09.12.2008 — The audio community needs to prove to custom installers and consumers why audio is as essential to home theater as big-screen video displays.

At CEDIA Expo, compelling audio demos were few and far between. While respected vendors like McIntosh, RBH, Wisdom, ADA, Transparent, Thiel, Meridian and JL Audio were running demos, there's a lot more audio manufacturers can do to sell their products.

There's a large demographic that will spend lots of money for non-essential home entertainment products. Video brands like Runco, Digital Projection, Stewart Filmscreen, Screen Research and SIM2 sell expensive products to consumers on a regular basis.

These video companies know that no consumer is going to buy an expensive item on hype alone.

They spend a lot of time and effort to present efficient, well-designed demos that stir show attendees and motivate them to sell their products.

Instead of putting up, some audio manufacturers claim that shows like CEDIA and EHX aren't intended for audio. Maybe they just don't get it.

Learn From the Music Industry

The audio industry needs to take a page from the music community, which boasts tons of product demos during its NAMM events.

Well-known companies like Marshall, Fender and Tama will bring in their most famous endorsees, including Paul Gilbert, Eddie Van Halen and Kenny Aronoff, to demonstrate their new product releases. They realize that marketing isn't enough in a competitive marketplace.

It's interesting that the people that make the music feel the need to demonstrate their products, while the people that reproduce the music feel they don't.

My advice: stop complaining about falling audio revenues. Put yourselves out there and show why your products are just as fun and entertaining as your video counterparts.

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