Almo Professional A/V, a professional audio visual distributor, has acquired certain assets of Insteo, Inc., a specialized digital signage content and creative company that programs and designs content for digital signage, then provides tools to manage the day-to-day changes in the cloud.
As part of the acquisition, the Almo content creation team is now being led by Jim Nista, digital graphics design pioneer and founder of Insteo. As a result of this acquisition, which is effective immediately, Almo Pro A/V is now able to provide a comprehensive digital signage content service offering.
“The acquisition of Insteo gives us the ability to greatly advance what we can offer our partners in terms of expanded platforms, including Insteo’s proprietary cloud signage,” Sam Taylor, executive vice president and COO for Almo Professional A/, said. “Almo partners can also customize their content for each install and at the outset of every project based specifically on size, scope and budget. Because we now have an entire team of experts on staff, we can offer an expedited quote and project management process with increased responsiveness.”
Taylor continued, “In addition to the US, these services can be accessed throughout Latin America, Mexico and the Caribbean, and we have plans for expansion.” He added, “Through Jim Nista’s visionary insight and success as the founder of Insteo, this acquisition solidifies our leadership role in the creative content arena with new platforms and other exciting developments on the horizon.”
Jim Nista’s history in content creation includes stints as a Creative Director for a range of clients. In 2002, Nista founded a digital marketing agency that evolved into Insteo, Inc., a provider of HTML5-based creative content. Nista serves on the Digital Signage Expo (DSE) Content Advisory Board and assisted in the development and presentation of the Digital Signage Content and Media Expert (DCME) certification program. He is a regular on the trade show circuit, having presented at DSE, International Sign Association (ISA), SignExpo and InfoComm. As a result of Nista’s creative leadership, Insteo has received 11 gold, silver and bronze DSE Apex awards.
The Insteo Display CMS platform supports menu boards, directories, interactive wayfinders, digital bulletin boards and more. Insteo also develops content for all major CMS platforms, including BrightSign’s BrightAuthor, Samsung’s MagicInfo, Rise Vision and many others.