In the late ‘70s, Ted Green encountered a customer who wanted to surprise his wife with what we now call a distributed audio system.

"It was my very first ‘custom' installation," explains Green, who now serves as President of consulting group Stratecon. "Like clients today, it was a very important decision, and cost a lot of money for the time. For weeks-on-end," he recalls, "the customer would come in during his lunch hour, pick out equipment, pore over architectural drawings of a remodeling of his home, and discuss exactly what he needed the system to do, all behind his wife's back."

Then D-Day arrived. "The wife was going to be away for two weeks visiting her family," Green relates. "We sprung into action fishing wire through the walls," essentially doing a retrofit installation, although the word wasn't used like that yet. "We were putting in room-by-room switching and controls, converting a huge antique armoire from a wet bar to a system control centre, and installing all of the equipment."

Green and his team finished literally the day before the man's wife was to return, and he was there for the "reveal." The husband asked Green to meet them at the house so he could teach her how to use the system (He told her Green was there delivering some papers from his office.). But first, he wanted to surprise her.

The man walked his wife into the kitchen, ostensibly to show her the mail that had piled up while she was gone. While she looked through the pile, he said "Let me show you something." With that, he walked over to a volume control on a wall plate that she hadn't even noticed and turned up the volume on her favourite song.

She hadn't been paying attention, but when she heard the music playing, she turned around. "That look of astonishment, with a small smile turning into a big grin, and a look that was equal parts confusion (what's that?) and wonder and amazement...I will never forget it.

"That is what hooked me on this business," Green reminisces. "It was her ‘wow' moment, but it was also mine."

Ted Green's first ‘custom' installation back in the ‘70s was for a man who wanted to surprise his wife with a distributed audio system. "The look of astonishment...a look that was equal parts confusion: what's that? With wonder and amazement. I will never forget it. That is what hooked me on this business."

Why ‘Wow'?

In recent years, much has been said about the need for custom channel veterans to differentiate themselves from retail. In order to not only survive, but prosper, custom dealers need to make it abundantly clear to clients what they can offer above and beyond ever-evolving big box stores.

Central to differentiating from the mass market is the idea of the "Wow Factor." That is, the idea of presenting the client with something he's always wanted and "has to have;" often times when he didn't even know he wanted it.

Why do dealers need "wow?" According to Saxe Brickenden, President of Evolution Home Entertainment Corp, "without the ‘wow,' the sales consultant/system designer is largely reactive. The client sets the guidelines, budget, et cetera. But with the ‘wow,' you as a dealer take control of the sale."

The reason for that is elementary: The budget goes up with the words: "Wow! What would it cost to put that in our place?" At that point, argues Brickenden, you no longer need to rely so heavily on the credibility of your referral. "The client will now take your recommendation with less detailed scrutiny, and most important, less price shopping, because clearly you know your stuff."

What's the main "wow" factor that seals the deal? It's different for every end user, according to experts, including Crestron's Director of Marketing Vincent Bruno. "But it's that one thing that makes the customer say ‘I get it,' and more importantly, ‘I want it,'" he explains. "I heard recently about one of our dealers," he adds, "who had tremendous success using the iPad as a demonstration tool: connecting it to a programmer's home system and showing what a Crestron system can do." Jeff Haynes, Sales Manager for video vendor Zektor, agrees. Getting that "wow" out of the client, he declares, "is Business 101: listen to them telling you what they want."

But how does a dealer determine what the "wow" might be for a particular client? According to Bruno, this can be achieved by listening to how much a customer knows, and learning about the good and bad experiences he's had, or has heard about. Showing him how cool a user interface can look, and how easy it can be to use, can be all that it takes. And while it's critical that dealers understand the technology, it's important to talk to clients about what a system can do, not focus on how it does it.

Using DigitalMedia as an example, Bruno explains that "DigitalMedia solves the problems related to HDMI and HDCP, but clients don't need to know that. They just need to know that with DigitalMedia, their displays aren't going to go black at the wrong time and the signal will always look good." After that, dealers can put together an intelligent bid that delivers what the customer is looking for, and demonstrate options for additional functionality as well.

Getting the ‘Wow' Factor Today

In order to know where we're going, we need to know where we've been. We've already heard Green's story related to distributed audio. And Marketnews asked a few other industry veterans for their observations and experiences.

Audio/Video

Des Young, Manager of Barrie ON's Bravo Comm, has quite a laundry list of "wow" factor trends, although he believes that his perception might differ from the mainstream.

For Young and his team, a long-time "wow" has been acoustically transparent projection screens. "The client sees one in action and says ‘I get a big image and don't see any equipment? When can you start?!'" he muses. Young believes that gives this product category a huge "wow," factor, and wonders why it isn't embraced more by his competitors. So what screens does he endorse? Screen Excellence and Screen Research, followed by Draper. "Solid screens are a total drag in my opinion," he adds, "despite what Joe Kane and Don Stewart say."

Stewart Filmscreen's CineCurve system consists of a curved aluminum frame and left and right electronic masking panels that glide to make for a perfect viewing area based on the video's ideal aspect ratio. It's specifications reach to an aspect ratio as wide as 2:40:1.

Anamorphic video, also known as Cinemascope, has also become a big deal for many dealers, including Bravo Comm. This allows for seamlessly switching from a 16:9 (or even 4:3) aspect ratio to full-screen 2:35:1. "Elimination of those black bars definitely causes the client to say ‘wow.' You can't get that from a 60" flat-panel TV!" Young notes. (Note this isn't entirely true, since Vizio does make a 2:35:1 sized flat-panel.)

According to custom channel experts, the demo, both for audio and video, is becoming more important for creating that "wow" factor. Young is one of those guys who's never abandoned a killer demo, and shares what works on his clients. "First, HDTV and sports. Nothing beats Augusta National for the splendor of HDTV." In typical Young fashion, he exclaims, "your clients wont say ‘wow,' they'll say OMFG!" (For those not hip to the lates social networking lingo, that's an acronym for "Oh My F&*% God," typically used as an expression of great excitement or shock.)

Brickenden agrees that the video demo is integral to generating that jaw-dropped reaction. "Despite my love of audio," he explains, "it's a longer sale. A powerful video demo leads to smoother acceptance in everything downstream."

Young's passion for Cinemascope is echoed by Steve Davidson, Director of Finance for The Rep Company. "I think some of the coolest "wow" presentations we have worked with recently are the interface masking systems that link with the action of an anamorphic lens."

Davidson explains that motorized anamorphic sled systems have the interface capability to control screen masking through the 12V trigger such that when the lens is motorized into position the screen masking automatically opens up to reveal the 2.35:1 screen. Likewise, it masks down to a 1.78:1 when the lens is motorized out of position, to watch HD TV (16:9 content).

"We have worked with systems that are contact control based," Davidson adds, "such that when you open the door to the theatre area, the lights begin to dim, screen comes down, and projector fires up to set the ‘mood' before the source begins. Subsequently, using a macro to time delay the full dimming of the lights so that everyone can get seated, allowing for the projector lamp to come to full brightness, and then complete the room dimming process while the opening credits prompt the beginning of the movie; this is the literal reality of ‘home theatre'".

Davidson also enthuses about Stewart screen systems that rise out of the floor rather that dropping down from the ceiling. "For cathedral ceilings that would require far too much black drop at the top of the image, we opened a trap door in the floor, that was finished as part of the hardwood flooring. With a remote system, we raised the screen out of the floor to the desired viewing position, just as a flat panel lift would behave when rising out of a cabinet." Once the screen retracts, the flooring hinges back into place leaving the room "stealthily".

Another notable installation, recalls Davidson, was that of a 110" piece of Stewart Starglas that was installed into the wall of a pool cabana along with a rear projector system. With this, the client was able to sit outside in the middle of the day or evening and watch "plasma" quality images without having to worry about ambient light. The projector is protected within the cabana (which offers a no light pollution environment, so that the image is pristine regardless of weather conditions or time of year.)

One of the most notable installations The Rep Company was involved in, according to Steve Davidson, Director of Finance, saw a flat-panel installed beneath the trap door of a floor. With a remote system, the screen was raised to the desired viewing position, then retracted as the floor hinges were put back in place.

Sounds Designs, a high-end dealer in downtown Toronto, adds invisible speakers and the Sonos music systems to the "wow" list. Young agrees with the idea of "hidden" technologies generating a lot of "wow." He believes that hidden installations, and getting the bulk of equipment out of the room, can be a huge selling factor. "The majority of the buying public has no clue that you can do this, as they have been conditioned by the mainstream over the years to have a nice big old piece of furniture housing the A/V gear under the TV," he declares. The fact remains that many end users may enjoy technology, but don't want to have to look at it. "Hanging a flat panel TV and then having a big piece of furniture crammed with gear eliminates all the advantages of a flat panel."

Young also points to in-wall subwoofers as another area that can impress a client. "Eliminating the enclosure means you can use more of them and place them correctly within the décor. Definitely ‘wow' here should you decide to go this route."

Sheree Aguire is General Sales Manager for lift manufacturer Inca. In her view, Inca, and the category of motorized lifts as a whole, is all about the "wow" factor. "With a push of a button," she explains, "you can take any size flat panel, bring it out of hiding, and swivel it into the perfect viewing position." Aguire doesn't hesitate to mention that Inca has lifts that can hide a flat panel in the floor, wall, cabinet or ceiling. "Just imagine a 70" flat panel folding out of the ceiling," she enthuses, "or a 103" flat panel coming out of the floor, then swiveling in your direction!" Her parting advice to integration dealers? "Let your imagination run wild."

With motorized lifts like those from Inca, a customer can bring a flat panel TV out of hiding, whether in a wall, ceiling, piece or furniture, or even the floor, then swivel it into the perfect viewing position.