AV giant takes on premium German brand as it looks to diversify portfolio
GLP has appointed DataVisual Marketing as its new Canadian distributor. The move was formally announced at the recent CITT conference and trade show in Saskatoon and is perfectly timed as DataVisual – with a rich portfolio of traditional AV brands onboard – looks to diversify further into the concert lighting space.
To underpin this move, DataVisual recently appointed Rob Deslauriers as its first vice-president of strategic growth. With a sales background in rental staging and concert touring spanning more than three decades, he says: “I’ve been a part of just about every major entertainment lighting manufacturer throughout my career.”
With his proven strategic vision and GLP’s rich lighting heritage, he sensed the marriage would be a perfect fit. “From my perspective GLP is completely in line with our visual offerings,” he says. “Although everything today is about ‘visual’ rather than pure lighting, this is the first company we’ve represented from a lighting background.
“What excites me about GLP is their commitment to quality and some of the uniqueness of their products which is paramount in the lighting offering. We also had a great conversation with [GLP rental partner] Christie Lites, the largest player in our space, and could immediately see how bright the future would look with GLP in our brand portfolio.”
With bases in Ottawa, Montreal and Calgary, DataVisual has staff “in every major market across the country, with significant backgrounds in lighting, waiting to get started.”
The company itself has wasted no time in launching the brand; following dynamic presentations and demos of the new impression X5 Series and FUSION by GLP at CITT, it will shortly embark on its annual ‘DataVisual on Display’ coast-to-coast roadshow.
As Kensy Jones, DataVisual senior marketing manager, explains: “This is a major undertaking because we make the show bigger and better every year, starting in September and running through to 6 November. With three shows per week, coast to coast, it’s a fun and packed schedule. All our partners become one team for a few months, and it creates a great bond.”
Adds Tyler Wise, GLP director of sales & marketing (Americas): ”In a search to expand our visibility across Canada, DataVisual was a clear leader in customer reach, sales resources and alignment with the values of GLP. The more conversations we had, the more similarities I found in our approach to both sales and customer service. I’m very pleased with this partnership, and I know we will have great success with DataVisual across the territories.”
