CEDIA

Annual CEDIA State of the Association Report Includes Some Drama

December 23, 2020 by Ted 4 Comments

CEDIA State of the Association opening slide

Nearly 600 Members Leave the Association in 2020

CEDIA held their annual State of the Association report for members today and, as usual, it was a well produced, glitzy affair more bent on selling the organization to all who choose to watch and listen. The Master of Ceremonies was Giles Sutton – no surprise for anyone aware of some of the inside actions taking place at the highly political organization. Sutton is the interim co-CEO of the trade group. But is it a trade group? Or is it something else altogether?

Learn more about what CEDIA said in their Annual Report to members…

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In a New Twist, CEDIA Board Names Not One, But Two Interim Co-CEOs

December 2, 2020 by Ted Leave a Comment

CEDIA, the Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association, announced earlier this week that it has named Giles Sutton, current Senior Vice President of Member Success and Sales, and Kory Dickerson, current Senior Vice President of Operations, as Interim Co-CEOs, replacing Tabatha O’Connor – the current CEO whose contract is ending in January. The Board of Directors had previously announced that it decided not to extend O’Connor’s contract, but didn’t say why. Ostensibly, the organization is still searching for a more permanent solution, but for now, we get two CEOs instead of one.

See more on this eyebrow raising CEDIA announcement…

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CEDIA Propel: Member Benefit? Or Quasi-Buying Group?

November 13, 2020 by Ted 1 Comment

Last week, CEDIA announced their CEDIA Propel initiative, said to be a new “Affinity Program” designed to offer members a new kind of benefit. The announcement caught my eye almost immediately because this program is unlike other other affinity program with which I’m familiar. Typically such programs offer members benefits such as special pricing on health insurance or discounts on UPS shipping and the like. In this case, CEDIA is recommending technology brands who offer discount programs to CEDIA members on their products.

To me, this sounded at least a little bit like the kind of service provided by a buying group.

Where is CEDIA heading with Propel?…

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Despite 90 Virtual Events & $40M in Claims Income, Emerald Loses $22.3M

November 3, 2020 by Ted Leave a Comment

Emerald Holding, Inc. (NYSE:EEX), formerly Emerald Expositions, reported their fiscal 2020 third quarter results this week and despite their best efforts to shift their business to online virtual conferences, the company reported revenues of just $8.5 million and generated a net loss of $22.3 million. This loss was even deeper than their loss of $19.7 million in the same quarter in 2019 which was well before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S.

See more on the results for Emerald Holding this past fiscal quarter…

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Help Lightning Virtual Support Offers Free 60-Day Trial to CEDIA Members

October 23, 2020 by Ted Leave a Comment

Help Lightning, a new support solution the company likes to call “virtual expertise,” not only offers a new potential benefit for integrators to increase the amount of safe in-home support for their clients in these COVID-19 times – they also offer CEDIA members a free 60-day try-before-you-buy experience to test it out in your market with your clients. And in the middle of the pandemic, there has never been a better time to look at offering clients a new support solution that adheres to strict safety standards by limiting person-to-person exposure.

Learn more about Help Lighting’s free trial

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Suspicious Changes at CEDIA; CEO O’Connor is Out With No Explanation

October 14, 2020 by Ted 1 Comment

This News Follows Other Prominent Departures

The Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association (CEDIA) announced at the end of last week that Global President and CEO Tabatha O’Connor will “depart” the organization at the end of her contract period in January. The news caught many by surprise and the organization’s announcement gives no clue as to any of the reasons behind this leadership change.

See more on O’Connor’s departure from CEDIA

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Emerald Expo Pulls Off CEDIA Expo Virtual, Or Rather, CEproDIA Expo

September 17, 2020 by Ted Leave a Comment

CEDIA Expo Virtual was almost exclusively an online media event…rather than a real, in-person trade show. I know…duh! Yes, I knew this logically, but it hadn’t really hit me viscerally until I actually attended the event. But what that means for Emerald Exposition is that their expertise in fielding large scale, B2B, in-person events really doesn’t apply here. And that fact forced them to rely exclusively on CE Pro for almost the entire event, including content strategy, seminar production, and show performance.

See more of my thoughts on this CEproDIA Expo Virtual overview…

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Emerald Expositions Announces Death of Sally Shankland, Its Most Recent CEO

April 23, 2020 by Ted Leave a Comment

Emerald Expositions announced this week that Sally Shankland, it most recent CEO who had been hired in June 2019 to replace resigning CEO David Loechner, has died following her month’s long battle with cancer. The company says Shankland passed away at home peacefully.

See more on this news about Shankland…

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IFA 2020 Show, Scheduled in September, is Now Canceled

April 23, 2020 by Ted Leave a Comment

All Eyes Turn to the Emerald City – San Juan Capistrano

IFA 2020, a huge consumer electronics show scheduled to take place in Berlin on September 4-9, 2020, is now canceled, the organization behind the event announced this week. It is yet another show joining a long line of mass, in-person marketing events to suffer this fate. The promoter is promising “an innovative new concept” to replace it – which some speculate will be a virtual online conference.

See more on this cancellation of IFA…

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CEDIA Confirms Second COVID-19 Exposure at Florida Tech Summits

March 18, 2020 by Ted Leave a Comment

New Jersey Tech Summit in 2017 — *Tech Summit in New Jersey in 2017*

In yet another email, participants of CEDIA’s recent Florida Tech Summits were told of a second instance of their potential COVID-19 exposure. The organization said that there are two reports of individuals “who have tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19).”

See more on this 2nd COVID-19 case at CEDIA’s Florida Tech Summits…

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CEDIA

Annual CEDIA State of the Association Report Includes Some Drama

Nearly 600 Members Leave the Association in 2020

Learn more about what CEDIA said in their Annual Report to members…

In a New Twist, CEDIA Board Names Not One, But Two Interim Co-CEOs

See more on this eyebrow raising CEDIA announcement…