Calculating the marketing value of exhibiting at CES

I have always had mixed feelings about the marketing value of exhibiting at CES. For large technology and electronics companies with lavish budgets to spend on a big booth and related promotional campaigns, the event provides the ideal platform for starting the new year with a bang by showcasing their coolest new products and giving their worldwide customers confidence that they are moving in an exciting direction.

With plenty of global media still attending the show, CES also gives large companies the opportunity to spark extensive coverage of their latest offering and boost relationships with key reporters and influencers.

For smaller companies and startups, the benefits of attending the show are a lot more questionable. Sure, having a booth at CES opens up the possibility of being discovered by new customers and the occasional journalist, but unless they have something amazing or are lucky enough to be in a good location on the show floor the odds of this happening are about as good as the ones offered on the roulette table of Sin City’s casinos.

With so much heat and noise being generated by the major industry players, generating serious media buzz can also be extremely challenging. Again, you will need something really special to capture attention.

I am not saying that a small company or startup should not participate in CES, but I would suggest that if you are thinking about exhibiting there you should carry out a careful analysis of the ROI, including all the costs involved, before you sign on the bottom line. Once you start adding in booth construction, transportation, hotel, and sundry other expenses you could very well end up spending a lot more than you had originally planned — not to mention leaving a big hole in your annual marketing budget before the year has really started.