
NAB 2019 Reflections: Adorama's John Kaloukian and Chris Dunne Emphasize a Client-Centric Approach The company's revamped strategy focuses on vertical, including sports By Kristian Hernandez, Assistant Editor
Thursday, April 18, 2019 - 10:36 am
Print This Story
Story Highlights
For more than 35 years, Adorama Business Solutions has been serving the sports community with a wide array of products, services, consultation, and much more. As a corporation that specializes in multiple facets, the company is in an advantageous situation to have a long-lasting impact on the industry. At NAB 2019, John Kaloukian, SVP, sales, Adorama, and Chris Dunne, senior marketing manager, Adorama, offered SVG a look into the redesign of the company's business priorities, recent partnerships that are educating the next wave of live-event-production professionals, and how it is differentiating itself from a typical consumer-electronics provider.
How has your business model transformed to better align with the goals that Adorama wants to accomplish in the sports market?
JK: We are in year two of our three-year strategy that we put together. Adorama had a division for many years without an identity and purpose that did well at serving customers transactionally. [To solve this,] I brought my experience from working with Sony and the ability to focus on verticals. We started to develop our verticals, and one of them was sports. That allows us to focus on traditional markets that we serve pretty well while also diversifying ourselves.
One of the key aspects of our value proposition is consultative sales by managing one-on-one relationships. So, after putting a strategy together, we started hiring focused sales people that would develop relationships with clients. In the past, Adorama did specials every day with these email lists being created by a really good marketing group. [The lists] were being blasted to everyone and anyone who did business with the company. [After some time], we decided that we didn't want someone in sports to hear about something that had no relevance to him.
[Adorama owner/CEO Mendel Mendlowits] suppressed the B2B managed relationships that we have from that master machine. Chris was instrumental in developing relevant messaging. Now I have dedicated account managers involved in sports that are reaching out to clients, so, when the appropriate and relevant product comes along, we make sure it'll be a one-to-one message going out to them.
Are there any recent relationships that Adorama has recently benefited from?
JK: Madison Technical College is an educational customer that came to us with a need. They wanted to build a studio and didn't know where to begin. As part of the buildout of our organization, I hired someone that focuses on technical services and comes from the industry. He was able to understand what the customer was trying to accomplish and design a solution for them. We also installed it for them. We became a turnkey solution for [the school].
CD: They knew roughly what they wanted to accomplish, but they didn't know how to get there within their budget and their product ideas. We're able to go to the manufacturers and test out kits for customers, [which] saves time when [the product] gets onsite. When it arrives onsite, we're there to make sure everything that was designed - the lighting, the cameras - is as it should be. We also did some customized training courses for some of the instructors that weren't technical. We offer [classes] for every client. They can be large or small clients, and we can train them on a specific camera or an entire system. We were able to teach [the instructors] in order to teach the students
How is Adorama leveraging NAB 2019 to cultivate business relationships?
CD: With the sales and marketing approach at the booth, we're highlighting content more than products because we have well-known [clients] in the industry that are talking about subjects that they're experts in. That's added value for customers because they're coming here to learn. What they're going to go on and purchase is immaterial to us.
JK: [We're] taking that value proposition and what we're doing with our clients and translating it to [our booth on] the show floor. The intention of our booth is to make it more welcoming and a place where people can come visit to discuss or consult their needs with us in order to provide solutions. From a value-added reseller, we carry over 2,200 brands. We don't want to be a transactional company. We used to be based solely on a price-first [approach], but, instead of focusing on the product, we're concentrated on the client. That's the biggest takeaway.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
11/08/2026
Weekly immersive broadcasts will feature 8K 3D video, a 180-degree field of view...
11/08/2026
By Briana Brady, Social Media Manager, Production Hub
Sports content is having ...
11/08/2026
She addresses why media organizations need more than asset storage, how sports t...
11/08/2026
Remote commentary has improved significantly on these broadcasts
At a clip of ...
11/08/2026
A pair of LANTIME IMS M2000 PTP Grandmasters deliver resilient timing infrastruc...
11/08/2026
LTN has announced expanded capabilities for its Live Event Master Control offering, providing sports broadcasters, leagues, rights holders, and content owners w...
11/08/2026
WTA Ventures has appointed IMG as its managed production services partner in a multi-year agreement commencing with the 2027 season. The partnership is the late...
11/08/2026
The New York Jets and CBS New York have agreed to a multi-year extension of their partnership, keeping CBS New York as the official broadcast home of the team. ...
11/08/2026
Nielsen Holdings and DoubleVerify have announced a definitive agreement under which Nielsen will acquire DoubleVerify in an all-cash transaction with an enterpr...
11/08/2026
The Audio Engineering Society has announced the results of its 2026 Board of Dir...
11/08/2026
The CSN co-founder details its network and affiliate' model, how creator wi...
11/08/2026
Gravity Media is providing host broadcast operations for the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026, supporting ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) in delivering the tournament to glo...
11/08/2026
TAG Video Systems has released a memory usage optimization for its MCM software that reduces the cost per channel by up to two-thirds for compressed workflows. ...
11/08/2026
SMT is expanding its technology partnership with the Cincinnati Open this year, adding new LED displays, production capabilities, and fan-facing experiences at ...
11/08/2026
The Pac-12 has announced that home Olympic sports broadcasts throughout the fall season will be available free on the conference's YouTube channel at youtub...
11/08/2026
Spreading a message of faith requires both widespread accessibility and uncompromising visual quality. Real Life Network (RLN), a free, faith-based digital stre...
11/08/2026
Taking the synergy of sports and entertainment a step further, the NFL venue in Nashville will house iterations of two iconic music clubs
The marriage of Taylo...
11/08/2026
Free library captures pro classical string section
There's no shortage of freebies in The Crow Hill Company's line-up, with their Vaults series offe...
11/08/2026
Percussion instrument introduces all-new engine
Emergence Audio have just introduced a instrument that brings together a vast collection of percussive analo...
11/08/2026
Introduces new all-in-one Spatial Panner tool
Boris FX have recently announced the latest major update for their mastering and broadcast-focused DAW softwar...
11/08/2026
Rohde & Schwarz installs millimeter wave security scanners at Airports of Thaila...
11/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/08/2026
farmerswife and Cirkus will return to IBC 2026 to showcase new tools designed to help broadcast, media and post-production teams manage workflows with greater s...
11/08/2026
LiveUs LU900Q intelligent production unit played a central role in the host broadcast operation for the Games in Glasgow (July 23 to August 2, 2026). The host b...
11/08/2026
Jigsaw24 has appointed James Morse as Client Director, Media Sales, as it deepens its focus on sports, live events and integrated production. His appointment co...
11/08/2026
Net Insight today announced that DMC Production Norway has selected its Open Live Media solution to centralize the production of Blinkfestivalen 2026. Combining...
11/08/2026
Modular HEVC and JPEG XS workflows enabled resilient, ultra-low-latency delivery for leading linear and digital media platforms across all 104 matches
Appear A...
11/08/2026
Homecoming Artist Spotlight: Fabiola M ndez The first cuatrista to graduate from Berklee talks about the community that shaped her career ahead of her Homecom...
11/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced Dalet Solution Suites, a new portfolio of cloud-native solutions ...
11/08/2026
Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, will showcase how media companies can prep...
11/08/2026
Transforming your audience into advocates with Kelsey Gamble 10 August 2026
Building community, harnessing fandom for marketing and activating the four stages ...
11/08/2026
Whether gamers are looking for high-octane action or a laid-back afternoon, Appl...
11/08/2026
Hosts D ith S and Kathryn Thomas rose to the occasion on Tuesday (August 11)...
11/08/2026
Every new generation of accelerated computing demands more from the infrastructure underneath it - more compute performance, higher rack density and more effici...
11/08/2026
A Day in May airs Wednesday 12 August at 9.35pm RT One and RT Player
A Day in May revisits the people and stories behind Ireland's historic marriage equa...
11/08/2026
As AI shifts from chatbots to autonomous agents, open models are serving market ...
11/08/2026
The open source ecosystem is making it easier for AI enthusiasts and developers to build, customize and run increasingly capable agents locally.
Throughout Au...
10/08/2026
Weekly immersive broadcasts will feature 8K 3D video, a 180-degree field of view...
10/08/2026
Saturation plug-in free until 20 August 2026
fedDSP have announced the launch of Raiju, a new guitar pedal-style saturation plug-in that's capable of de...
10/08/2026
New mix-comparison & feedback tool
Independent Swedish record label I/O Music have recently released a handy new tool that provides artists, engineers, prod...
10/08/2026
Additive soft synth gains free counterpart
Sound Radix have just released a free monophonic additive software synth that's based on the same engine as t...
10/08/2026
Chroma integrates MXO oscilloscopes into ATS 8000 platform, rounding out its hig...