Mobile Electronics® announced final figures for its recent KnowledgeFest educational conference and show in Dallas. Record-breaking attendance topped more than 950 mobile electronics industry professionals. The increase over 2014 can be attributed to new, first-time attendees and renewed growth in the specialist channel.

KnowledgeFest is the mobile electronics industry’s largest educational event. Dallas offered 36 hours of business management, sales and installation training and 40 hours of manufacturer training. Retailers responded: Dealer attendance at workshops and manufacturer trainings in Dallas increased over 2014.

“In the six years since re-inventing KnowledgeFest, this year’s event in Dallas was our biggest and best ever,” said Chris Cook, president of Mobile Electronics. “Our objective is to grow our new April show in Indianapolis in the same way, while making Dallas even better for our attendees and exhibitors.”

The Dallas show floor featured 46exhibitorsrepresenting over 60 brands and 50,000 square feet of exhibit space. Booth selection for KnowledgeFests 2016 took place onsite. Exhibitors renewed booth space for Dallas and choose space for Indianapolis 2016.

Eight new manufacturer partners also came onboard. Joining the fifteen other Mobile Electronics Partners are: Directed (Diamond Partner), Stillwater Designs (Diamond Partner), Voxx Electronics (Diamond Partner), AAMP of America (Gold Partner), Arc Audio (Gold Partner), K40 Electronics (Silver Partner), Accele (Silver Partner), and Cerwin Vega (Silver Partner).

“These vendors represent the diversity of products available in our industry. They control many of the best brands available to our dealer members,” said Kerry Moyer, vice president, strategic partnerships for Mobile Electronics. “We are pleased to welcome them onboard as business partners and appreciate their continuing support for our mission and the specialist channel.”

In 2016, KnowledgeFest will return to Dallas in August. KnowledgeFest Indianapolis takes place April 9-11 at the Indianapolis Convention Center. For more information, go to KnowledgeFest.org.

Industry-dedicated show readies for Dallas event, Industry Awards

NORTH ANDOVER, MASS. – April 18, 2016 (MEDIAWIRE) – The Mobile Electronics Group completed the second Spring Training session of KnowledgeFest, an education and exhibiting conference series centered on advancing the knowledge and expertise of mobile electronics retail and technical professionals. Held April 8-10 in Indianapolis, the show boasted more than 750 attendees and over 40 exhibitors.

"We are extremely pleased with the turnout of the event," said Chris Cook, Mobile Electronics Group president. "We had a steady presence of retailers during exhibit floor hours and workshop attendance was strong. Exhibitors we've spoken to are pleased with the traffic they received, both in their booths and their individual product training workshops. In fact, onsite we received strong commitments from exhibitors to come back to Indy next year."

Eight meeting rooms rotated educational and manufacturer training workshops throughout the show. Attendees received peer-based instruction, tips and advice through 18 workshops segmented for owners and managers, sales professionals and installation technicians. An additional 40 workshops were allotted to exhibitors whose trainers conducted brand-specific instruction, with most opening their workshops to prospective as well as current authorized retailers.

The KnowledgeFest show schedule has been adjusted over the past few years to improve efficiency and make the time more valuable for attendees and exhibitors.  On the last day of this year's spring training venue, the exhibit floor hours were moved to the morning and educational workshops finished off the day, resulting in more face time between manufacturers and attendees. 

The next KnowledgeFest event takes place August 20-22 at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas. Now in its seventh year, the Dallas conference will feature more classes, a larger show floor and the finale of the Mobile Electronics Industry Awards. For more information, visit KnowledgeFest.org.