Strategy in TECH...
At last week’s CEDIA Expo show in Indianapolis, IN, the trade group released select market data from their second annual survey called the Size and Scope of the Residential Electronic Systems Market in the US 2012. Although compiled and released this year, the data is actually from 2011 and is a follow-up to the same report they excerpted last year for 2010.
Then Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA) today released attendance data from last week’s Expo in Indianapolis, IN and it was a mix of good news and bad news. Let’s get the bad news out of the way first. Total attendance at the event came in at 16,900, down 4 percent from last year’s attendance of 17,600. This figure is also the lowest recorded attendance since 2001, coming in 1.8 percent under that year’s attendance level of 17,200.
Wednesday, the day before the 2012 CEDIA Expo opens its show floor, is both the day many integrators come to the convention center to take educational classes – and also the press comes for a day full of press conferences.
I approached the event this year with a high level of anticipation, as our strata-GEE.com CEDIA survey suggested that attendance might be better than originally anticipated. As I approached the convention center, I was surprised by the lack of activity around the outside of the hall. Then a CEDIA hotel shuttle bus showed up and – suddenly – we had a fair amount of activity.
If it’s September, it’s time for CEDIA Expo! Can’t make it to this year’s main event? strata-GEE.com will be there for the duration of the show collecting observations, data, interviews, and – hopefully – reporting on some savvy strategies! Watch for our upcoming reports where we’ll review the show, tell you what we saw that WOW’d us (if anything), and help get you connected to the important stories of the day.
strata-GEE.com’s survey on the 2012 CEDIA Expo has wrapped up and we want to thank everyone for their participation. And participation this year was up over 90% as compared to last year – which was off 20% as compared to the 2010 survey. We have no explanation as to why so many more people took part in the survey this year – however, we received more support from various industry members spreading the word on Twitter and other social media networks than in year’s past, which may have been a factor. A special thanks to those who helped spread the word!
Once again it’s show time! We are taking our 2012 CEDIA Expo Survey as we did last year. As you probably know, the Expo is only a couple of short weeks away and we’d like to get your insight into this seminal industry event. [Read more…] about Take Our Latest CEDIA EXPO Survey
Last month, we reported on the pre-launch of a new brand…the rather boldly named AudioXperts – founded by well-known industry veteran, Eli Harary and the team of sales, marketing, engineering, and product specialists he assembled. This pre-launch announcement was then followed-up by an official launch at a press event in Manhattan on Tuesday of this week. For a lot of reasons, this was a notable event – not the least of which is that there are very few new companies launching in the current incredibly difficult industry environment. But this “birth of a brand” also – for a number of reasons – set a very high bar for expectations related to its launch, which drew a substantial press contingent.
In an association that is somewhat unique in our industry, Indy Audio Labs, LLC, (IAL) the company that manufacturers the Acurus & Aragon high-end brands, has hired John Caldwell, founder and CEO of Grace Motif to handle sales for the IAL brands. Interestingly, they have awarded Caldwell the title of Vice President of Sales for IAL while he retains his title and functions at Grace Motif. [Read more…] about Grace Motif’s John Caldwell to Handle U.S. Sales for Indy Audio Labs’ Acurus & Aragon Brands
One of the more interesting stops we made during our rounds at last month’s 2012 CEA Line Show was to see a new company with a brand new product not yet on the market…but coming soon. That company, Engage Audio Design, has announced and shown a simplified total home theater package called Unity Home Theater. If the actual shipping product adheres closely to the prototype shown at the show – they just may have a real winner on their hands!
[Read more…] about If You Want Real Unity – You’ve Got to Get Engage[d]
At last month’s 2012 CEA Line Show in New York City, tucked amongst the many manufacturer’s press conferences was a variety of panels discussing what the CEA purported to be today’s top issues. One such panel, the Next Gen TV panel, talked about…as you might imagine…emerging TV technologies like OLED, 4K resolution, and Internet-enabled TVs. Many in our business would suggest that this is old news. But things got more interesting when the panel strayed from technology topics and veered into a variety of industry issues, such as TV makers technology roll-out strategies, the politics of 4K, and Apple entering the TV business. [Read more…] about CEA Line Show Next Gen TV Panel Talks Tech, Specialty Retail, and Apple iTV
