Diversified has appointed Tyler Affolter as chief revenue officer, a move aimed at accelerating growth as demand rises for integrated media, enterprise AV and digital experience environments.

In the newly created role, Affolter will lead the company’s global commercial organization, overseeing revenue strategy across its media, collaboration, and digital signage businesses while expanding further into broadcast and experiential AV. He will also work to align go-to-market efforts with Diversified’s engineering, delivery, and managed services capabilities.

The appointment reflects a broader industry shift toward more connected, media-rich environments, where organizations are combining broadcast-grade production, workplace collaboration, and digital engagement platforms into unified systems.

Affolter brings more than 20 years of enterprise revenue leadership experience, most recently at NTT Data, where he led a global practice spanning product development, delivery, and transformation. He has also held senior roles at Verizon Business, Lumen Technologies, and AT&T.

CEO Paul Lidsky said the move aligns with evolving client expectations for partners that can support increasingly complex, mission-critical environments. Affolter, meanwhile, pointed to an opportunity to combine commercial focus with technical depth and lifecycle services as Diversified scales its global model.

The hire comes as Diversified continues to position itself around large-scale, integrated deployments that connect content, communication and experience across enterprise, media and public-sector environments.

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Ocean Outdoor UK is launching a new immersive digital out-of-home format designed to shift audience interaction from passive viewing to active participation.

Called Ocean Portal, the freestanding installation debuts this week at Battersea Power Station in London, where it is being used for a bespoke entertainment showcase developed by Ocean Studio. The launch activation includes an interactive game that challenges participants to jump across melting ice blocks, using motion tracking and audio to drive engagement.

The format is built as a walk-in, half-cube structure measuring roughly 4.5 by 3 meters (14.8 by 9.8 feet), with five LED surfaces including a digital floor. Interior and exterior screens combine with real-time tracking, mixed reality, and Ocean’s DeepScreen 3D capability to create an enclosed, responsive environment. The LED displays are supplied by LED Studio, using Glue-on-Board-technology and a 2.6 millimeter pixelpitch.

Ocean Labs has integrated Lidar and structured light sensors to capture audience movement, allowing content to react instantly to individual gestures and group behavior. The system runs on gaming and virtual production platforms, including Unreal Engine and Unity, reflecting a broader convergence between DooH, gaming, and film production technologies.

Ocean is positioning the Portal as both a standalone activation unit and a shared advertising platform. Brands can either commission exclusive installations or participate in scheduled rotations at high-traffic indoor locations such as retail centers, transport hubs, and event venues. Interaction data can be analyzed post-campaign and extended into social media content.

CEO Nick Shaw described the format as part of a wider shift in how DooH environments are conceived. “Rather than asking audiences to stop and look, the Portal invites them to step inside, becoming active participants,” he said, adding that the system combines physical space, premium screen inventory and real-time production into a single hybrid platform.

The modular structure can be reconfigured for different environments and supports heavier loads, opening the door to product-based activations alongside digital content. Ocean says the unit can also be deployed for touring concepts across multiple locations.

The UK rollout follows Ocean’s earlier introduction of its outdoor “Showcase” format, with the Portal now extending the company’s experiential DooH strategy into indoor, high-footfall environments. The format is also being made available in Germany.

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Aldi is accelerating its London growth with a £40 million (about US$51 million) investment that will see eight new stores open across the capital this year, alongside upgrades to existing sites.

The expansion is focused on areas where access to lower-cost grocery options remains limited, with planned locations in Greater London and additional sites in nearby commuter towns.

The move reflects continued pressure on household budgets, with the retailer positioning new sites as a way to offer cheaper alternatives to convenience stores and full-price supermarkets in parts of Greater London.

As part of the rollout, existing stores in Enfield and Kilburn will also be refurbished, extending Aldi’s footprint while modernizing parts of its current portfolio.

The London investment forms part of a wider UK expansion program valued at more than £370 million (about US$475 million) this year, as the discounter continues to scale its presence in one of Europe’s most competitive grocery markets.

Aldi said the eight-store plan is expected to create several hundred jobs across the capital area. 

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Dr. Seuss Enterprises and the Jane Goodall Institute USA have launched a joint Earth Day campaign featuring a national mix of out-of-home (OoH), digital out-of-home (DooH), and social media activations focused on forest restoration and wildlife protection.

The campaign pairs The Lorax with Jane Goodall in a creative that places the two figures in a shared forest setting, bridging environmental storytelling with real-world conservation work. The initiative rolled out on April 19, ahead of Earth Day on April 22, and runs through early May.

Large-format placements include high-profile screens in Times Square, along with sites across Los Angeles, such as The Grove, Sunset Strip, and Hollywood & Roosevelt, and are supported by additional billboard inventory and digital media buys in major markets.

Alongside the media rollout, the campaign leans heavily on social engagement. A Lorax-themed mustache filter encourages user-generated content, with Dr. Seuss Enterprises pledging to donate $1 to the institute for each use tied to a campaign hashtag. The effort is supported by paid and organic influencer activity, as well as broader press outreach.

The collaboration pairs familiar cultural IP with environmental advocacy, using DooH’s visibility in landmark locations to amplify messaging and link it to measurable participation via social channels and micro-donations.

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Australian consumer electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi is rolling out the Broadsign platform to support the expansion of its retail media network (RMN) across more than 200 stores nationwide.

With Broadsign’s platform, which already serves around 2.8 million OoH assets, JB Hi-Fi will gain a unified system for both content management and ad sales. The platform offers tools for real-time inventory availability, ad serving, and campaign reporting, helping the retailer streamline operations and improve ad delivery in its physical stores.

The setup also includes an open API, enabling integration with existing retail systems and third-party platforms. JB Hi-Fi plans to use this to connect its network to omnichannel RMN platforms such as Retail Media Works and Criteo.

“We’re seeing strong interest in retail media from advertisers and brands who want to reach local audiences where purchase intent is high,” says Gary Siewert, Director of Marketing and e-commerce, JB Hi-Fi. “We already had the screens to deliver in-store, and now with Broadsign, we have access to the same advertising toolset that major media owners use, and the ability to scale.”

“As Australia’s leading consumer electronics retailer, JB Hi-Fi is home to some of the world’s biggest brands,” says Ben Allman, Regional VP of Platform Sales at Broadsign. “By partnering with best-in-class solutions such as Broadsign, JB Hi-Fi are not only maximizing the potential of their retail media network, they’re setting the strongest possible foundation for themselves in an increasingly competitive space.”

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Driven in part by the current U.S. administration, the global AI ecosystem is increasingly dividing into two camps: U.S.-dominated platforms and AI Made in China. Washington is urging its allies to choose sides. While U.S. platforms and models remain more widely known, Chinese alternatives – such as Open Claw and others – are not far behind technologically. Even so, AI Made in China remains a hard sell in Europe, North America, and much of the Middle East.

That does not mean Chinese AI is excluded altogether. Several workarounds are gaining traction – some not entirely aligned with U.S. policy, but increasingly popular in the digital signage industry outside Europe. One approach is AI Edge in a Box. Still largely unknown in the West, Chinese manufacturers are offering turnkey AI edge solutions that operate entirely on‑premise. By processing data locally, these systems aim to ease concerns about connections to Chinese AI servers.

Less elegant, but far more scalable, are offerings from China’s globally active hyperscalers. These companies are investing heavily in data centers across Southeast Asia. On paper, this creates AI deployments that are no longer located in China – yet still rely on powerful and significantly lower‑cost Chinese large language models. For many customers, this distinction is sufficient.

Ultimately, integrators and end users must decide whether such solutions are appropriate for a given project. At InfoComm China, we talked to several integrators reporting very positive experiences with Chinese AI edge solutions in digital signage applications. For them, performance, cost efficiency, and local deployment matter more than the geopolitical label attached to the technology.

• Appointment: Diversified names Tyler Affolter CRO
• London: Ocean Rolls out Walk-in DooH ‘Portal’ at Battersea
• Retail: Aldi Targets London Gaps with Store Growth
• Campaigns: Dr. Seuss’ Lorax, Goodall Lead Earth Day DooH Campaign
• Retail Media: JB Hi-Fi Connects 200+ Stores with Broadsign

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The Digital Signage Summit (DSS) 2026 will kick off on May 20–21 at the Hilton Munich Airport with a forward-looking keynote and an in-depth orchestration spotlight, setting the tone for this year’s central theme: NextGen Signage – the fundamental re-calibration of the global digital signage sector.

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Setting the Stage: What is NextGen Signage?

In the opening keynote, Florian Rotberg and Stefan Schieker will outline a fundamental shift currently reshaping the industry: digital signage is no longer a standalone platform.

Instead, the sector is entering a new phase where:

• The boundaries between signage and other communication channels are dissolving
• AI and data are becoming the connective tissue across all platforms

This convergence is transforming how organizations design and operate their communication ecosystems. The result is a significantly more user-friendly experience, enabling consistency across channels with far less complexity.

Yet, alongside these opportunities comes a critical strategic question: Who controls the orchestration layer?

As signage becomes increasingly integrated, the debate intensifies – will it evolve into just another feature within a broader ecosystem, or will it emerge as the central interface for digital communication?

The Orchestration Spotlight

Building directly on the keynote, Rotberg and Schieker will transition into the Orchestration Spotlight, bringing a group of industry experts onto the stage to explore how this transformation plays out in practice.

This interactive session will examine how orchestration spans the entire signage value chain, including: platforms and software ecosystems, data integration and AI-driven decision-making, hardware infrastructure, and operational workflows.

The spotlight will showcase how leading organizations are already implementing seamless orchestration – connecting content, systems, and real-time data into cohesive and scalable networks.

Some of the speakers include:

• Peter Critchley, UK CEO – Trison
• Jeffrey Weitzman, CEO – Navori
• Mauro Inzerillo, Group CIO – M-Cube Spa
• Michael Shoham, CEO – Radix
• Brian Selman, VP North America – SignageOS
• Magdalena Bogatinovska, Customer Success Manager – Visionect/Joan      
• Raimund Bau, CEO – Verve
• Jan Schoenmakers, Managing Director – Hase & Igel
• Stephen Glancey, Digital Experience Practice Leader – Diversified         
• Johan Lind, CEO – Vertiseit

A Defining Moment for the Industry

With its focus on convergence, AI, and control layers, the opening of DSS Europe 2026 positions NextGen Signage not just as a trend, but as a defining shift for the entire industry.

The keynote and orchestration spotlight promise to deliver both strategic perspective and practical guidance – setting the agenda for two days of discussion, innovation, and networking in Munich.

Watch this video for impressions of last year’s DSS:

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Ströer has announced a significant restructuring of its Management Board, marked by the early departure of Co-CEO Christian Schmalzl, who stepped down from his mandate on March 31, 2026. Schmalzl had originally been expected to remain in office until 2028.

The German out-of-home (OOH) market leader cites a simplification of its executive structure as the driver behind the leadership changes. In line with this objective, Ströer is abandoning its co-CEO model and expanding the role of Chief Financial Officer into a combined CFO/COO position.

Founder Udo Müller will lead the company as sole CEO going forward. He will be responsible for both the operational core of the business and its strategic development during what Ströer describes as a key transformation phase. The company said the changes are intended to bring decision-making and execution closer together, accelerate internal processes, and support its transition toward a more platform-oriented business model, while further strengthening its core advertising and media operations.

“After several successful years with a co-CEO structure, we are bringing responsibilities on the Management Board back together more closely,” Müller said. “With the new structure, we are creating the conditions to steer Ströer more quickly, more focused, and more effectively in the next phase of its development.”

In a further personnel change, CFO Henning Gieseke will leave the company on June 4, 2026. Ströer is currently in the process of appointing a successor who will take on the consolidated CFO/COO role. The expanded position will integrate financial oversight with operational responsibility, including the development of the company’s operating model as well as its process and systems architecture.

To strengthen its finance organisation, Ströer is also introducing a new Group Finance Director role. Bastian Keller, previously Head of Controlling, will assume the position.

The company thanked both Schmalzl and Gieseke for their contributions, noting their role in shaping Ströer’s development in recent years.

• Appointment: Diversified names Tyler Affolter CRO
• London: Ocean Rolls out Walk-in DooH ‘Portal’ at Battersea
• Retail: Aldi Targets London Gaps with Store Growth
• Campaigns: Dr. Seuss’ Lorax, Goodall Lead Earth Day DooH Campaign
• Retail Media: JB Hi-Fi Connects 200+ Stores with Broadsign

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Visual Art is continuing to expand its national retail media network in Sweden, launched earlier this year. As part of this growth, Swedish department store chain Åhléns is joining as a new retail partner.

Åhléns is one of Sweden’s largest department store chains, with more than 50 locations across the country. The retailer offers more than 1,000 private-label, in-house, and external brands, alongside services in beauty, fashion, and home.

Ad Sales through Retail Media Hub

To commercialize its digital in-store infrastructure, Åhléns will use Visual Art’s Retail Media Hub. The platform aggregates and standardizes data on inventory, screen formats, reach, and exposure. This standardization makes it possible to package and sell the in-store environment as a professional media channel, aligned with how traditional media is bought and sold.

The solution is integrated with Visual Art’s In-Store Experience Management (IXM) platform, which serves as the CMS layer for orchestrating content and managing campaigns. Within the broader ecosystem, Bonnier News is responsible for packaging and selling the network’s reach through its media sales organization and commercial tools.

Sensor Tech to Boost Transparency

The platform will also integrate sensor technology from Aspace, enabling real-time analysis of in-store exposure and customer flows. Åhléns uses this technology to increase transparency and provide verifiable reach and shared KPIs for both retailers and advertisers. All data is processed locally, with no personal information stored or shared.

“This collaboration is an important step in our ambition to develop Åhléns’ retail media offering,” says Linnéa Mårtensson, Retail Media & Partner Manager at Åhléns. “By combining our strong in-store environment with data-driven technology, we are creating new opportunities for brands to reach customers in a more effective and measurable way.”

Pontus Meijer, CEO of Visual Art, adds: “As a strong retailer like Åhléns joins, we see the network rapidly growing in both reach and relevance. This is an important milestone in our ambition to establish a national retail media structure that makes the channel more accessible and actionable for the market.”

The initiative is part of Visual Art’s long-term ambition to develop in-store retail media as a strategic component of the digital in-store experience, where the physical store increasingly becomes a data-driven and monetisable media channel.

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Navori Labs has announced the promotion of Issa Makhamreh to Vice President Sales for IMEA (India, Middle East, and Africa) and APAC (Asia-Pacific). In his expanded role, Makhamreh will be responsible for driving multi-regional sales growth for the digital signage software company and strengthening its commercial presence across both regions.

According to Navori, the appointment reflects nearly two decades of leadership within the company and is intended to reinforce continuity as the organization scales its international operations. Makhamreh will oversee strategic growth management, lead sales teams, and focus on expanding revenue streams while increasing market share across IMEA and APAC

Commenting on his appointment, Issa Makhamreh said: “My objective is more than just market expansion and retention; it’s about ensuring our DNA, our commitment to premium quality and innovation, is at the heart of every project in IMEA and APAC. With future acquisitions in sight, our partners’ journey with Navori mirrors the growth of the digital signage industry itself.”

The company indicated that Makhamreh’s expanded remit will play a key role in aligning regional execution with its global growth ambitions, particularly as demand for digital signage solutions continues to evolve across both IMEA and APAC markets.

• Appointment: Diversified names Tyler Affolter CRO
• London: Ocean Rolls out Walk-in DooH ‘Portal’ at Battersea
• Retail: Aldi Targets London Gaps with Store Growth
• Campaigns: Dr. Seuss’ Lorax, Goodall Lead Earth Day DooH Campaign
• Retail Media: JB Hi-Fi Connects 200+ Stores with Broadsign

The post People: Navori Strengthens IMEA & APAC Leadership first appeared on invidis.