CES: A Brief Reflection
As I have finally conquered the hundreds of e-mails that awaited my return from a week in Las Vegas at CES, I have a moment to reflect on some of the things that struck me about this tradeshow in particular. This was the first CES that I have attended (though I had plenty of 360PR vets to show me around), and I can assure all who have not been there that the hype is real. CES consists of massive show floors that stretch across three different convention halls, hundreds of meeting rooms, and spills out to hotel suites all across the city – it is certainly far too much for one person to take in on their own.
Source: www.pcper.com
TWICE Magazine reported that the attendance of the first two days of CES was 112,515, which broke the forecast for the entire show. In addition, this number was nearly 15,000 more attendees after two days than the previous year – perhaps a positive sign for 2010. As a PR guy walking the show floor, it was awesome to see so much energy around some of the coolest products I have ever seen. Some show product trends included tablets, e-readers, 3-D TV’s, and green tech, but there was certainly enough (something like 20,000 products were launched) to keep any techie salivating for days.
In particular, the media energy caught my attention, possibly because they were out in full force. I was intrigued by the delight of the editors from Popular Mechanics as they handed out their CES Editor’s Choice Awards on Thursday (which Oregon Scientific, a 360 client, was fortunate enough to win). It was clear that they were just as excited about the awards as they were handing out as were the companies who accepted them.
I first saw evidence of the media excitement at CES Unveiled, which was an event a couple nights before the start of CES. I staffed a table at Unveiled and was one of the people that was nearly bowled over by the swarms of media that lined up, patiently waiting to get into the ballroom at the Venetian to see what companies had to offer. From some of the largest media outlets to the smallest tech product review sites, journalist after journalist stopped at our table with a smile and said, “What’s new?!” These two words, combined with their visible enthusiasm, exemplified just how jazzed these same people who I pitch all year round were to be at one of the greatest tradeshows in the world. And I was happy to be there with them.
Congrats to CEA and all the exhibitors (and their PR teams!) for starting the 2010 trade show season with a bang. We’ve all experienced shows with dwindling media attendance in recent years. It’s great to see so many new products unveiled – must get one of those new tablets! – and CES attracting a stampede of media and bloggers.