able to meet face-to-face with the different parts of an integrator’s business is what Laidlaw considers to be a defining aspect of CEDIA Expo/CIX for him.
“It brings feedback and product suggestions to a deeper level when it comes from all team members in an organization,” he adds.
High-Value Interactions, Condensed into a Single Place
While meeting with customers face-to-face helps preserve the business, having a hub where integrators and exhibitors are free to interact based on needs and interests often has a catalyzing effect for newcomers discovering WAC Group.
“[CEDIA Expo/CIX] fits into our [business] strategy by accomplishing the goal of reaching as many of our customer-partners in one place as possible, and also doing it through one, large platform of a booth showcasing our products.”
The sheer volume of potential clientele and business partners passing through the show floor at CEDIA Expo/CIX, often leads to the types of high-value discussions that help businesses like WAC Group direct their future product development.
“We’ve always gleaned new partnerships from CEDIA conferences through meeting on the floor as well as current customers giving testimonials to potential new integrator-partners,” Laidlaw says.
That value has become increasingly important as travel and shipping expenses have only increased, pressuring companies to relegate themselves to only high-value trips.
“We could not reach this many people with this extravagant as a display in the field,” admits Laidlaw. “It just wouldn’t be possible.”
Brand Discovery Continues, Even for a Well-Known Staple
Beyond business interactions, one of the biggest values WAC Group derives from attending CEDIA Expo/CIX is the ability to showcase the impact of its products within the home environment.
“I would say the number one thing [we get out of CEDIA Expo/CIX] would be the ‘aha’ moments we have with integrators when we introduce a product that meets their needs or they see the difference our lighting products can make in their clients’ lives,” Laidlaw says.
Despite attending CEDIA Expo/CIX for the past five years, that wow factor hasn’t dissipated. New customers arrive each show, drawn in by curiosity, only to be blown away by WAC Group’s offerings within the space.
“We still have people who walk in our booth and didn’t realize all the product categories we cover from one source.”
A One Stop Shop for Discovery, Insight and Support
Since first attending CEDIA Expo/CIX, WAC Group’s notoriety within the custom integration channel for lighting has only continued to grow, owing in large part to its show presence.
“It’s a great platform to show off new products, of course, but moreover interact with our custom integrator base and have meaningful conversations about their needs and the needs of the industry,” Laidlaw says.
The discussions WAC Group can have helps hone its existing product stack, direct future development, and establish critical partnerships in an industry where relationships and interoperability between brands, more than anything, define business success. It also helps provide WAC Group a forum to showcase their expertise in the field.
“We have spent a great deal of money to partner with independent scientific researchers to bring the facts and truth [of lighting] to the industry and will continue to so going forward. Lighting should benefit everyone and can, if deployed in a better manor.”
All of these opportunities together, have turned CEDIA Expo/CIX into a high-value event for WAC Group as it continues to search for new ways to support the custom integrators it serves.
“I don’t know if I could distill it down to just one moment/experience,” Laidlaw says.