CE Pro October 2021 - 10

IndustryPulse
NEWS | ANALYSIS
CEDIA Expo 2021
Defies Pandemic
Attendees and exhibitors deem CEDIA
Expo 2021 in Indianapolis a 'pleasant
surprise' despite COVID-19 turmoil.
By Jason Knott
CEDIA EXPO 2021 in Indianapolis,
held September 1-3,
was certainly unlike any other
previous expo. Held under
the cloud of the spreading
COVID-19 delta variant, the
event was a pared-down
version of past CEDIA Expos,
but the exhibitors and
integrator attendees who
were there made the most of
the situation, meeting with
suppliers, going to training
classes, and commiserating
with comrades for the first
time in-person in two years.
In the final weeks leading
up to the show, numerous
suppliers made the difficult
decision to cancel their
presence due to fears of the
virus. That certainly affected
the number of integrator
attendees. In the end, 82
exhibitors and 1,400 verified
attendees were in Indy, according
to Emerald, owners
of the show (and publishers
of CE Pro). It marked the first
Expo for more than onethird
(35%) of attendees,
visiting from 46 states.
It's a far cry from the
non-pandemic attendance
levels, but the consensus
10 | CE Pro October 2021
opinion was that the event
was a " pleasant surprise " for
both attendees and exhibitors.
More
than 50 educational
sessions were also put on
during the show by CEDIA,
and many of the classes were
filled or near capacity. Indeed,
one session CE Pro attended
drew 22 of its original 28
registered attendees, or 80%
attendance. Another session
on wireless platforms had
more than 40 attendees. The
educational sessions were set
up with limited capacity to
enable safe social distancing.
Adjusting on the fly, CEDIA
prerecorded some of the
sessions and livestreamed
others, including the keynote
from Dr. Poppy Crum.
Speaking of safety precautions,
Emerald instituted
a health and safety plan
for the event that required
attendees who are not fully
vaccinated to wear a face
mask at all times, while
attendees who are fully vaccinated
were encouraged but
not required to wear masks.
Masks were provided at the
registration counter if needThe
only super-spreading going on at CEDIA Expo 2021 was
the dissemination of business ideas and product technology.
ed. CE Pro estimates about
half the crowd was wearing
masks during the event.
Emerald Group Vice President,
CEDIA Expo, Jason
McGraw, noted the smaller
show gave attendees " more
time for quality, one-on-one
relationship building and a
chance to see brands that
might overwise be missed. "
Meanwhile, the global
trade event for the custom
installation electronics
industry welcomed several
new and returning brands
to the show, which took
place at the Indiana Convention
Center in Indianapolis.
Among the key brands at the
show with large presences
were Origin Acoustics, Metra
AV, AV Pro Edge, AudioControl,
Kaleidescape, Screen
Innovations and Future
Ready Solutions, several of
which anticipated getting a
solid ROI from the event.
A highlight from the show
included the TechStarter
program in which brands
that are new to the custom
electronics industry had a
chance to show off their ingenuity
to a panel of veteran
judges: David Weinstein
of Lutron Electronics, Tom
Doherty of HTSA, and Walt
Zerbe of CEDIA. Participating
companies were GuardDog,
GDC, AutoSlide, Kew Labs,
Juke Audio and Hide-ATrim.
GuardDog earned the
$5,000 grand prize for its cybersecurity
software for the
custom electronics industry.
CE Pro will have a complete
wrap up of the show, along
with details of the winners of
the CE Pro BEST Awards and
Home of the Year Awards, in
the November issue.
cepro.com
http://www.cepro.com
CE Pro October 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CE Pro October 2021
