The Friendly Giant: Intl. CES Has Crossover Appeal

By Rachelle Crum -- Tradeshow Week, 1/17/2005

Some may presume that the more than 1.5 million square foot-plus Intl. CES has a monopoly on the consumer-electronics tradeshow market — poaching exhibitors and attendees from shows in crossover industries whenever it can. But managers of other shows dismiss these assumptions, saying the country's largest show is nothing but a friendly giant that helps their business. One show is joining Intl. CES in 2006; another is mimicking the show's broad outreach.

Peter MacGillivray, vice president of marketing and communications for the Specialty Equipment Market Assn., said that even though his shows share exhibitors with one of Intl. CES' 23 TechZones — the Automotive Aftermarket Showcase — the zone isn't a rival for his business; it's a free endorsement for SEMA's automotive aftermarket industry.

"On the surface, it looks like it's competition. We look at it as broadening the category," MacGillivray said. Plus, he added, "It exposes our industry to people who wouldn't otherwise see it. As a trade association, we really have to step back from our shows and look at the big picture and what's good for the industry."

MacGillivray said he took a page from Intl. CES' playbook and recently incorporated a mobile electronics section to help broaden his own 1 million-plus net sq. ft. SEMA Show.

"Our effort is all about creating opportunities for those businesses. It's these cooperative efforts both on informal and formal levels that make us all stronger," he said.

Exhibitor David Reed, sales manager for Carson, Calif.-based Johnson Window Film, said he chooses to display his products both at the Intl. CES showcase and at SEMA shows in order to maximize his exposure. But the SEMA show would be the clear winner if he had to choose one over the other, he said. "SEMA is our bread and butter. They are our industry."

Fellow Intl. CES and SEMA exhibitor Angie Howard, marketing coordinator for St. Petersburg, Fla.-based Film Technologies Intl., agrees. Even though "CES serves a very nice purpose," she said, since SEMA drives Film Technologies' business, its shows are top priority.

However, added William Stewart, FTI's vice president of sales, "You get a better bang for your buck at the CES show."

Marketing dollars often put Intl. CES owner, the Consumer Electronics Assn., and the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Assn. head-to-head, said Robert Mesirow, CTIA's vice president of conventions — but he doesn't sweat it. "We feel very comfortable in terms of our market share. We really tend to focus on our event and what we're doing," he said.

Chris Brown, senior vice president of conventions and expositions for the Natl. Assn. of Broadcasters, said that although his NAB show doesn't target consumers as Intl. CES does, the prosumer (a consumer who thinks of him or herself as a semi-professional) is creating more of a crossover base for the two shows.

"The living room is sort of the convergence point" for the two audience types, Brown said. But like Mesirow, Brown isn't focused on hoarding crossover exhibitors.

"We don't develop our marketing messages to compete directly against them (CEA)," he said. Instead, he added, "We share ideas with them. Our folks are constantly talking back and forth."

Plus, Brown added, he often gets a "good gauge of the industry" from the January show. "If CES does well, it's a good sign for us."

Instead of vying for the attention of some of the nearly 7,000 engineers who annually attend Intl. CES, Electronic Conventions is collocating one of its shows with the 2006 Intl. CES. The group, a subsidiary of the IEEE-Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, was recently invited by CEA to feature several technical conferences and a 100-booth version of its IEEE Wescon shows at next year's Las Vegas show.

"We'll bring the technology that will make the MP3 player smaller and faster," said James Hungerford, ECI president.

Although the group's projected presence may appear minute at the massive show, its introduction of advanced technology, including nanotechnology, to the Intl. CES audience is noteworthy, said Paul Goelz, business development manager for ECI.

"It's a good fit," said Goelz. "We're changing the way we do things because of what this market has drawn."

Since the semiannual Wescon shows normally attract an estimated 8,000 regional attendees in both northern and southern California, the opportunity to take part in a show that brings in 120,000 attendees is priceless, said Hungerford.

"It's going to open up a worldwide audience. We see it as a market that we could never touch (before)," Hungerford said. "They (CEA) see it as another reason for the engineers to come to the show. They're scared of being the biggest electronics show out there."

Dan Cole, CEA's vice president of sales and business development, said the deal with ECI "represents our deep commitment to continue to reach engineers." The decision to approach ECI made sense to Cole, he said, "from a branding standpoint, as we have an outstanding relationship with IEEE. It helps to bring a new dimension to the show."