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Why consumers aren't at the Consumer Electronics Show

Posted on January 14, 2007 by Jeremy Toeman

Not WelcomeWhile I was at CES last week, one of my readers, Rex Thomas posted a comment here on the blog, voicing his lousy experience trying to get into CES this year. From his comment, it sounds like Rex had a very lousy time, and received poor information and advice from numerous people. I feel bad for Rex, and thought, as a member of “the industry” that I’d take a stab at an explanation. As a disclaimer here, I am not going to try to justify the poor communication/notifications on the CES Web site, which should absolutely be crystal clear for others like Rex.

First of all, it is a trade show, and by definition, that implies it’s for members of the specified trade. Unlike a Car Show or Boat Show, which are really expositions, it’s an event for people in an industry. The Fancy Food Show, for example, is similarly not open to the public, nor are most events of a similar nature. It just so happens to be named Consumer electronics show, since the industry itself is dubber Consumer Electronics.

IMG_2543 south hall entrancewaySecond, the show’s pretty crowded as it is, with over 140,000 people registered this year. If we were to assume it’s all by the book, that’s 140,000 consumer electronics employees, buyers, press/media, and other affiliated people. Again, that’s a lot of people! If there were no restrictions, that could easily double within a couple of years, and I don’t know how the city nor the convention could handle the traffic!

Third, consider the fact that until the past few years the primary goal of the event was retail sales and relationships. The show’s history was about introducing new consumer electronics products to retailers, and selling products. In the past few years, more and more media coverage has upped the profile of the show to the point where virtually anyone even connected to consumer technology has an awareness of “CES” and knows at least a bit about it. The event has absolutely transcended its humble origins, and today encompasses much more than just selling consumer electronics to retailers!

JT setting up Sling booth at CES 2006Finally, take the sum of the points above. There are a lot of people there, most of which have specific jobs to do. Both retailers and press have to get to as many relevant booths as they can. Booth staff need to demo and talk for hours on-end to as many of their target customers or media attendees as possible. If all the people who need to be there to do their job had to navigate around anyone and everyone who felt like coming to Vegas that week, they simply wouldn’t be able to get their jobs done. This is probably the key reason to restrict attendance to industry folks.

I know it seems like it’s a lot of fun, and in many ways it is fun. But it’s a lot of work for a lot of people. The people who work for consumer electronics companies tend to work through all of December just to prepare for the show, whether they are getting demos ready or designing and building booths or simply planning the logistics for staffers. Media and analysts also typically spend weeks just figuring out their calendars for the 4-day nerdapalooza. December is not a pleasant month for those of us in the consumer electronics industry!

So Rex, and others out there who think it’s unfair or should be changed, I hope this helps clarify a bit of why it’s technically a closed event. In the meantime, there are several events which are in fact open to the general public. CeBIT in Germany every March, as well as Digital Life in NYC in October, are both open for anyone to attend (I’d pick Digital Life over CeBIT any time).

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Posted in General | 8 Comments
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8 thoughts on “Why consumers aren't at the Consumer Electronics Show”

  1. Jeff says:
    January 15, 2007 at 10:17 am

    The CES admission restrictions serve to prevent just anyone from walking in off the street. They also serve to discourage consumers from making the trip specifically to attend the show. However, while I absolutely see why they don’t make it open and think Jeremy’s points are valid, getting in isn’t all that difficult. A little foresight and a plan goes a long way.

    CES is actually much easier to get into than CEDIA, which polices attendance more strictly. But even with CEDIA, you can get in. So, while the official policy of all such events is what it is, someone who really wants to go can find a number of ways in (and I’m not about anything illegal or even about sneaking in). After all, I attendedlast year and got to meet Jeremy! BTW, nice to see you doing well post Sling. 🙂

    Jeff

    Reply
  2. KJH says:
    January 15, 2007 at 11:09 am

    The statement about CES being a lot of work resonated with me, and I just had to comment. As a relative newcomer to the ‘press‘ (a few years), CES has been a whirlwind week every time, with long days and not enough sleep. By the time the show opened on Monday, I was tired!

    I’ve attended in the past as a consumer, back when it wasn’t so crowded, and it sure is fun. But now that I’m one of the ‘working’ types at the show, I have to admit not really wanting to see too many consumers be allowed to attend. I feel sorry for the booth staffers who have to repeat the same thing and do the same demo over and over. Imagine if they had to do that continuously for 4 days straight!

    Perhaps CEA should institute some kind of guest hours/day program.

    Reply
  3. Dave Zatz says:
    January 17, 2007 at 7:08 am

    The argument can be made that the 140,000 press, analysts, and industry people ARE consumers. Especially as you watch people jockey for free schwag. Having said that, I was grateful to attend as a blogger and can’t imagine allowing any more folks in — it’s already overcrowded.

    Reply
  4. Gary Milam says:
    January 19, 2007 at 10:15 pm

    I was actually with Rex Thomas when we were informed that we were not “eligible” to attend the show. We are both fervent electronics consumers, having come from lengthy careers as electronics technicians. We have both recently retired, but are still quite involved with electronic innovations and concepts. We were shocked by the resrictions, which we were unable to find posted anywhere (at least in all the places we looked). I would submit that in order to help prevent this type of misunderstanding in the future, the restriction be placed in BOLD LETTERING in obvious places on the CES website.

    Reply
  5. Paul Kryder says:
    January 6, 2009 at 10:05 am

    It should NOT be called the Consumer Electronics Show if consumers are not allowed in. It should be called the Industry Electronics Show.

    Reply
  6. Jeremy Toeman says:
    January 6, 2009 at 1:18 pm

    think of it as the “Consumer Electronics” Show, not the “Consumer” Electronics Show…

    Reply
  7. R Parsons says:
    September 20, 2009 at 2:22 pm

    As suggested, CES is there to generate money for
    accountants and imported sales,

    Too bad there isn’t a show for US non-corporate electronics inventors – where new innovations can predate the polished corporate non US assembled “consumer electronics”

    It may be old history, but I beleive Apple Computer started in a home garage, its’ inventors would not have been allowed
    in the CES at their non business stage either.

    r

    Reply
  8. vcop says:
    June 2, 2011 at 11:38 am

    Digital Life convention currently no longer exists for the general public. It completely stopped on the general public for the past three years. This is another case similar to CES & E3.

    Reply

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About

Jeremy Toeman is a seasoned Product leader with over 20 years experience in the convergence of digital media, mobile entertainment, social entertainment, smart TV and consumer technology. Prior ventures and projects include CNET, Viggle/Dijit/Nextguide, Sling Media, VUDU, Clicker, DivX, Rovi, Mediabolic, Boxee, and many other consumer technology companies. This blog represents his personal opinion and outlook on things.

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