Attendance at this year’s CEDIA Expo, held in Denver at the Colorado Convention Center from September 7-9, was a bit of an illusion. The Expo, which is owned and operated by Emerald Expositions, announced final attendance figures nearly two weeks after the event closed. At the event, many exhibitors expressed satisfaction with the number of attendees they saw – yet the final announced attendance numbers turned out to be not quite as significant as some had thought. How did that happen?
Jason McGraw
CEDIA Expo 23 Day 2: The Gang’s All Here
See some of my top picks from CEDIA Expo 23 Day 1
Well, the question I posed yesterday as to whether we’d see CEDIA Expo 2023 attendance up or down as compared to the show last year appears to have been answered. Aisles and booths were filled on Day 1 of the event, suggesting that CEDIA Expo 2023 attendance is not only ahead of last year’s numbers…but perhaps well ahead. So it seems we are all on a Rocky Mountain High.
But was there anything interesting to look at on the show floor? See some of the items I found interesting…
See more on Day 1 at CEDIA Expo 2023
[Read more…] about CEDIA Expo 23 Day 2: The Gang’s All HereEXCLUSIVE: AVIXA CEO Weighs In on Trade Assocs., Shows, Emerald & More
About five seconds into our phone call, before I even had a chance to explain myself, AVIXA CEO David Labuskes suddenly burst out: “Oh! I know why you called me!” This reaction caught me off-guard as we’d never spoken before. But when he went on to tell me why he thought I had called him, he was right on the money. It was a clue that he is a deeper thinker than many executives I reach out to, and as we spoke further, that impression only got stronger.
Another surprise was that Labuskes knew me (and Strata-gee) better than I realized…
Learn what the CEO of AVIXA shared with me in this EXCLUSIVE interview…
[Read more…] about EXCLUSIVE: AVIXA CEO Weighs In on Trade Assocs., Shows, Emerald & MoreISUS in America? Emerald Adds a Commercial Show to CEDIA Expo; Exhibitors React
Emerald Expositions (NYSE: EEX), the national B2B trade show company that owns CEDIA Expo, CE Pro, and Commercial Integrator surprised the industry at the recent CEDIA Expo 2022 by abruptly announcing that next year they will be “co-locating” a show for commercial integrators at the same time and in the same facility. Reaction to this announcement was…to put it mildly…mixed. Is Emerald trying to imitate the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) show – an event for both residential and commercial businesses – by launching an ISUS (Integrated Systems United States) event??
Do you wonder why there was a mixed reaction to Emerald’s move? Read on…
See why some big exhibitors were not happy with the Emerald announcement…
[Read more…] about ISUS in America? Emerald Adds a Commercial Show to CEDIA Expo; Exhibitors ReactEmerald, Calling CEDIA Expo ‘Solid,’ Releases Numbers That are Sobering
Emerald Expositions on Monday put out a final recap of the CEDIA Expo 2021 that took place earlier this month and while Group Vice President Jason McGraw called it “…a solid event,” the numbers they revealed told a much more sobering tale. Still, I need to say up front that I am actually impressed they released data from the event rather than the hazy and rough estimates as they have done in the past. It’s at least a step in the right direction towards some sort of transparency.
See some of the CEDIA Expo 2021 numbers
[Read more…] about Emerald, Calling CEDIA Expo ‘Solid,’ Releases Numbers That are SoberingEmerald: The Show WILL Go On!
Emerald Letter Tries to Nail Down Remaining Exhibitors
On Wednesday, Emerald emailed a letter to exhibitors that appears to be an attempt to stem the outflow of companies that have canceled their participation in the CEDIA Expo 2021 – 42 brands according to Strata-gee’s tracking – and encourage those exhibitors that have not yet abandoned the show from leaving. Signed by Emerald executives Brian Pagel and Jason McGraw, the letter declared “the show is still very much on as planned.”