Can Vegas Sustain Another CES?

Trade shows, especially in the technology industry, often gravitate to the grand city of Las Vegas. Why? The location is always upbeat, the space accommodating, and the area fairly central to most. But anyone that's traveled to an event there over the past few years knows that the costs are also exponential, and only getting larger. If you go to Vegas for a show like CES, you're liable to pay upwards of $300/night for a hotel room that would normally run for half that. A good meal is tough to find for a reasonable price (although plenty of fantastic meals are to be had if you're willing to fork over the dough for them!) And drinks? You're lucky to find anything, and I mean anything with even just a drop of alcohol for less than $10. But with the economy in the state that it's currently in, will Vegas be able to keep up its perceived price gouging of trade show-goers?

The next massive show to arrive in Sin City is indeed CES this January. At this year's CEDIA EXPO, which took place in Denver, CO, many were rumbling that CES would be jumping ship to another city once its contract was up. The reason? Pricing was getting ridiculous in that great city known as Lost Wages. Some claimed that this wasn't entirely true: the CEA was just bluffing in an effort to get Vegas to wake up to the incredible loss the city would experience if events companies started moving their business elsewhere. Neither of these rumours have ever been substantiated, but we have seen evidence that Las Vegas definitely needs to, and might already be, waking up to the effects economic uncertainty can have.

Visit the official CES Website (http://www.cesweb.org/), for instance, and you'll see a ton of hotels highlighted in bright yellow, signifying that they're offering reduced rates for show attendees. The most dramatic is the Excalibur, where a room that was $219 has now been reduced to just $141.

Aside from the show, the downturn the city is suffering from is becoming quite apparent. According to the Las Vegas Meetings and Travel Website from the Conventions and Visitors Authority, the number of visitors during the month of September was down 10.1% when compared to September 2007. In August, visitors were down 4.3%. The number of attendees at conferences was down 10% in Sept. and a whopping 22.3% in August; while the number of conferences actually held during those months was down 17.9% and 7.2%, respectively when compared to the prior year. Airline passengers arriving to or leaving from Vegas was also down: 9.9% in August and 13.2% in September. On average, all of the aforementioned figures were down at least 4% throughout the entire year of 2008 when compared to '07.

Meanwhile, even the gamblers are pinching their pennies. A recent Reuters report indicates that Vegas gambling is down for the ninth month in a row, while the take for casinos has dropped US$58 million from one year ago to an astonishing US$1 billion! Company shares on the stock market are also plummeting: Las Vegas Sands Corp. dropped from US$122 to just US$6; MGM Mirage from US$93 to US$11; and Wynn Resorts Ltd. from US$139 to under US$44.

While you won't see relevant companies opting out of attending CES this year altogether, you will see a cut back in the number of employees going down to the show. This means fewer flights, fewer dollars acquired from hotel room bookings, fewer dollars spent gambling, and fewer food and drink sales. Booths at the show will likely remain as big and flashy as they always are, but it's very possible that companies will be scaling back on even booth space as they consider bookings for next year's show.

What does this mean? The city of Las Vegas should really be pro-active in addressing all of these concerns, for both visitors and potential business partners that are looking to hold their conventions, events, and parties there. CES isn't moving to another location just yet, and has never announced that it is looking to do so either. But everything could tumble like a deck of cards if Vegas doesn't start proving itself a worthy, and reasonably-priced, home for convention-holders and goers to spend their money.

[Photo: Las Vegas News Bureau (LVCVA)].

CES: Huge Leaps or Status Quo?

As anyone in the CE industry knows, CES, North America's largest technology trade show, is fast approaching. Returning to Las Vegas this January, the show will feature everything from the latest in consumer electronics, computing, wireless technology and other portable gadgets, digital imaging, and entertainment. You name it: if it's a really influential, really cool, and attention-getting device or technology, it'll be at CES. But just as quickly as all the facets of the technology industry are coming together in harmony, so, too are they branching off in various directions. Because of this, does CES still have the same clout that it used to?

When you think about it, the show, despite its massive magnitude, is surrounded by several other smaller, more focused events. In September, CEDIA EXPO is where the custom A/V companies congregate, while PMA EXPO, held in March, is the show for the photo industry. If you're looking at wireless, whether we're talking handsets, software, apps, or business systems, April's CTIA WIRELESS event is a must-attend. Do you work on the commercial side of things? Then InfoComm is the show for you! So where does this leave CES?

Sure, CES gets the most media attention, and the most visitors, especially internationally. Because of this, many companies hold out for the iconic show to make major announcements. But what if you don't have that much happening in a year? If you're a flat-panel TV maker, for example, you can't hold back the following year's big items until January. Then what will you show at CEDIA? Hey, here's my old stuff. Thanks for coming. See you at CES! (?) Likewise, a camera maker might wait until March to make its big announcements at PMA, but then what do they show at CES? Do you divy up the line-up, showing off some teasers at CES followed by the grand reveal at PMA? Granted, it makes absolutely perfect sense to display the same products at CES that you did at CEDIA or PMA or whatever show floats your boat, because the smaller-scale events certainly don't target the same, massively mainstream audience that CES does. But if your dealers, partners, and specifically targeted media members were already at that other show, is CES worth it for the remaining exposure you're going to get?

The answer to this, of course, depends on a number of factors. How much does the rest of the exposure mean to you? What percentage of your dealers attend CES but don't attend the other targeted show(s), whether that be CEDIA, PMA, or what have you? How important is your message to both targeted and mainstream audiences? And finally, how major is the new product or technology that you're featuring this year? Even if it isn't a "revolutionary" breakthrough as so many companies claim the smallest adjustment to represent, the more exposure your company gets, the better. Exposure is everything. As they say, people might not notice you were there, but they'll certainly notice that you weren't.

With that said, while the 2009 CES might very well be a "status quo" year where we don't see any mind-blowing technologies introduced like we might have in previous years (Blu-ray and HD DVD, flat-panels TVs and 1080p, digital photo frames, and satellite radio, to name a few), it still remains a worthy event to attend if you're in the industry.

**Speaking of those in the industry, I'd love to know your favourite spots in Vegas to take dealers/clients, hang out for a drink or two, or relax during down time. If you send your top recommendation(s) to me via e-mail at cpersaud@marketnews.ca, we'll compile a "top spots" list to publish in the mag and/or online that you can peruse and get some ideas. Because hey, just as much as the show is about learning about products, it's also about wining and dining your dealers, potential dealers, and American/overseas affiliates. Here are a few of my recommendations to get you started:

Japonais in the Mirage Hotel: it serves a fusion of Japanese and French food, and has sushi dishes that are absolutely amazing. The ambience is great, and service is impeccable.

Cirque de Soleil’s LOVE at the Mirage: It’s an exciting, captivating show that’s worth experiencing at least once, especially if you’re a Beatles fan.

The Shadow Bar in Caesar’s Palace: Having stayed in that hotel for the past three years, it’s almost become like my “local bar” a few times every year. It can, in many ways, be considered the new Bugsy’s Bar because it often ends up being a meeting place for Canucks. You’re sure to run into some Canadian industry members there.

And of course who can forget Canada Night at Caesar’s Palace: It’s the event for the Canadian consumer electronics industry. No invitation is required, and all are welcome. We’ll see you there on Friday, January 9, 2009 at 6 p.m.! Click Here for more details.

The deadline to send me your suggestion(s) is November 20, 2008.

Underestimating the Power of Secondary Features

Have you ever spent tons of money on a birthday or Christmas present for a young child, only to find that he/she is more fascinated with the box it came in? I've noticed a similar situation when it comes to high-tech products and the "average" consumer. Sometimes the feature that you just gloss over during your presentation, or worse, don't even mention, is one that's likely to pique the customer's interest.

This Father's Day was a case in point for me. We arrived at my parent's house, where my dad was overly enthusiastic about showing us a new discovery he made about his flat-panel TV and DVD player. When he puts in a music CD, the track titles come up on-screen, along with a standard play/pause menu, controlled via the remote. He had no idea, but absolutely loved the ability to pop in a CD, sit on the couch, and scroll through some tunes! My mom is planning a party with the girls next weekend, and she plans to set up her background music using this newly discovered method of theirs. Of course they don't really have any speakers, but let's take things one step at a time...

We often overlook simple functionality like the ability to play back CDs and control them using your TV. The same goes for features like being able to play back photos on the big-screen, or even connecting the TV to a computer and surfing the 'net using the flat-panel as an oversized monitor.

These hidden gem features go way beyond just TVs and DVD players. Lots of consumers don't know that you can use the same flash memory card in a digital camera that you can in an MP3 player or a digital camcorder, for instance. I'll bet lots of dads that received iPods this Father's Day (or Father's Days past) don't realize they can also play back photos and video on the device. Or what about that portable iPod dock? I'll bet many owners don't even know that they can connect other things, like a different portable player, speakers, or even a CD player attachment, to that nifty device using an AUX input on the back.

It's amazing how much we take for granted that the consumer knows. If you're selling technology products, learn to read the customer and gauge what features he/she might like, and might not care about. It doesn't hurt to say "did you know that this product X and can also do Y?" You might just be surprised at the response.