Strategy in TECH...
The past couple of years there’s been a lot said about the value and effectiveness of CEDIA Expo. While some of the criticisms may be valid, it does not mean that industry professionals should skip the event because its usefulness has passed.
Here are my thoughts on some of the powerful, but intangible, benefits of attending our industry’s most important trade show.
Emerald Expositions, part of Emerald Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: EEX) and owners of CEDIA Expo and CEPro, has reported that final attendance at CEDIA Expo 2025, “the premier event for the custom systems integration industry,” establishes it was yet another year of declining participation. This rather sobering news is consistent with feedback I received from several exhibitors at the event this year – almost all of whom told me that attendance was noticeably off, with several saying it was significantly down from last year.
Now we know with certainty, even with Emerald’s attempt to hide the real attendance figures, that attendance at Expo 2025 was in fact appreciably below attendance at Expo 2024 last year.
The night before CEDIA Expo 2025 opened, CEDIA, the trade association, held a “Town Hall” with members on the subject of partnering with the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA). Actually, the organization’s formal announcement of this event said it was to “debut and discuss brand-new joint research between the two organizations.” But actually, it was setting the membership up for the Association to propose a new relationship between the organizations.
It was a proposal that did not appear to resonate with some in the audience at the Town Hall.
Another CEDIA Expo has come and gone, and the version this year, Expo 2025, had its share of disappointments, minor advances, AND pleasant surprises from several companies. In this post, I will share a brief synopsis of the items I saw that caught my attention. Many of these will be the subject of a more extensive article later, but this gives you an overview of some of the items I found interesting.
CEDIA Expo 2025 wrapped last week, and show-owner Emerald Exposition’s Group Vice President Jason McGraw gave the event a solid thumbs up. In an email to Strata-gee, McGraw told me that, “All reports we’ve received from exhibitors have been positive and we’ve had a very successful rebooking for next year’s show.” But my survey of exhibitors and attendees – and my own observations – uncovered some dark and disturbing undercurrents that – absent any corrective action – portend a troubling future for the event.
The 8K Association (8KA) is pulling out all of the stops to brightly project awareness of the growing 8K resolution ecosystem to all corners of the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Colorado, during CEDIA Expo 2025 running from September 4-6, 2025. To do this, the association will employ a multi-faceted presentation and communication strategy that promotes the entire ecosystem from content creation and production to distribution, integration and viewing in the home.
CEDIA, the trade group with the new tagline The Association for Smart Home Professionals, has announced that it has selected Chip Wade, a TV personality from certain Home and Garden Television (HGTV) shows, as the keynote presenter for CEDIA Expo 2025, taking place in two weeks in Denver, CO, from September 3-6. Wade’s presentation is titled Beyond the Blueprint: Where Innovation Meets Intention.
The Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association (CEDIA) announced on Tuesday that it is launching its first-ever consumer advertising campaign – something members have been asking it to do for years. The campaign is a professionally conceived, created, produced, and now distributed advertisement that includes, amongst other things, a 60-second video that educates consumers on the “magic” of a well-designed smart home and the need for a professional installer.
This past Sunday, on the eve of this week’s launch of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2025, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) released updated projections for total Tech industry sales in the year, as is its custom. According to the trade association, total Tech industry sales are expected to reach $537 billion – the highest level in history.
Azione Unlimited, a buying group of predominantly custom integration dealers that is part of the Nationwide Marketing Group family of dealer buying organizations, announced recently that it is adding Mike Cleary, Sonance Senior Director of Strategic Accounts, to its Board of Advisors. Unique to Azione, for years it has maintained an advisory board consisting of five dealer members and five vendor members to operate as its “strategic think tank.” The board’s role is to assist group management in fostering innovation, enhancing business success, and strengthening connections within the smart home industry.
