Associations

Large Exhibitors Pull Out of CES 2022 Due to Increasing COVID Infections

December 22, 2021 by Ted 1 Comment

BREAKING NEWS> Amazon, T-Mobile, Facebook, Twitter, & More Pull Out of CES 2022

**SEE BELOW FOR STORY UPDATE** – On Tuesday, several large exhibitors independently announced that they would be pulling out of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), scheduled to start the week-after-next in Las Vegas, NV. The reason given for these pull-outs was the rapidly spreading COVID-19 infections due to the emerging hyper-infectious Omicron variant. Major brands, such as Amazon, Meta Platforms (Facebook), T-Mobile and more said the rapidly changing COVID situation caused them to consider the safety of their teams and other attendees of CES 2022 – a major indoor event.

See more on this exodus from CES 2022…

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CEDIA Appoints New Head of Education & Training

November 3, 2021 by Ted Leave a Comment

Photo of CEDIA HQ — CEDIA’s new headquarters building in Fishers, Indiana

Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA) announced today that it has appointed Amanda Beckner as its new Vice President of Education and Training. Beckner replaces the recently departed Samantha Ventura and is said to bring two decades of experience to the role. Most notably, Beckner was VP of Learning for AVIXA, the commercial integrator trade group.

Learn more about Amanda Beckner at CEDIA

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CEDIA 2019 IRS Filing Reveals a $3.7M Deficit; Org Dubs It a Transitional Year

October 28, 2021 by Ted Leave a Comment

*A past CEDIA Expo, now owned by Emerald Expositions*

CEDIA recently filed their Form 990 with the IRS – a required filing by non-profits disclosing key financial data – and for the first time in a while, I found some interesting and somewhat confusing things in there. Yes, I obtain the organization’s 990 filings every year just to get a sense of how things are going. Like all of us, the organization is filing for, at best, the previous year and often they request and receive an extension. Hence, we are just now getting a glimpse of their 2019 results…and it was an eye-opener.

See what the CEDIA interim co-CEOs told me about 2019

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CEDIA Names Daryl Friedman as New CEO; Has Extensive Association Experience

October 20, 2021 by Ted 4 Comments

New CEDIA CEO Tells Strata-gee, ‘I Promise You Transparency’

The Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA) announced today that it has named Daryl Friedman as its new Global President & CEO. Friedman’s appointment is effective as of November 27, 2021. Don’t know that name? I’m not surprised as Friedman, an experienced Association executive, comes from the Recording Academy…the folks who bring you the Grammy awards. In an interview this week, Friedman told me that he’s close to the engineers and producers – the highly technical folks in his current association – so he brings a clear technology appreciation to his new role.

Learn more about CEDIA selecting Daryl Friedman as CEO

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Who Owns the CEDIA Expo? And Other Important Questions of Context

September 29, 2021 by Ted 2 Comments

As I am sure that most readers of this post will know, during CEDIA Expo at the beginning of September, I published a continuously updated post tracking which previously announced exhibitors subsequently made the decision to pull out of the event as the COVID Delta variant raged on. A remarkable realization occurred as I worked on that post, literally speaking with dozens, if not hundreds, of exhibitors and attendees for that event – many of them were confused about who owned the CEDIA Expo!

See why who owns the CEDIA Expo matters…

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ISE 2021 ‘Heralds’ Getting the Industry ‘Back to Business,’ But Did They?

June 9, 2021 by Ted Leave a Comment

In a press release distributed Wednesday morning, Integrated Systems Events (part of Integrated Systems Europe) announced the conclusion of their annual ISE event, this year in Barcelona, Spain for the first time on June 1-2. It was a hybrid-style event, offering an online or virtual conference as well as an in-person event with exhibitors in the Fira de Barcelona exhibition center. The organizers heralded the event as helping “the industry getting back to business.”

But how successful was the ISE this year? See more…

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New Power Couple: CEDIA & Powerhouse Alliance Bring Pro Training to You

May 25, 2021 by Ted 2 Comments

CEDIA Giles Sutton and Powerhouse Alliance Dennis Holzer — *Giles Sutton (L) and Dennis Holzer (R)*

CEDIA and the Powerhouse Alliance announced a partnership today that is designed to bring CEDIA’s professional skills training program out of their headquarters building and into a location near you. Combining the quality education of CEDIA with the 55 geographically dispersed Powerhouse Alliance member locations across the U.S., this deal dramatically expands integration techs ability to easily gain access to professional education.

See more on this CEDIA & Powerhouse Alliance initiative

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Consumer Confidence Rebounds to Highest Level in a Year

April 8, 2021 by Ted Leave a Comment

Here’s some good news! In a report by the National Association of Home Builders’ writer Fan-Yu Kuo, we learn that consumer confidence in March jumped to its highest level in a year. This is the second month of increase for consumer confidence, after a more modest increase in February. This mini-trend suggests that confidence is building in consumers about their future…after a rough year.

See more on this report of Consumer Confidence…

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CEDIA Expo & CE Pro Owner Emerald Expo Books $633.6 Million Net Loss

February 18, 2021 by Ted 5 Comments

That an exposition company lost money in 2020 is not surprising. That an exposition company (Emerald) that has cancellation insurance to cover lost revenues on every show they own that was cancelled during the year – and still lost $633.6 million in fiscal 2020 – is surprising.

See the Details Behind This Big Loss at Emerald…

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CES 2021: Sony Evolves From Hardware Maker to Experience Creator

January 14, 2021 by Ted Leave a Comment

“Please join us in looking forward as we continue to evolve as a ‘creative entertainment company,'” said Kenichiro Yoshida, Sony Chairman, CEO and President to kick off Sony’s presentation to the media on CES 2021’s press day this past Monday. It was a carefully crafted opening, with words of particular significance that contrasts strongly with previous company characterizations. Sony is changing.

Has the train jumped the tracks? Or has Sony hit the hyper-drive taking us to a new and exciting unexplored planet?

See more from Sony’s press presentation…

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Associations

Large Exhibitors Pull Out of CES 2022 Due to Increasing COVID Infections