Record attendance at CES 2011!

From: Exhibitor New Network

Independent Audit Confirms Record International Attendance at the 2011 International CES

5/12/2011 - The International CES® announced that 31,677 industry professionals from outside the U.S. attended the 2011 International CES January 6-9, 2011, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Up 30 percent from last year, international attendance at the 2011 CES set a new record for the show’s 45-year history. An independent audit, performed by Veris Consulting LLC, confirms CES’ status as the world’s largest consumer technology tradeshow and North America’s largest annual tradeshow of any kind. Overall, the 2011 International CES welcomed 149,529 technology attendees during its four day run.

Veris is certified by the Exhibition and Event Industry Audit Commission (EEIAC) to perform audits. Veris Consulting provides an independent, third-party verification of International CES attendance, demographics, records and record-keeping systems. As part of the Veris audit, each CES attendee is counted only once, and show size is calculated using only exhibit space sold, not hallways or bartered space. An independent audit is required to be certified by UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, and the International CES is believed to be the only UFI approved event in its category.

“The 2011 International CES was the must-attend event of 2011 and featured astounding innovative debuts including Android Honeycomb, Ford’s Electric Focus, Motorola’s Atrix and Microsoft’s Avatar Kinect,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)®, producer of CES. “This audit verifies that CES brings together the global technology industry, including Fortune 500 executives, retail buyers, content providers, entertainment executives, venture capitalists, engineers and media from all over the world who want to experience the latest and greatest tech products.”

Technology innovation spanned more than 1.6 million net square feet of exhibit space, as an estimated 20,000 new products were launched by more than 2,700 exhibiting companies at the 2011 CES. More, international attendees represented 140 countries, demonstrating that global technology executives travel to CES to do business. Aside from the U.S., the top 10 countries represented in terms of attendees were: Canada, South Korea, Japan, China, United Kingdom, Mexico, Taiwan, France, Germany and Brazil.

More than 40,000 top decision makers and senior level executives attend the International CES for its unparalleled networking and business opportunities. The Veris audit confirms that 43 percent of 2011 CES attendees are senior level executives, on par with last year. Presidents, CEOs and/or business owners made up 16 percent of attendees. Nearly one third of all attendees are the final decision makers when it comes to new product purchases and partnerships with new companies, with 97 percent identified as having buying decision influence. More than 11,500 attendees represented companies with more than $500 million in total annual sales, up 37 percent over 2010 CES.

Leaders from diverse business areas including entertainment, retail, education, engineering and financial services attend the International CES, according to the Veris audit. More than 12,000 retail-buying organizations, 6,500 manufacturers and 3,500 engineering companies came to the 2011 CES. Additionally, more than 9,500 attendees from the content development and entertainment industry came to CES’ inaugural year of the Entertainment Matters program, providing entertainment executives the chance to experience the products and technologies that deliver their entertainment to the consumer.

Top government officials attended the 2011 International CES. One hundred government leaders from the U.S. Cabinet, U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, Federal Communications Commission, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President, U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of the United States Trade Representative, U.S. International Trade Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency attend CES to learn where technology is heading.

Influential media attend CES every year to report on the latest technologies and trends in the consumer technology industry. The 2011 CES drew more than 5,000 press and industry analysts.

The CES audit provides absolute verification of exhibition records, including direct on-site observation, examination of registration systems and testing of attendee records. Post-show analysis included direct confirmation sampling, reconciliation of attendance lists, elimination of duplicate names and verification of demographic data with the source of documentation.

Final audit numbers may differ from preliminary estimates given on-site due to additional badge pick-ups and badge reader reports. This audit complies with the industry standards for audits adopted by both the Exhibition and Event Industry Audit Commission (EEIAC) and the International Association of Exhibition and Events (IAEE).

For full audit results, please visit www.CESweb.org/exhibitors. The 2012 International CES is scheduled for January 10-13 in Las Vegas, Nevada.