When you’re a small-to-mid-size audio video integrator, every penny counts. We know our commercial customers feel the same way. You’re not cheap and you’re not afraid to spend money, but you want to make sure you’re getting the best bang for your buck and putting your money where it has the most value.

We especially feel that way when it comes to traveling for trade shows, but we ran the numbers and we knew that this year’s INFOCOMM was a “must-attend.” We’ve felt that way for quite a few years now.

But we go there with a solid plan and goals in order to make the most of our time and money. And then, of course, we keep our eyes open for opportunities we may never have considered. Last year, for instance, was the first time we decided to take video of all the hottest products and share that video right here on our blog. That’s one of our top goals for this year, and we’re planning ahead for it. (So if last year rocked your socks, just wait.)

In case you were wondering, here’s our INFOCOMM 2012 wish list. Make sure to look for us at the show. And catch us on Twitter and Facebook too, to share your INFOCOMM 2012 wish list.

1. Education – INFOCOMM is well known for its educational tracks. While we like to think we are some of the most tech-savvy audiovisual integrators in New York, there are always things we don’t know or things we can learn how to do better. The best way to get our money’s worth out of INFOCOMM is to learn everything we can through the seminars and discussions.

2. Industry trends – Maybe this should fall into the same category as education, but there’s no better place to gauge the pulse of the audiovisual industry than at this annual trade show. Again, we like to think we’re setting trends here in New York, but the only way we can know for sure is to listen, look and learn what’s new and what’s on the horizon.

3. New Products – Just like you, we want to see the latest gear, gadgets, and technology to find out what’s worth buying, what we’d recommend, and what we’ll wait and see on. And then, of course, we’ll share it all on our blog.

4. Networking – Our social media presence over the past two years has made networking even easier, but there’s nothing like meeting up face-to-face to share a product demo (or a drink.) Manufacturers, industry leaders, over audiovisual integrators and even end users who may drop by to see what new audiovisual systems they might be interested in, we want to meet as many people as we can. In fact, this should probably be Number One on the list — it’s that important.

5. Leveraging social media to connect with the AV industry in ways we never have before – Live tweeting from the exhibit hall. Facebook photos in real time. We’re going to do everything we can to connect with #AVTweeps at INFOCOMM to get the most out of this year’s show… and give the most back to the AV community while we’re at it.

6. Coverage, coverage, coverage – We’re not being selfish. From photos to video, we want to see everything that’s cool and bring it back here to you, our readers. We know we’re audio video integrators first, but we know that owning a website also puts you in the publishing business. The way we see it, this is the big “value-added.” We’re at the show anyway. Why not share everything we’re seeing, the way we see it?

7. An appearance on INFOCOMM-TV – Now we’re being a little bit selfish. After watching Testa Communications’ INFOCOMM-TV for years on the monitors, we wouldn’t mind getting a little screen time ourselves, if they happen to be reading this…