"This audit report confirms that the 2009 International CES succeeded, despitean economic downturn, in attracting top executives, retail buyers, contentproviders, entertainment executives, venture capitalists, engineers, governmentofficials and media from around the globe," said Gary Shapiro, president andCEO, Consumer Electronics Association (CEA®), producer of CES. "Our CESexhibitors commend us on attracting top-level decision makers, which allowedthem to start the year off right by doing a considerable amount of business withglobal partners." 2,700 worldwide companies, including 300 new exhibitors, unveiled an estimated20,000 new technology products across 1.7 million net square feet of exhibitspace on the CES show floor. More, 140 countries were represented by 22,000international attendees. The largest contingents of attendees from outside theUnited States came from the following countries: Canada, Japan, Korea, Mexico,United Kingdom, China, France, Taiwan, Germany, Hong Kong, Australia, Israel andSweden.
Major name companies in the audio, accessories, broadcasting, cable, content,digital imaging, electronic gaming, emerging technology, home networking, hometheater, mobile electronics, video and wireless industries continue to use CESas the catalyst for new technologies. More than 4,500 attendees representedcompanies with more than $500 million in total annual sales. A leading number of senior level executives and final decision makers conductbusiness at CES. According to the VERIS audit, 46 percent of all attendees weresenior level executives, director level and above, on par with last year, andmore than 20 percent of attendees were presidents, CEOs or business owners. Morethan one third of attendees are final decision makers when it comes to newproduct purchases and partnerships. The audit also confirms that CES attracts business leaders from diverse areasincluding entertainment, retail, education, engineering and venture capitalindustries. This year, more than 12,000 buyers, 6,000 manufacturers and 2,800engineers came to CES along with more than 6,000 attendees from the softwaredevelopment/publishing, content development and entertainment industries.
The International CES also brings together a large concentration of topgovernment officials. Policymakers from the United States Congress, Departmentof Commerce, Department of State, Federal Communications Commission (FCC),Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Department of Energy, EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA) and the United States International Trade Commission(USITC) were all on hand. Each year, influential media and analysts attend the show to report on thelatest products and trends in the consumer technology realm. The 2009 CES drewmore than 4,500 media and 1,500 financial and market analysts. This CES audit provides verification of exhibition records, including directon-site observation, examination of registration systems and testing of attendeerecords.
Post-show analysis includes direct confirmation sampling,reconciliation of attendance lists, elimination of duplicate names andverification of demographic data with the source of documentation. Final audit numbers can differ from estimates given on-site due to additionalbadge pick-ups and badge reader reports. This audit complies with the industrystandards for audits adopted by the International Association of ExhibitionManagement in August 2004. In addition, CEA is a member of the Exhibition andEvents Industry Audit Council, which is responsible for determining standardguidelines for conducting trade show audits.