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Dan Cole
Vice President, Exhibitor Services, Sales and Business Development, International CES
The Show Heard Round the World
by Dan Cole
Congratulations on being part of the biggest international CE event of the year. In just four days last month, you gained not only nationwide exposure for your brand and new products, but also worldwide attention from 28,092 (preliminary audit) international industry players. While we estimate that 141,389 (preliminary audit) industry professionals were in attendance, we’ll share our final audited numbers in May.
Through your participation and CES’ powerful conference program, the show gained unprecedented international prestige. The inaugural “Technology and Emerging Countries: Advancing Development through Technology Investments” Industry Insider program brought together government leaders and technology innovators to explore technology’s role in economic development. Speakers included His Excellency Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda; Nicholas Negroponte, founder of the One Laptop Per Child Project and MIT’s Media Lab; and Dr. Paul Jacobs, CEO of Qualcomm, as well as leaders from AMD, Cisco, Intel, Microsoft and Voxiva.
President Kagame discussed emerging technology and its impact on his country and the African continent. He noted that technology brings jobs and financial stability to his country, and that an open government-business relationship is necessary for economic growth.
CEA echoes President Kagame’s thoughts, promoting robust free-trade policies. As CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro kicked off the 2008 CES with his “State of the Industry” address, he projected that CE industry sales would jump to $171 billion in 2008, a 6.1 percent increase over 2007. However, Shapiro cautioned that although the CE industry would continue to outpace projected sales in other industries, continued growth is threatened by those who promote protectionist policies. In 2006, U.S. high tech companies exported more than $220 billion of their products, accounting for one fifth of total U.S. exports, and making high-tech America’s largest export sector.
During CES, CEA also announced an unprecedented free-trade initiative among CEA, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). The three groups made a formal request to Congress to approve pending free-trade agreements and to restore the President’s authority to negotiate free-trade agreements. Get the latest CEA news on the free-trade campaign from the CEA website.
Throughout this year, I urge you to continue to leverage your brand on a worldwide platform and to support free-trade policies. Beyond CES, CEA is hosting or partnering on three other international events this year:
I encourage all our exhibitors to consider participating in Hometech and SINOCES. These two events are the leading consumer technology tradeshows in their regions and provide opportunities for companies based in the U.S. and other markets to develop new manufacturing and distribution partnerships.
And, of course, the industry’s biggest international event returns to Las Vegas on January 8, 2009.
Beyond our international events, we also publish the industry’s only global magazine for CE executives. CE Vision is read by the very top decision makers from our CES international attendee database. CE Vision also has an international story each issue on markets that are important to CEA members as indicated by them in surveys. Magazine advertisers benefit by reinforcing their brands and messaging across the global CE spectrum.
We value your input on these international programs. Our marketing partnership with you is built on S.U.R.E. – a Sense of Urgency, Responsiveness and Empathy, because we measure our success by your success.
Thank you for taking part in the International CES’ success. We look to working with you year-round to grow the CE industry worldwide!
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2008 was another great year for our attendee numbers at CES. Our preliminary audit shows an attendance of 141,389. Though slightly smaller than last year’s number, we were happy to see a decrease in unqualified registrants. Feedback from our exhibitors and board members supports early signs that the quality of attendees was better than ever. 
