As a member of the press corps for many CEDIA shows now, we have duly trudged through many a manufacturer’s booth review – Dana Innovations included – which can often be a mind-numbing bit of drudgery, as often all we see are a long list of existing products…nary an innovation to be found. However, this year, Dana Innovations – parent of Sonance, Trufig, and iPort – surprised us with a focused review of…well…innovations.
CEDIA
CEDIA/Home Advisor Smart Home Survey
At CEDIA 2017 CEDIA and Home Advisors partnered to present the results of a recent member survey on the Smart Home market that the two parties collaborated on recently. The results were interesting although not particularly surprising or earth shattering.
See what CEDIA and Home Adviser uncovered about Smart Homes… [Read more…] about CEDIA/Home Advisor Smart Home Survey
Emerald Announces Big Jump in CEDIA 2017 Attendance
Find Out Who’s on Emerald’s CEDIA Show Advisory Board
Emerald Expositions, the new owner of the CEDIA tradeshow, announced this week that the CEDIA 2017 show had a significant jump in attendance. According to the exposition company, attendance jumped almost 7% from 18,750 last year to “more than 20,000 home tech professionals” this year. This announcement, normally released on the last day of the show, was held for 11-days by Emerald, Strata-gee was told, so they could perform deep data analysis.
Unfortunately, they chose to share very, very little of that data in this announcement. But more is promised.
See what Emerald has released so far about CEDIA 2017… [Read more…] about Emerald Announces Big Jump in CEDIA 2017 Attendance
What We’ve Discovered About CEDIA’s Sale of the Show
Did Emerald ‘Overpay’ for the Iconic Tradeshow?
It was only just a matter of months ago, in January 2017, that we learned that CEDIA had sold off their trademark show to Emerald Expositions, the biggest B-to-B tradeshow promoter in North America. This news came completely out of the blue, with no forewarning to members of the Association.
When the sale was announced by the Association, the very last line of their notice was: “The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.” This lack of disclosure makes it virtually impossible for any loyal supportive CEDIA member to evaluate this major decision – selling off the single largest revenue generator for the Association – by the group management.
Now, we have a major piece of the puzzle, the purchase price… [Read more…] about What We’ve Discovered About CEDIA’s Sale of the Show
Strata-gee Interviews Emerald Expositions Executive
What the Future Holds for the CEDIA Show
“Do I need to ‘prepare’ for anything?” Emerald Expositions Marketing Manager Brianna Morris asked us in a firm tone as we met to set up a date for an interview. “Prepare?,” we asked. “Yes…we’re read your stuff,” she said in a deeper tone.
I could tell right then, it was going to be an interesting interview.
See our interview with Emerald’s CEDIA show marketing manager… [Read more…] about Strata-gee Interviews Emerald Expositions Executive
Exhibitor: ‘May Be the Best CEDIA Ever’
Yes, that headline is a direct quote from one of the exhibitors that we polled during last week’s CEDIA 2017 (formerly Expo). We actually doubt that the show this year was truly the best ever overall, but we ran into a high percentage of happy exhibitors this year.
See more on what attendees/exhibitors told us about this CEDIA show… [Read more…] about Exhibitor: ‘May Be the Best CEDIA Ever’
Getting Out the Vote for New CEDIA Directors
CEDIA has opened voting to fill the three open seats on the board due to term expiration. The organization has selected seven potential candidates, all of whom are integrators with two international candidates. CEDIA says the Boards Governance committee, after an “in-depth process” has determined that these seven candidates “met the competencies required” to be placed on the ballot.
See more on this election process… [Read more…] about Getting Out the Vote for New CEDIA Directors
Welcome to the Last CEDIA-Produced Show
As we all gather in San Diego for our annual pilgrimage to CEDIA, it can seem like another year/another show. But this show is different – it is the last CEDIA show produced by CEDIA. A fact leading many to wonder…what does the future hold, for both the show and the organization? We’ve spoken to several members and exhibitors to learn of their mood heading into this seminal event.
See how many are feeling about this, the last CEDIA-produced show… [Read more…] about Welcome to the Last CEDIA-Produced Show
On Eve of Last CEDIA-Produced Show, Are We at a Turning Point?
What a weird time it is for CEDIA members. We are about to head to San Diego in a couple of weeks for the last-ever CEDIA show produced by CEDIA, after which we are losing the greatest revenue-generator for the organization…we have no CEO (just a temporary fill-in) and the reason for the previous CEO’s exit has never been explained…we have been globalized, the benefits of which to American members aren’t exactly clear…we are awaiting a new strategic plan which is being crafted by a consultant in England…and the organization is about to spend some $14 million to build a new building before we even have the strategic plan to tell us if that makes any sense.
It seems as though the organization is at some kind of a turning point. But are things turning up, or down? We talked to some leading industry executives to get their perspective on what’s going on at CEDIA.
See what some are saying about the direction of CEDIA… [Read more…] about On Eve of Last CEDIA-Produced Show, Are We at a Turning Point?
They’re Back – Amazon to Present a CEDIA 2017 Keynote
CEDIA announced today that like last year, Amazon will offer a sponsored keynote presentation at the upcoming CEDIA 2017 show in San Diego. The Amazon keynote will take place on Thursday, September 7, from 2:00PM – 3:00PM in the San Diego Convention Center Ballroom 20A.