Ruth P. Stevens Articles and Columns: EXPO MagazineMarch 2006 Promo Pointers The challenge: Support the world’s largest consumer technology show, CES, with a website that is easily navigated by every one of the show’s 150,000 attendees. The audience: Manufacturers, distributors, installers and buyers of consumer electronics, plus creators of "content," like music, movies and games. The solution: A website design that deftly channels visitors to the information they seek based on visual icons, plus a "MyCES" tool that allowed registrants to customize their experience at the show. The strategy: As CES expanded over the years, its management recognized the growing risk that customers would begin to view the show as too broad to serve their individual needs. Feedback from attendee surveys was clear: "Just give me what I care about," they said. For the 2006 show in January in Las Vegas, CES introduced a new website that invited visitors to select one of eight major categories of consumer electronics, from home theaters, audio and wireless to home networking, digital imaging and emerging technologies. The offline promotions — postcards, email, brochures — featured photography of technology being used by people, like a family watching its home theater in the living room, and these images were carried through on the website. The capstone, however, was software provided by BD Metrics that visitors could use to search on key words of interest, and create a personal plan for getting the most from the show — people to meet, sessions to attend, booths to visit, along with a customized map to tie it all together. Why it works: The new website gives visitors what they want. Says Tara Dunion, CES director of communications, "Our attendees asked us to help them personalize their experience with our show. We serve so many different types of audiences. We needed to find an approach that would take advantage of our multi-dimensionality while at the same time letting people focus on a single aspect." The results: Attendance continues to grow, from 132,853 in 2004, to 145,866 in 2005, and over 150,000 in 2006. Net square feet have expanded, too, reaching 1.6 million, serving 2,700 exhibitors in 2006. Best of all, during the week of the 2006 show, the website received 1.5 million unique visitors. Advice to others: The bigger you become, the more customization you need to offer. ........................................................................................... © 2008 Ruth
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