Words can be spoken. But until those words produce action, they’re nothing but a whole lot of fluff.
I heard a lot of words last week during CEDIA Expo out in Denver. Some of the most important words, to me anyway, came from Paul Miller, CEO of Forge, the new parent company that brings together the Emerald and Questex teams. And those words were captured in our latest Connected Design Podcast with Miller and a follow up article we shared.
Again. Those words are just words until some form of action occurs.
Well. On this first Friday post-CEDIA Expo, we have our first form of action in the Forge era.
It’s usually around this time that we get the post-show report that highlights the number of registrants. A number that Emerald has traditionally shared across all its shows, but that really doesn’t get to the actual number of bodies that walked around a particular show floor. And it’s a number that, as of late, has caused a lot of frustration and uncertainty as it relates to CEDIA Expo. It’s usually a nice round number — something like, over 11,000 — alongside the number of exhibitors that were on hand.
To me, the number, while important, doesn’t really get at the impact that the show has on a particular brand. Miller even said as much during our interview. Different exhibitors of different sizes come into a show like this with different goals. Some want to connect with new customers. Others want to host exclusive opportunities for a select number of dealers. Still more would rather have their booth packed with as many people as possible.
This Expo may have seemed “down” compared to other years. But the engagement, the conversations, the value that I got out of it was at a level that I hadn’t experienced in quite some time. I think it was because more brands decided to use this Expo as an actual platform to announce new products and put their absolute best foot forward.
The effort showed.
The number? 9,653 verified attendees alongside more than 320 exhibitors, according to CE Pro.
Make of that physical number what you will. But, if you ask me, 9,653 tells me more about CEDIA Expo than anything. It tells me that it’s heading in a much different and much brighter direction. Not because there were 9,653 attendees. But because the organization behind the show was transparent enough to say the thing we’ve wanted to hear for a number of years now.
So, to the 9,652 of you I saw in Denver last week. I hope to see every single one of you — and then some — in Las Vegas next September.
