CEDIA Expo 2025 Town Hall: Is the Connection Between CEDIA & Its Members Getting Staticky?

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.

See more on CEDIA’s Town Hall presentation at CEDIA Expo 2025…

As I arrived for the CEDIA Town Hall, I grabbed a good seat up front, began getting my gear out, and setting up for the event. I was there early, with only a few people in the hall. Over the next twenty minutes or so, I watched as the crowd began filtering in and the noise level in the room gradually began to build. Yet just minutes before the scheduled start time for the Town Hall, I noticed that the audience for this event was quite light compared to past Town Hall events I’ve attended. Did the topic of this Town Hall fail to pull members in?

Curiousity

My attendance at this Town Hall was, frankly, because I was curious. I found it remarkable that CEDIA had borne the expense of funding a joint research study in partnership with the NKBA on – as it said on the screen at the Town Hall – “Technology Integration in Kitchen, Bath, and Whole Home Design Projects” (see photo at top of this post).

I wondered why CEDIA would want to partner with the NKBA? If we’re going to partner with another association, why not the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)? Or perhaps it might be beneficial to consider a partnership with the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). Members of the National Kitchen and Bath Association primarily focus on remodeling kitchens and bathrooms. While these projects can occasionally involve technology—and sometimes escalate into whole-home remodels—NKBA members typically engage less in new construction, which constitutes a larger part of many technology integrators’ businesses. It seemed an odd choice to me.

And then it hit me…my spidey senses began tingling. Is there more going on here than meets the eye??

How is This Connected?

In January 2017, Emerald Expositions acquired the CEDIA Expo show from the CEDIA trade association for a purchase price of $36 million in cash. In addition to this, Emerald pays CEDIA a licensing fee for the use of the CEDIA trademark in association with the event in perpetuity.

At the very first CEDIA Expo following that transaction, which was to be the last time Expo was run by CEDIA staff (shadowed by Emerald staff), Emerald began holding a series of private meetings with exhibitors. They had one question. “Wouldn’t it make sense to combine the CEDIA Expo with the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (KBIS)?” Their logic was simple – both CEDIA members and NKBA members are design & build businesses, so in Emerald’s mind, it makes sense to combine them into one big happy show. However, almost all of the CEDIA Expo exhibitors rejected the concept.

Here’s the Connection

The connection? KBIS is owned by the NKBA, but it is run by Emerald Expositions. And, of course, as most Strata-gee readers know, CEDIA Expo is both owned and operated by Emerald Expositions. Most likely, by combining the two shows, Emerald lowers its costs and improves its profits from the two co-located events. But does such a show make sense for the separate groups of attendees and the distinctly different markets they support?

It’s now eight years since Emerald’s acquisition of CEDIA Expo, and it still holds on to this ambition to combine CEDIA Expo with KBIS. I can’t tell you how I know this, but I do know it to be a fact. And now you know why I wanted to see this Town Hall event. This is the first time in that eight-year period that I’ve seen the CEDIA trade association propose a relationship between CEDIA and NKBA…and that of course would be just a tiny baby step away from combining the two trade events associated with these “partners” into one show.

Is CEDIA now subscribing to this idea and engaging in actions to help Emerald achieve this goal of combining the shows? Or is this truly an independent action based on perceived benefits in CEDIA partnering with NKBA?

The Presentation Begins

The Town Hall was sponsored by Lutron, so, as is typically the case, the event starts with a live commercial by a Lutron executive. After that is complete, Christine DeJoy (CEDIA), Daryl Friedman (CEDIA), and Bill Darcy (NKBA) stepped up to the stage. Dejoy acted as a sort of Master of Ceremonies and set the stage of the event for the audience.

Welcome to tonight’s CEDIA Town Hall. We are here because technology is no longer a nice to have, it’s an essential part of how our homes are designed, built and lived in. And that intersection where design, build, and smart technology meet is exactly what we’re here to explore together tonight.

Christine DeJoy, CEDIA Vice President of Communication

An Overview of the Presentation

DeJoy went on to introduce both Friedman and Darcy, and to further clarify the purpose of this particular Town Hall. “Tonight’s discussion is grounded in a powerful collaboration,” DeJoy said. “CEDIA and NKBA came together to commission joint research that looks deeply at how smart technology is shaping kitchen, bath, and whole home design. It started with one simple question: How are designers, builders, and integrators working together? And, how can we strengthen those relationships to deliver better outcomes for homeowners?”

OK, that’s two questions, Christine,…but who’s counting? DeJoy also promised that the findings from this research gave them “real data, real stories, and real opportunities” to move the industry forward. (She didn’t say if she meant the CEDIA channel specifically, or the Design/Build community generally.) With that, she moved on and introduced attendees to Tricia Zach, NKBA’s Director of Research, who would present a detailed view of the study’s results.

Right Out of Central Casting

I think Zach stepped right out of central casting. She fits the image in your head of a research analyst – proper, conservatively dressed, speaks at a methodical pace, detailed, wordy, a little nerdy, and a little too excited by some of the data points. In other words, my kind of people. Her presentation style was methodical without becoming monotonous. However, the content was detailed, long, and data-heavy. I loved it, but in reading the room, I could see that many integrators were getting antsy. As you’ll see later, some even left early.

For the next 20-25 minutes, Zach went through slide after slide. There were two main components of this research – one qualitative, the other quantitative. It started with four subject matter experts, who were not named, other than Zach noted two – “Tony and Toni” – were in the audience. The quantitative element was an online survey conducted with both of the NKBA and CEDIA memberships.

Survey Engagement was Fairly Low

Disappointingly, the researchers received a total of only 190 completed surveys. Consequently, they decided to include partially completed surveys (note: this is not optimal, but acceptable). By adding in the partials, the research reached a base of 554 surveys, “And that enhanced the reliability of the data,” Zach said.

I’m not going to go through all of the slides here. Many of them include data that is more meaningful to the Kitchen & Bath crowd. And in other cases, some of the results might have been surprising to NKBA members, but are no surprise at all to CEDIA members.

It Basically All Boils Down to This

I will boil down the premise that CEDIA and the NKBA are suggesting here. Firstly, smart home technology is transforming the home – and that includes kitchens and bathrooms. NKBA members are not tech savvy and could benefit from partnering with a technology integrator. Secondly, a significant challenge for technology integrators is that they are often brought into the project too late to maximize the opportunity. But kitchen & bath designers are brought in at the start of any project. Technology integrators could potentially benefit by partnering with the kitchen and bath designers to get earlier access to the project.

There, in a single paragraph, I’ve boiled down an hour-long presentation.

I’m Not Surprised, Most NKBA Members Don’t Know the Word ‘Integrator’

There was some interesting data presented that suggests such a pairing – kitchen/bath designer & technology integrator – could be challenging to put together. For example, Tricia Zach noted this tidbit…

To start, we were all a little bit surprised to learn that only about 1/3 of the NKBA audience reported having ever heard the term ‘integrator.’ The good news is that among NKBA members familiar with the term integrator, half see real value in working with them. Nearly half 49% say it’s ‘extremely’ or ‘very important’, and another half say it’s somewhat important.

Tricia Zach, NKBA Director of Research

CEDIA Needs to Build Awareness with K&B Designers and Builders

So half of the third of NKBA members who know the term ‘integrator’ see value in working with a technology integrator. To Zach, that means that a key takeaway is that CEDIA needs to build awareness among NKBA members to drive more collaboration on projects. Still, to me, starting with a half of a third seems like a pretty small piece of the pie.

Both sides of this survey say that they see room to improve collaboration between designers and integrators. There are differences in how and which smart technologies are more important to the NKBA members versus the CEDIA members…for example, smart appliances and smart toilets versus smart TVs and motorized blinds or drapes.

CEDIA CEO Friedman Says the Best News Out of the Study is Also the Worst News

At this point, Zach turned the program back to DeJoy to offer prepared questions to Friedman and Darcy to share their thinking. First up was Daryl Friedman who commented on a key element of the research that he said was both the best news and the worst news.

I think the best news out of that is also the worst news out of that. So the really interesting thing to me was that almost half of designers who know the word integrator, are using an integrator. Now, if we had half of all designers in America using an integrator, that would be a big jump from where we are today. But that half, you have to remember, is half of 1/3, because only 1/3 of designers know the term integrator. So what this is telling us, I believe, is that the awareness level is the barrier. Like your clients, once they know what technology can bring to their homes, they want to have access to it. But it’s that barrier – awareness – that is the biggest barrier. And I think that’s where our conversations and our joint work to kind of increase that awareness is going to be fruitful.

Daryl Friedman, CEDIA Global President and CEO

NKBA CEO Darcy Says From Here It’s All About Platforms for Relationship Development

Bill Darcy believes that the benefits of collaboration between the local technology integrator and the local kitchen & bath designer are clear. He offered some thoughts on how we get there.

Darrell and I have talked a lot about this, about how we can really form a better connection between the integrator and the designer. And I think the relationship is the foundation. I mean, all of you are working with consumers on projects. it’s a matter of, how do you [facilitate greater mutual collaboration]? I formally believe that relationships is where it all begins. And we’re relationship organizations. Why are you here at CEDIA? I mean, you’re seeing products and you’re building relationships. And I think it’s our job to create the relationship platforms, whether it’s at KBIS, or CEDIA Expo, or through our chapter network, where we can help facilitate the introductions. And I think that’s a lot what Darrell and I wanted to share is, how do we help create platforms for relationship development?

Bill Darcy, NKBA Global President and CEO

There were more discussions on cross-educational opportunities where NKBA members can learn more about what a technology integrator brings to the table. And also programs where CEDIA members can get a better understanding of the design issues kitchen & bath designers deal with as well.

Moderator Opens the Floor for Audience Questions; Things Get Really Interesting

At this point, DeJoy opened the meeting up for questions from the audience. Immediately, a gentleman stepped up to the microphone set up for audience questions. He did not identify himself, other than to indicate he is a founding member of CEDIA. He was not happy with this Town Hall and shared his thoughts.

“Hello. You have to help me, here. I think it’s great that CEDIA reaches out to any kind of designers, any other associated trades…anybody. But I’m a little confused. When you’re talking about the NKBA, are you specifically talking about firms that only do kitchen and bath? Or are you using that as an example…as a part of, say, the International Builder Show – with NKBA as a part of it? Are you extrapolating that to the whole builder community? Or are you strictly talking about kitchen and bath companies?

Audience Member, ‘As A Founding Member of CEDIA, I’m Kind of Disappointed’

He continued on…”Because I don’t do production homes. In 35 years, we’ve never done a project that was just a kitchen and bathroom. And I just have never been in a situation – after 35 years of working with the architect and the homeowner for a year, there’s never been a time where we said, ‘Oh, we never thought of all this, but the kitchen and bath guy thought of it.’ I mean, I just think this [opportunity you are proposing] is a really small niche of what’s going on. And yes, it’s great that yet another community is aware of us. But bottom line, I have to say, as a founding member of CEDIA, I’m kind of disappointed that at the once-a-year Town Hall meeting, we’re spending all this time focusing on something that’s a minute part of what we should be reaching out for. I mean, I just don’t see the kitchen and bath people having that much of an impact on our community. Again, I don’t do smaller homes…”

As this gentleman spoke, I looked around the room and saw many heads nodding in agreement. Friedman nervously cut him off and then, sounding quite defensive, said that NKBA members also do whole home design. He then prodded Darcy to jump in and reiterate that his members also do whole-home design.

Darcy responded that many NKBA members do whole homes, but he suggested that the questioner should not dismiss the importance of the kitchen and bath in the home. He says this is a $230 billion business, and many home designs start there and expand to the whole home.

Next Audience Questioner Points Out a Disconnect Between CEDIA and the NKBA

The next audience member got up and said this, in reference to the apparent disagreement between the presenters on the stage, and the first disappointed questioner: “So I think part of the disconnect here is that traditionally, CEDIA members and integrators want to get involved as early as possible on the project. So that’s why we pay a lot of attention to architects and builders, because they get us into the project as early as possible. And [another disconnect], is that the NKBA is more of a remodeling type of business. [ED: For many integrators, new construction projects are the majority of their business.]

That same second questioner went on to ask CEDIA if CEU credits could be offered to ASID [American Society of Interior Designers] members. “Is there anything that CEDIA can do in terms of developing programs that fulfill that type of accreditation for interior designers, so we can move in that direction?” he asked. “Because they don’t know about us, and I’m not sure how we get in front of them, unless we have something we can offer them that’s more education-based.”

Friedman Assures the Audience, We’re Talking to Many Other Associations

Perhaps sensing a problem, Friedman stepped in to assure the audience that in addition to its conversation with NKBA, CEDIA is talking to many other associations, such as the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the Architecture Association, ASID, and more. But tonight’s presentation, he told the audience, is about designers.

There were more questions as well, but these first two questions seemed to unnerve the presenters.

One other thing I want to mention. With about twenty minutes left to go in the formal presentation – before the question and answer period began – I happened to look around the room to look for a good spot to take photos from. To my surprise, there was a line of audience members leaving the presentation at the back of the room. I’ve never seen that before. Oh, sure, the occasional person sneaking out to use the restroom, or perhaps take a phone call…but never a line of audience members leaving.

Why Were Audience Members Leaving the Presentation?

I’m not entirely sure what that means. There were no other events going on at this point on the night before the show opened. Perhaps folks were eager to get to dinner? Or maybe there were parties to attend? Or possibly the content of this presentation just wasn’t engaging enough?

In any event, CEDIA is making the entire study available for download through the CEDIA portal. There is a lot more detail than I had space to present here.

Learn more about CEDIA by visiting: cedia.org.