CEDIA Cancels Spring Expo

EH Publishing should take note of this.  Nobody really wants to pay the ransom you ask for at each show.

I have to think location makes a bigger difference than we’re willing to admit. In todays economic environment the link between business and leisure activities is more of a consideration than past shows.

In addition to the current shifting economic climate, I would think that a huge factor is the time commitment.  My old firm could barely manage to sneak away for a week in September, especially in the current mad climate of an oil boom.  When they announced the Spring Expo, we knew that going was not an option.  I like schmoozing and wandering around a show floor as much as anyone, but taking two weeks off for basically the same show is unrealistic.

As a CEDIA member I’d like to say they are a poor run organization.  Who knows how much time and money they wasted on planning for this trade show in Vegas and then in Dallas.

Their outreach to members is also pitiful!  I looked through my CEDIA folder for 2007 and there’s nothing in it aside from crap-mail regarding the Denver Expo.  I’m starting to think it’s some hokey organization built to give industry veterans something to do, whether it’s to act a president for a year or sell expensive training to new comers to the industry.

Some suggestions for CEDIA:

- Assign a CEDIA representative to each member company (full member or provisional).  Have that CEDIA representative follow up quarterly with members to find out what some of their issues are within the industry.
- Follow up with provisional members and find out why they ahve not pursued certification for full membership.
- Improve the discounts to trade shows and training events to CEDIA members.
- Improve your website!  The website is #### poor horrible.  Really, it’s one of the worst websites I’ve ever seen.  The training and course selection portion of the CEDIA website is perhaps the worst part.  You might actually find more participants if people could find the courses they are looking for to sign up for them.
- Let your trainers speak their mind.  I’ve attended at least a dozen training events and at just about every CEDIA training class, the trainer has to hold back because they can’t discuss actual product manufacturers.
- Don’t bring the trade show back to Indianapolis.  What the heck is their to do in Indianapolis?

The CEDIA Expo in the September, CES in January, and the EHX Expo in march is all we really need. No one has time to go to all the other events except for the press and perhaps CEDIA self appointed leadership.

Now they just need to cancel the Fall show.

In my opinion, it is a waste of time and money.

Good luck to those of you going to these shows hoping that it will make your company better.

If you want to take the week off, have a local get together and talk about what could have made your last projects finish better.

Product knowlege and a desire to do a great job is worth more than anything you will walk away from at these shows.  The desire needs to be in you to start and the product knowledge can come from your rep.

I have followed behind quite a few of these ‘professional’ CEDIA certified installation companies and cleaned up the mess that they created.  Most of the installs were far from ‘professional’.

My biggest complant about CEDIA is that they keep talking about CEDIA University and becoming certified and I ask all of my customers if they have heard of CEDIA? And I find that only 10-15% of them have heard of CEDIA.More money needs to be spent on advertising,not suing Bose.Also it would be great to see advertisement outside of the A/V magazines and maybe on television.