FutureTech Featuring Elation - lighting the way forward

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All right.
Welcome back to Geezers of Gear

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Future Tech.
I'm Chris.

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And as always, I'm joined by
Lacey.

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Today, we're diving into
Elation's brand new digital

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presence.
Laci, have you had a chance to

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poke around the new Elation
Lighting website yet?

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Oh, absolutely.
I actually spent a good chunk of

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last night on it prepping for a
summer festival lineup.

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And Chris, I got to say, it's a
whole different vibe now.

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The homepage just pops, there's
video everywhere.

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And it's not just the usual
product glamour shots, you can

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actually see the fixtures in
action, which is super helpful

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for someone like me who you know
doesn't always know the

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difference between a profile and
a wash at first glance.

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Yeah, it's a real shift, isn't
it?

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I mean, Elations always had a
solid product line up, but the

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old site was, let's be honest, a
bit of a maze.

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Now it's all about that user
focused navigation.

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You can filter by product,
category, series or even just

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search for a specific feature.
I also noticed that the website

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now features a brand new AI
support agent.

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Yeah, whether you're looking for
product specs, need help with

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compatibility, or just have a
quick question about one of

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their fixtures, the AI Chat
Assistant is there for you 24/7.

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It's fast, reliable, and
designed to help lighting pros

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like you get the answers you
need anytime day or night.

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It's like having a tech Rep in
your pocket whenever you need

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one.
And the new website is quick.

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On desktop it's super
responsive, but I also tried it

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on my phone backstage last week
and it was just as smooth.

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They've really nailed the mobile
experience, which, let's face

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it, is where a lot of us are
doing our research these days.

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Totally.
And I noticed they've got this

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big resources section now,
Learning Center, white papers,

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all that, but we'll get to that
in a bit.

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For now, I just love that you
can actually find what you need

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without 20 clicks and a prayer.
It's a big step up from what

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we're used to in this industry.
Absolutely, and it's just the

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first phase.
Apparently they're talking about

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multi language support and
region specific content down the

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line.
So it's only going to get

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better.
But let's talk about what's

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behind all this.
Elation's evolution as a

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company.
So Elation's not just a lighting

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company anymore, right?
They've gone from this

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grassroots operation to a global
tech leader.

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I remember back in the day I was
touring with Auk band.

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Can't remember if it was 98 or
99, but anyway, we had some of

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Elation's early fixtures.
They were solid, but nothing

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like the suite they've got now.
You've got Obsidian control

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systems for lighting control,
Magmatic for effects.

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It's a whole ecosystem.
Yeah, and that new resources

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section you mentioned, it's a
game changer for folks like me.

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The Learning Center has these
bite sized training videos and

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the white papers actually
breakdown the tech in plain

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English.
I was reading one about IP

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ratings.
I wanted to understand what all

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those numbers meant.
It's nice to have that info

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right there instead of hunting
through forms or, you know,

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bugging you for the 100th time.
Ha, no, I love it.

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And honestly, that's what's so
impressive about this new

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direction.
They're not just selling gear,

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they're supporting the whole
industry, from the seasoned LDS

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to the folks just getting
started.

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The support portal, warranty
info, even parts diagrams, it's

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all there.
And for dealers and

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distributors, it's a proper tool
kit.

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It feels like they're really
trying to make life easier for

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everyone, not just the big
names.

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It's cool to see Elation putting
that same energy into digital

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resources.
It's all about making the tech

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more accessible, right?
Exactly.

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And with the IT modernization,
they're rolling out PMERP

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systems, all that back end
stuff, it's going to streamline

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things even more.
But at the heart of it, it's

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about innovation and making sure
the end user, whether that's a

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designer, a rental house, or
Someone Like You prepping a

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festival, has what they need.
Which brings us to Elation's new

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vision and values.
Because that's really what's

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driving all these changes.
So Elations just rolled out this

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refreshed vision, mission and
set of core values.

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And it's not just corporate
fluff, they're actually putting

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it into practice.
Their vision is all about

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transforming lighting in
entertainment and beyond,

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leading in design, versatility
and sustainability, And the

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mission?
Inspiring show creators and

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audiences by pushing boundaries
with engineering and service.

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It's ambitious, but you can see
it in the way they're operating

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now.
Yeah, I was reading through

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their values, Never settle,
details rule.

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Keep it simple, be people 1st
and trust our teams.

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It's a lot, but it actually
makes sense when you look at how

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they're rolling out these
changes like never settle.

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That's pretty clear in the way
they keep updating their

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products in the website and
details rule.

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I mean you can tell they're
obsessing over the user

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experience, not just the tech
specs.

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Absolutely, I've seen it first
hand.

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I was on a project last year,
big outdoor show, lots of moving

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parts.
We used elation fixtures and the

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attention to detail, from the
build quality to the support

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materials made a massive
difference.

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It's that details rule mindset
and be people first.

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You feel it when you call their
support line.

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It's not just about fixing a
problem, it's about making sure

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you're looked after.
That's rare in this business.

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It really is, and I think that
brand promise stuff, delivering

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the extraordinary, it actually
means something when you're on

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the ground at a live event.
Like if a company's values are

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about empathy and collaboration,
you feel it in the way they

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treat you.
Whether you're a big designer or

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just someone running
hospitality, it sets the tone

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for the whole experience.
Yeah, and it's not just about

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the gear anymore.
It's about the whole journey

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from the first time you hit
their website to the moment

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you're packing up after a show.
If a company's living its

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values, it shows up everywhere,
and I think Elation's really

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trying to lead by example here.
It'll be interesting to see how

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that shapes the industry going
forward.

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Definitely.
I'm excited to see what's next,

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especially as they keep rolling
out new features and resources.

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Maybe we'll even get a sneak
peek at that new ERP system in a

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future episode, Who knows?
We'll keep our eyes peeled,

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that's for sure.
All right, that's it for today's

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episode of Geezers of Gear
Future Tech Thanks for tuning

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in.
And as always, Lacey, it's been

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a pleasure.
Always a blast Chris.

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Thanks everyone for listening.
Catch you next time.

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Music to your ears.
Hey, hey, hey.

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Let's go.
New gear vibes, new tech jive

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gearheads unite.
We keep it live.

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Oh yeah, the Lunar's gear, the
Leaders gear.

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We got it here, Got it here.