09.19.2008 — When SpeakerCraft brought more dancers to CEDIA Expo 2008 than loudspeakers, they had no idea how much hubbub it would cause.

Neither did we, when we asked dealers: Was the Cirque-like show awesome or annoying?

We received 130 comments on the subject – about 80 positive and 50 negative.

You called the performances everything from "unprofessional" and "offensive" to "a creative masterpiece." It was "filth" and it was "genius."

Then there was "Phil" who requested that we post more pictures – presumably ones that included the wardrobe malfunction – so that he could make a more informed decision.

But many of you, like "PE" just wanted to know: "Does their booth help sell anymore speakers?"

We asked SpeakerCraft president Jeremy Burkhardt that very thing. We also asked him how SpeakerCraft customers and prospects responded to the CEDIA exhibit, and other questions regarding his unusual approach to the show.

If nothing else, here's one great takeaway from the interview below: To cut down on set-up costs, SpeakerCraft created an "art work" of its booth, instead of an "exhibit."

For that reason, says Burkhardt, "No union labor [was] required since it was art made in an artistic way on site."

Now that's clever.

Check out the videos below.

Q&A with Jeremy Burkhardt

Last year you blended art with product, but this time it was almost ALL art. Why the shift?

Budgets are tight around the world and we want to spend as much as we can on product development and education vs. union labor and a big-ass heavy trade show booth.

At CEDIA 2008 we choose to use an existing structure that three brothers (the Do Lab) built by hand -- no union labor required since it was art made in an artistic way on site.

We choose to use a recycled booth that has appeared at half a dozen concerts nationwide from Coachella to Burning Man to Rothburry.

We picked live art and music as it embodies what we do. The venue was perfect to allow our speakers to crank and the dream of live performance to happen.

For many years we have wanted a live show at CEDIA. This year our team pulled it off with our friends from Lucent Dossier. Music is why we are in business, music is what it's all about. We love performers and this was a dream come true.

Did the marketing ploy work?

Our dealers get the fact that there is no ploy.

What you see is a company that looks whacked out. Our dealers get that we exist to serve them from education to making the best sounding and easiest products to sell and install in the world.

We market as ourselves to the industry and spend millions on high-end look-and-feel products for target end users.

The dealers that didn't get it were not our targets.

How were your leads and booth traffic versus previous years?

Booth traffic was too much. We are talking about security and locking the booth from the public next year unless they have appointments.

We invited hundreds of potential dealers to our booth and they had appointment times. If you just walked in and were confused, sure we would help but you were not a targeted account by our sales team.

We only have so much time for serious business and making an appointment worked!

Yes, we broke every trade show rule, like "Appeal to everyone, get the names of people in your booth, don't take risks...".

The thing that tripped everyone out was the lack of product but at every show our AIM speakers and subs belted out music at 120 dB built into amazing Tim Burton like pods.

What was the opinion of existing dealers vs. prospects?

If you're a dealer and didn't have an appointment and visited and left confused, give us a call and we will set a serious real meeting.

We really confused the casual herd that meanders the show in search of lit and slick sales talk. True prospects got the education, entertainment and a great demo. The dude that walked in and wasn't ready to get serious was pissed that we didn't have time to talk frequency response and specs. Sorry man that's what the Web is for.

Were you surprised by the controversy?

I can't believe people were afraid of a few sexy dancers and some hot-in-shape guys. This was only three shows, 20 minutes long, each a day. The rest of the show we had many hours of meetings and they were business and fun.

My advice is to do something that scares yourself everyday.

Did you see the wardrobe malfunction?

Just like the wardrobe malfunctions, accidents happen and it's called life. Enjoy it and let the world know.

Judge for Yourself

Was the presentation filthy or fun?


Video from marketnews.com


Video from SpeakerCraft