Powering ‘The Experience Engine’

Las Vegas, NV (June 18, 2026)—The use of displays, digital signage, AV content and more to create immersive visitor experiences in museums, gaming facilities and more is exploding, creating both opportunities and challenges for venues. With that in mind, Wednesday’s “The Experience Engine: How AV is Driving Engagement and Revenue in Entertainment Venues” panel at the InfoComm Vision Stage explored how the segment has evolved, its current-day needs and what future might bring.

Presented by the Digital Signage Federation, the panel was moderated by Megan Zeller, Sr. Director Business Development, Bespoke Mounting Systems at Peerless-AV, and featured panelists Tom Fanger, VP, Multimedia at MGM Las Vegas; Kevin Reilly, Director of Entertainment Operations at Mohegan Sun Casino; Erica Neal, Managing Director of Technology at the upcoming Lucas Museum of Narrative Art; and Danny Inukai, CIO of the Natural History Museum Los Angeles.

The public’s expectations of signage have changed, said Neal, noting, “People want to be engaged and feel this anticipation of seeing something; instead of having just like a regular sign that says, ‘enter here,’ they want to know what they’re getting into, so they are looking to see something more visually pleasing, something where it’s more of a story.”

A tightly managed CMS and hardware approach is crucial in order to simplify and standardize as many aspects as possible. Fanger recalled, “When I first started in this business…we had two-dozen content management systems out there, and the logistics of getting a single piece of content into those systems and up on those screens was a nightmare…so initially [our approach] was ‘Let’s standardize it.’”

Inukai seconded the importance of standardizing to specific equipment, noting that it aids training, is more cost effective due to bulk purchasing, and easier to administer. “We’re the ones that actually have to maintain systems, and if we have to train staff to maintain different technology stacks, it just makes life immensely harder,” he said. “100% standardization makes our lives easier in the long run.”

Kevin Reilly described some of the challenges Mohegan Sun faces as it prepares for a $30 million renovation of its arena, but noted that it’s crucial to keep sight of the desired end result. “Take a step back and look at what the big picture is,” he advised. “We had an hour-long conversation in a meeting with 15 people about a sign on a column. To look at the big picture is to step back and say, ‘What’s the guest experience going to be as you come in? Do I really need to have a sign here, or did I miss this experience? Should we have a really big sign, or something else?’ Take that step back, look at the overall thing, look at ‘what am I doing and what is the customer experience going to be.’”