Theme for annual show and conference in Dallas focuses on keeping up with advancing technology, consumer patterns.

NORTH ANDOVER, MASS., June 27, 2016 (MEDIAWIRE) — The Mobile Electronics Association® (MEA) announced the theme for its 2016 KnowledgeFest® trade show and conference, scheduled for August 20-22, 2016 at the Hilton Anatole Resort & Convention Center in Dallas. "SHIFT" will be depicted on all show signs and artwork, signifying a call for industry professionals to take their expertise, drive and professionalism to a higher level.

The KnowledgeFest theme is chosen annually by MEA staff after carefully evaluating changing trends that directly affect the mobile electronics community. This year, the focus has been on evolving safety and driver assistance products and technologies.

"Carmakers are using significant advertising budget to promote safety features on new vehicles, and almost all of the available OEM options have aftermarket counterparts," said Chris Cook, MEA president. "Retailers can take advantage of a new profit center in which consumer value has been stoked high by OEM messaging."

The media is also heavily covering autonomous vehicle technology and how cars will make decisions based on input from vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) networks. The potential changes to the driving experience hold future opportunity for retailers and installation technicians. 

Celebrating its 20th year, KnowledgeFest will employ its own shift as well. The educational component of the conference will undergo a change from individual classes to three-class courses. Each course is intended to enhance the educational experience with graduated lessons from class to class, as well as a broader view of how the chosen curriculum works within the store structure.  Attendees who complete each course will receive wall certificates marking their achievement.

The "SHIFT" theme is visualized by a classic car gear shifter that also includes a button, presumably to employ nitrous oxide, which propels a vehicle faster by increasing the amount of oxygen available for combustion.  

“The shifter and its nitrous button are the perfect representation of how we need to keep up with opportunities that come from evolution in the vehicle space," concluded Cook. "Shifting gives us more headroom to be able to react to changing market conditions. Then we hit the button and put all of our resources into overdrive."

Registration for KnowledgeFest 2016 is currently open, and attendees will be able to select and reserve space in education courses in the coming weeks. For more information, please visit knowledgefest.org.  

About the Mobile Electronics Association®

The Mobile Electronics Association (MEA) strives to grow the mobile electronics industry by supporting its retailers, salespeople, technicians and manufacturers with integrated services built around the group’s 1100-plus members, its Mobile Electronics® magazine, KnowledgeFest® tradeshows, Partnership Program, point-of-sale system and data products. Through these offerings, Mobile Electronics delivers education, networking avenues, business and marketing resources, and promotes partnership between retailers and manufacturers to increase sales and profits. For more information, contact MEA at 85 Flagship Dr., Suite F, North Andover, MA 01845, telephone: 800-949-6372, or visit join-mea.com.

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.

The Mobile Electronics Retailers Association (MERA), representing more than 1,000 specialist locations nationwide, announced it has acquired In Car Experts (ICE), a Swedesboro, N.J.-based firm that specializes in providing marketing infrastructure and strategic product acquisition services to well-established retail businesses in the in-vehicle technology sector. The acquisition will serve to broaden MERA’s capabilities in providing resources to its members, and to strengthen MERA’s brand within the mobile electronics community.

“The decision to acquire ICE started with a partnership that we announced during CES,” said Chris Cook, president of MERA. “As we discussed the elements of the partnership, we began to see how the benefits our organizations supplied to retailers were complementary. ICE represents the upper echelon of retailers that have demonstrated success on several levels. MERA supplies the proverbial ladder that helps retailers grow to that level of success. At that point, the conversation changed and evolved into the announcement we’re making today.”

As part of the acquisition, ICE will maintain its current operation under the guidance of Jason Denton and Cory Mayo, both of whom have managed the day-to-day operations of the firm for the past few years. Founder and current Executive Director Robert Elliott’s experience and counsel will take on a broader focus with his new position on the MERA Board of Directors. 

“We anticipate that nothing will change for current ICE members and vendor partners during this ownership transition, and for the foreseeable future,” added Cook. “Jason and Cory are accomplished professionals who have met the needs of the membership and are partners in every respect. Our position will be to support them in every way with MERA’s applicable resources, and to help to introduce new products and programs that fit the group.”

One immediate benefit to ICE members is that they automatically become members of MERA as a condition of the acquisition, gaining access to the organization’s sales and marketing support programs, as well as a vastly expanded peer network. In addition, MERA plans to develop a program that coaches its members to meet the requirements of ICE membership.

“We have already identified a number of MERA member businesses we feel are ideal candidates to become part of ICE,” said Cook. “The goal is not to lower the requirements for ICE membership, but rather to build a path by which retailers can raise their performance to a level that makes them eligible.”

ICE was started by former mobile electronics retailer Elliott in 2006. The firm used images of wolves in its initial marketing campaigns to represent the “pack mentality” it felt retailers needed to take to maintain and grow market share and viability in an ever more competitive consumer space. ICE quickly grew, with a selection of retail business that had achieved a certain level of sales success but still needed the benefits offered within an environment of like-minded professionals.

Despite its achievements, ICE made the deliberate decision to maintain a low-key presence in the industry, choosing to focus its efforts internally for the benefit of its membership. The firm currently offers a full suite of programs to develop competitive pricing and marketing advantages for its members.

“ICE was started to provide retailers with proven, enhanced marketing and vendor programs that are only available to retailers when functioning as part of a larger group,” said Elliott. “Over the past eight years, our members have benefitted from better product pricing, marketing support and a close-knit network of successful entrepreneurs sharing best practices. MERA’s acquisition ensures that these benefits will not only continue, but will be expanded and enriched with more resources and new leadership.”

About the Mobile Electronics Retailers Association:

The Mobile Electronics Retailers Association (MERA) strives to grow the mobile electronics industry by supporting its professionals with education, networking opportunities and legislative support. Members include retailers, manufacturers, distributors, manufacturer’s representatives and others who realize professionalism and continuing education are cornerstones for successful business. In addition to numerous member benefits, MERA publishes Mobile Electronics magazine, the premier industry trade resource, and produces KnowledgeFest, the industry’s only trade show and education conference dedicated to mobile electronics professionals. For more information, visit www.merausa.org or call (800) WHY-MERA. 

‘Mobile Electronics Association’ to provide strong branding, kick off membership campaign

NORTH ANDOVER, MASS. – July 6, 2016 – Mobile Electronics® has approved a new name to represent the membership component of its industry offerings. Mobile Electronics Association™ (MEA) and its new logo will stand alongside KnowledgeFest®, the educational element, and the trade publication Mobile Electronics® magazine. In addition, a new website, join-mea.com, will provide retailers and vendors with information on the benefits of membership.
The Mobile Electronics Association is a vertically-integrated association with over 1,100 dealers, installers and manufacturers as its members. MEA provides a forum and voice for the mobile specialist channel and manages shared business resources and solutions for its retail members. In addition, through integration with Mobile Electronics magazine and KnowledgeFest, MEA promotes education and peer networking to advance the professionalism and profitability of the industry.
“In 2014 we officially retired the MERA (Mobile Electronics Retailers Association) brand and consolidated our three entities under the Mobile Electronics corporate brand,” said Chris Cook, president. “And while Mobile Electronics magazine and KnowledgeFest retained strong recognition, the identity of the membership was lost in the shuffle. MEA is a strong identity that also represents a broadened approach to membership.”
MEA will work to include all parts of the mobile electronics industry, welcoming vendors, retailers and service providers as members, while leaving the door open for other service and technology providers that significantly impact the market. The goal of the association is to increase participation and provide a better platform for networking and sharing of information through a diverse membership environment.
The new logo will be presented at the upcoming KnowledgeFest trade show and conference, August 20-22, in Dallas. The association will also launch a new campaign aimed at increasing membership and communicating the benefits of MEA to the mobile electronics industry. For more information, please visit www.join-mea.com.