In the wake of recent major executive changes, Savant seemed to fall into silent mode, deflecting media inquiries and in general buying itself time to get organized. All that is changing now as the company wrapped up a summit of its integrators in Denver – its largest ever – where it made several major announcements. At the integration summit, Savant revealed new products, new services, and a new commitment to the custom integration community.
Strategy
Sprint Throws a Life Preserver to Drowning Tidal
Cash Infusion Buys Time for Struggling Service
Tidal, the musician-owned music streaming service put together by rapper Jay Z, announced this week that it has sold a third of the company to telecom giant Sprint. Although the original announcement did not disclose the price, Billboard, the music industry trade journal, said that Sprint invested $200 million for a 33% stake in the company.
See more on the dynamic situation surrounding Tidal… [Read more…] about Sprint Throws a Life Preserver to Drowning Tidal
What Kind of Advertising Do Consumers Trust? You Won’t Believe It!
Did the 2016 Presidential Election Impact Consumer Trust?
Ask any marketing professional, the last ten years have brought a dizzying array of all-new 
advertising options thanks to the continued development of digital and online marketing tools. Strata-gee has reported on several occasions the rapid ramp-up of big- and small-business investment in email marketing, social media marketing, digital media marketing and more. More companies have been investing more dollars in more different types of largely digital marketing methods.
So a new consumer survey really caught our attention when it showed which advertising method consumers most trust. It really kind of blew our mind.
You won’t believe which form of advertising consumers trust the most… [Read more…] about What Kind of Advertising Do Consumers Trust? You Won’t Believe It!
Strata-gee Editor on Latest ResiWeek Podcast
ResiWeek, a podcast from AVNation.tv focused on the residential audio/visual market, once again invited Strata-gee editor Ted Green to participate on this week’s episode, recorded on Monday, January 9 and hosted this week by AVNation founder Tim Albright. The show, which has a strong bias towards the integration community, is known for its at-times vigorous and at-times humorous conversations with a rotating series of guests commenting on the topics of the day.
See what we talked about and view the episode below… [Read more…] about Strata-gee Editor on Latest ResiWeek Podcast
Technology Integrator Prints Its Last Magazine
Calling 2016 “a year of transition,” NAPCO Media announced yesterday that it has printed its last Technology Integrator (TI) magazine – deciding to withdraw from print media and reinvent itself into an online-only property. The move has been rumored for weeks, and in an online post yesterday attributed to the “TI Staff”, the company made the news official.
See more on what’s going to happen with Technology Integrator… [Read more…] about Technology Integrator Prints Its Last Magazine
iRule & OnControls Acquired by Kramer Electronics
iRule’s CEO Ben-Gal Talks to Strata-gee About Acquisition
Kramer Electronics, a maker of hardware-centric control solutions for the commercial audio/visual market, has acquired Detroit, MI-based iRule, a fast rising provider of software-based home control and automation solutions – including their OnControls residential line – in a private transaction that closed last Friday, December 23rd. The terms of the deal, including valuation, were not disclosed, but iRule co-founder and CEO Itai Ben-Gal told us this deal was the logical conclusion to a now multi-year relationship between the companies.
See more on this iRule acquisition by Kramer… [Read more…] about iRule & OnControls Acquired by Kramer Electronics
Sharp Strikes Again – Terminates LCD Panel Supply to China’s Hisense
Sharp Parent Foxconn Appears to be Playing Global Hard Ball
Just days after we told you about Sharp’s decision to stop supplying LCD panels to global TV leader Samsung – a decision that shocked many in Japan – apparently, they’ve done it again. The Nikkei in Japan is reporting that panel pricing negotiations have apparently broken down between Sharp and China’s Hisense Group with the parties unable to agree on a fair price. As a result, Sharp has notified Hisense it will also stop supplying them with panels in 2017.
The industry is positively buzzing about these power moves by Sharp… [Read more…] about Sharp Strikes Again – Terminates LCD Panel Supply to China’s Hisense
Power Move: Sharp to Terminate LCD Panel Supply to Samsung
‘Samsung Scrambling to Find New Sources’ – Looks to LG
The media in Japan positively exploded this week with the shocking news that Sharp has notified Samsung it will no longer supply the world’s top seller of LCD TVs with the panels they need for their sets. Samsung was Sharp’s largest customer, but in a shocking power move, after negotiations broke down – Sharp said no deal.
Could this be a sign of a new Sharp, now that it’s part of Foxconn? [Read more…] about Power Move: Sharp to Terminate LCD Panel Supply to Samsung
Core Brands Moved Under Control of Nortek’s SCS Group
In a reorganization at Nortek, Core Brands, previously a freestanding, underperforming segment of the company, has been moved under the control of Nortek’s Security and Control Solutions Group, it was announced internally this week. With this change, Core Brands President Joe Roberts will now report to SCS Group’s President Michael O’Neal.
See more on this change with Core Brands inside of Nortek… [Read more…] about Core Brands Moved Under Control of Nortek’s SCS Group
SnapAV Continues Buying Spree, Acquires Autonomic
‘If You Can Solve a Problem, You Can Sell Some Stuff’
SnapAV announced Wednesday that it has acquired Autonomic, a leading music server solutions provider. This is SnapAV’s latest in a string of acquisitions, as the company continues to seek solutions that will fulfill the needs of their extensive national network of custom integrators.
