Avid sent out a press release today announcing it would be making an announcement in February about it’s strategy plans for 2008. It mentioned the general plan to interact more closely with its customers. What that really means, we’ll see in February.

But one rather surprising tidbit was that Avid would not be exhibiting at NAB 2008. This is the first time I can recall such a heavyweight in this market shirking NAB. Now through its market research, maybe Avid found that NAB led to little sales or improved customer relations. But even if this is the case, and I’m sure other companies have come to this conclusion, most companies still pay a lot of money to exhibit nonetheless, fearing that a no-show would signal the weakness. Avid doesn’t have to worry about anyone writing their obituary any time soon. Nor should their finances be such that exhibiting at NAB would put a dent in their wallet.

So what is left? Maybe Avid will have no new products at NAB this year and just preferred to take a pass. The splash that Apple made at NAB ’07 with Avid lacking any big releases certainly left a lot of people wondering about the direction of Avid. The parting with David Krall a few months later confirmed that users were not the only ones wondering.

Avid and Apple have for years seemingly traded off hot years at NAB, and so it follows that Avid would be gearing up for a big release at NAB ’08. My best guess is that Avid will have some major news that will be announced during NAB ’08 and reaching out online to the millions who can’t attend the show. While everyone else is busy concentrating on the show, Avid could be able steal the attention of all those not attending. That’s my best guess.

One thing does seem for certain, Avid is looking to shake things up. Whether their decision to not attend NAB and any alternative plans will be successful remains to be seen, but at least you have to give them credit for making a bold decision, something that they haven’t done in a while.