After several atypical years where COVID-19 has led to major events being held virtually, big in-person trade shows have stepped back into the fray. Among these major events is the Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
CES is one of the most influential tech events worldwide, becoming a hub for global innovators and breakthrough technology.
CES Returns to In-Person Events After a Turbulent Three Years
After the massive success of CES 2020, where over 171,000 people attended the event, CES 2021 was a virtual event. In CES 2022, the return to in-situ events met numerous challenges.
Public health concerns due to the Omicron variant saw the CES close its show one day early, as key companies like Intel, Lenovo, Amazon, Google, Meta, and TikTok switched to virtual-only appearances. In the end, attendance numbers reached over 41,000, and there has been growing expectation as to what the attendance will be now that these public health concerns have gone. Expectations are higher than ever for CES 2023.
In fact, with in-person events surging once again, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) recently announced that CES 2023 was set to become the largest in-person, audited business event to take place in the U.S. since the pandemic. With over 100,000 attendees expected to go, that is a 40% increase from CES 2022.
Want to know more? Get ready for CES 2023 with our guide to the whys, where, whats, and hows to make the most out of this event. Or you can register here.
What is CES?
CES is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Launched in 1967 in New York City, the event was originally heavily inspired by the Chicago Music Show, which had become a referential event for the exhibition of consumer electronics. In 1978, the event was held twice a year, once in January in Las Vegas, known as the Winter Consumer Electronics Show (WCES), and once in Chicago, with the Summer Consumer Electronics Show (SCES).
After several changes in venues, by 1998, the show had changed to a once-a-year format with Las Vegas as the final location.
Today, CES is one of the best events to unveil breakthrough technologies. The world’s biggest brands arrive to do business, meet new partners and learn more from the brightest innovators in the market. This makes CES a key feature in every event marketing strategy.
CES showcases a wide range of companies, including developers, manufacturers, consumer technology hardware suppliers, content experts, and more. Its conference program is also an ideal spotlight for global business leaders and thinkers to address the most relevant issues in their industries.
Who Goes to CES?
CES is a trade-only event for people over the age of 18. All attendees must be affiliated with the consumer technology industry. Therefore, CES is not open to the general public, but industry attendees, media representatives, and exhibitors are welcome. However, friends and family under 18 cannot attend the event.
Restrictions aside, executives, experts, and innovators from the world’s biggest corporations in the world go to CES to learn and understand how technology will impact their business. In short, CES 2023 is an absolute must-see for tech lovers who are in the industry and eligible for an admission path.
CES is also more than just a marketplace for cool gadgets. A significant value proposition for companies is that CES 2023 will be a near-perfect meeting place for tech companies and brands to connect and build relationships in the ideal B2B lead generation scenario.
What Kind of Speakers Participate in CES 2023?
The CTA tries to ensure that high-quality speakers from all areas of the global technology industry speak on their stages. It encourages businesses to propose their thought leaders, innovators, and experts to leverage the opportunity to participate in one of the world’s most recognized and influential platforms. CES 2023 will offer over 75 conference keynotes and sessions.
What Exhibitors Will be Present at CES 2023?
CES sets out to showcase multiple types of companies. Exhibitors can feature products from all facets of the consumer tech industry. This can range from AI, virtual reality, smart cities, robotics, Blockchain, Cybersecurity, Fintech, Sports and Wellness technology, 5G, and much more.
Global brands, including Amazon, Google, Sony, Samson, Verizon, Accenture, LG, Meta, Mercedes Benz, and more, will have exhibit booths at the event. Many will make the most of this event to launch new products and display their cutting-edge technologies.
Hundreds of sessions will occur with industry leaders ready to highlight technological advances in various sectors like transportation and mobility, digital health, the metaverse, and sustainability. A novelty this year will be a new focus on the creator economy, including NFTs and Web3.
Will There be Any Key Themes at CES 2023?
CES provides technological insights for a wide array of industry verticals. However, this year, key themes can be singled out for extra attention. These include:
Transportation and Mobility
The automotive sector will be a big player at CES 2023. Nearly 300 exhibitors will be present in a sold-out Las Vegas Convention Center West Hall. Including updates in self-driving technology, electric vehicles, and personal mobility devices, these exhibits will cover over 25% more space than last year.
Web3
CES 2023 will also feature news from Meta, SK, and other industry leaders on Web3 and associated technology, including cryptocurrency and the metaverse, and how these can change how we live, entertain ourselves, and purchase products in an all-inclusive virtual universe.
Digital Health
With companies like LOTTE Healthcare, Omron Healthcare, and Abbott attending CES 2023, this event is an opportunity for healthcare experts to contribute to the vast and diverse provision of digital health innovations. Attendees can learn about the tools and technologies to help lower costs and improve health equity worldwide.
Sustainability
With climate issues playing a significant role in many corporate and political agendas, sustainability will be an essential topic for hundreds of exhibitors at CES 2023. Large and small businesses will demonstrate how technology and innovation can help conserve energy and address current shortages and challenges while creating sustainable provision systems, improving resilience, powering smart cities, and helping recovery from natural disasters among other relevant matters.
Where and When is CES 2023 Going to Take Place?
As is customary, CES 2023 will take place at the Las Vegas Convention center. The CES 2023 days are set for 5-8 January 2023. There will also be two exclusive media days on 3-4 January.
Venues include the ARIA convention centers, the Renaissance Las Vegas Hotel, Park MGM, LVCC, Vdara, Wynn, the Venetian, and Palazzo. CES 2023 will also provide digital venues for those unable to attend in person.
How Much Does it Cost to Register for CES 2023?
Registration for CES 2023 is now open. The registration is $100 before December 4. When you register, you will gain access to the CES 2023 exhibit floor, keynote addresses, and conference programming, along with access to the Digital Venue.
The registration fee from December 5 to January 8 is $300, so it is better to register early.
Where Can I Stay When I am Traveling to CES 2023?
If you are going to CES 2023, you will need to find a hotel. With thousands of people planning to attend, competition might be high. CES secures rooms at a selection of Las Vegas hotels and uses the reservation site powered by onPeak, the only official house agent for CES 2023. People are encouraged to book as easily as possible, as rates will increase as January approaches.
People can book individual reservations for up to nine rooms. Group reservations are also available if ten or more rooms are needed for a single night. If you choose OnPeak, one of the perks is that they have experience in providing reservations for this event, and they can provide continuous customer service as the date comes closer. Also, if you need to make any adjustments to your reservation, onPeak lets you do it without any penalties.
Finding a room reservation for CES should be high on your priority list. CES makes arrangements with special rates with Las Vegas hotel-casinos such as Aria, the Palazzo, or the Wynn.
Be careful if other hotel resellers or agents pose as official CES vendors. They are not endorsed or affiliated with CES, even if they may say they are. If you choose to book your rooms with an unofficial vendor, just make sure to verify their credentials.
Can You Stay at These Hotels if You are Under 21 Years Old?
Las Vegas has strict gaming regulations, so you must be at least 21 years old to make a reservation at hotel casinos.
How do You Get Around in Las Vegas for CES 2023?
There can be a lot of traffic in Las Vegas. To get around without battling with cars, from the CES shuttle, or the Las Vegas monorail, here are some of the transportation options available:
- The CES complimentary shuttle service will be provided at select official CES hotels to and from the LVCC and Venetian Expo from Wednesday, January 4, to Sunday, January 8.
- The C Space Shuttle (Route 8) goes to and from the LVCC and Venetian Expo to Aria.
- The Tech Express (Route 10) between the LVCC and Venetian Expo
- ADA-accessible transportation is available during regularly scheduled shuttle hours, but they must be requested at least half an hour in advance.
- The Las Vegas Monorail connects the LVCC and Westgate to numerous hotels on the strip, including Bally’s, Flamingo, Harrah’s/LINQ, MGM Grand, and Sahara. You can buy discounted tickets online. However, the Monorail does not pass by the Venetian.
- Uber, Lyft, and other transportation companies operating in Las Vegas.
- Taxi lines are found at the front of the LVCC, West and North Halls, and all other show venues. However, taxi lines tend to be very long.
- The Vegas Loop provides connections across the LVCC campus, connecting the new West Hall with the Central and South Halls.
Will There Be a Digital Venue for CES 2023?
The CES 2023 Digital Venue will be available on January 31, 2023. Registered CES 2023 attendees will be able to continue engaging with the CES 2023 digital venue until January 31, 2023, with their registration type. All attendees who go to CES 2023 in Las Vegas will have access to the digital venue.
What are The Benefits of Attending CES 2023?
CES stands out as a tech trade show where all the latest tech is unveiled. It has been the proving ground for innovators worldwide for nearly fifty years. The most prominent businesses in multiple industries, some of them not traditionally connected to consumer tech, attend to discover breakthrough and disruptive technologies. This is an exclusive event that represents the entire spectrum of technology.
However, its value is much more than that. It is also the perfect scenario for vendors, distributors, sales teams, and retailers to coincide under the same roof and make a whole lot of dealmaking behind the scenes. Many of these deals may be made in situ, while others are made privately or during side events.
The timing of CES 2023 is also ideal for making strategic deals. While some companies showcase products that are ready to market, others provide sneak peeks of products that will be sold during the summer holiday season or early fall. Hundreds of tech products are ordered early during this event, and vendors can scan the reaction and acceptance of their products from distributors and retailers. It is the place to be if you want to pre-order new services or find the right leads for your business.
Over the past two years, digital events have been taking most of the limelight. However, CES is an event that is best enjoyed in person. Not only can you see products in person, but the networking and special events that companies have for their customers and the media are also often a vital element of a company’s branding, customer relations, and marketing strategies.
Can CES 2023 Improve Business Plans?
It is not just tech developers who can benefit from the wealth of information and contacts available at CES 2023. Marketers, sales teams, and advertisers can also leverage the event To deliver valuable and actionable insights to their teams and make connections. Nearly 25,000 advertising and marketing professionals attended CES 2022, and more are expected to attend this year.
CES provides marketers with an opportunity to see how technological advances and innovations can transform their industries in the upcoming years. With technologies like artificial intelligence, and voice assistants changing how consumers interact with technology, marketers often look for new ways to target their consumers. The confluence of marketers, sales teams, and potential customers at CES is the perfect scenario for making connections and closing deals.
VIP dinners, hospitality suite meetings, partner booths, or the C-Space at the Aria are great locations for negotiations that can set the tone and agenda for new partnerships in 2023.
Can CES 2023 Help Drive Sales?
Many companies make the most of CES to showcase their products, but other companies, founders, executives, and marketers use CES as a platform to drive relationships and sales. If done correctly, CES 2023 can be an efficient way to meet a high number of potential customers, clients, partners, and investors. However, reaching positive ROIs and driving sales require planning.
There is a chance you may meet at least one potential client just by merely attending CES 2023. The sheer number of attendees makes it a simple case of probability. However, businesses that deploy event intelligence can reap very high benefits.
In short, this requires leveraging data as part of your marketing strategy to gain valuable results. With all the data marketers are accustomed to, this process requires incorporating a data-driven approach to event marketing.
With marketers being conditioned by KPIs and the need to measure their success and justify their spending, these teams need to ensure that they don’t invest blindly into researching and attending events without being able to provide a positive return on investment.
Event intelligence combines first-party data from past events with real-time monitoring and AI-predictive modeling to forecast who will attend or sponsor future events. This rings true not only for those attending CES but also for those attending the many side events in Las Vegas. That way, marketing teams can have a clear map of who will be where and can make data-driven decisions about what events to attend to reach their KPIs and where their ideal prospects may be.
CES 2023 is Also About Having Fun
Learning and networking can be fun on their own. Still, suppose you want something that spikes up your adrenaline. In that case, there are also plenty of entertaining events, such as the Indy Autonomous Challenge, hosted by Energy Systems Network. There will be a high-speed autonomous racecar passing competition limited to CES attendees.
CES 2023 Statistics
If past events are anything to go by, CES is a massive event, and even the initial problems COVID-19 brought to in-person shows have not stopped CES from being one of the biggest trade shows of the year and a perfect opportunity to liaise with peers and possible partners. Sometimes, stats speak for themselves, so we have compiled some of the latest statistics on CES to help you convince management that this is an event that can’t be missed.
- Three months away from CES 2023, numbers show that the 100,000 attendee goal is on course, with one-third of attendees traveling internationally to attend the event.
- Over 1300 exhibitors have already been confirmed for the event. Also, 284 Fortune 500 companies and 77 Interbrand 100 companies have registered to attend the CES expo.
- There will be over 200 conference sessions featuring over 750 speakers.
- 42 of the top retailers worldwide have registered for CES 2023.
- 158 countries will be represented at CES, and 31% of all registrants come from outside the U.S.
- 135 top-tier media outlets have registered for the event.
- On Vendelux’s attendee list, 68% of registrants are senior-level (VPs, directors, C-Suite).
- 41 different technology categories will be covered during the whole event
- An average of 33 meetings are held on-site at CES
- There will be 40% footprint growth in Las Vegas in comparison to 2022
CES 2023 Will Also Stand Out as a Sustainable Event
With the return to in-person shows, organizers need to ensure that these events maintain sustainable practices after two years of digital events and the growing need to encourage green practices and carbon reduction.
Sustainability is a priority at CES. Not only does CES amplify sustainability innovations, but it also carries out practices to reduce its carbon footprint. These include:
- Providing information and promotional material in electronic formats instead of printed versions.
- CES donates surplus food to food banks and uses utensils and containers made of biodegradable materials.
- CES uses energy-efficient dishwashers, saving hundreds of thousands of gallons of water annually.
- Any frying oil is recycled and converted to biodiesel.
- Events are hosted in limited locations to reduce the need to travel for separate meetings.
- Fleet vehicles are 90% powered by battery or propane.
- Over 33,000 square feet of magnetic banners have been recycled.
- In the past five years, CES has reused more than 1 million square feet of carpet.
- Over 5,660 square feet of vinyl banner materials have been repurposed for use as tards, hockey rink liners, and outdoor movie screens.
Steps to Prepare Yourself for CES 2023
Deciding to attend CES 2023 is an important step, but after that, there are still preparation plans required to make the most of the event. Firstly don’t forget these main factors:
- CES is not open to the general public
- You must be over the age of 18 and affiliated with the consumer technology industry
- You must submit your business credentials in advance to the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), so they can verify your affiliation with the consumer technology industry.
- You will need to upload a photo and provide proof of industry affiliation during the registration process
- Attendees will need to have an official CES badge to enter the venue and a photo ID. You can pick up your badge at the Harry Reid International airport or one of the CES-selected hotels.
- Bags will be searched, and attendees will be subject to metal detection screening.
- Attendees may carry two small bags, each smaller than 12” x17” x6, into show venues. Rolling bags are prohibited. Do not bring your luggage to the show venue on your last day in Las Vegas. It is recommended that you check your bags at your hotel bell desk before coming to the show.
- Expect delays and heavy security inside and outside the venue when going to the event and planning your agenda.
- It is recommended that you register using a business domain email address.
- If you attended CES 2022 or CES 2020, you could use the same CTA/CES Account credentials for CES 2023.
With that done and dusted, the CTA is encouraging attendees to take similar precautions that have been made during the last couple of years because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes getting a flu shot and making sure you have a COVID vaccine and booster, along with any required self-tests before arriving in Las Vegas. Even on-site, masks may not be required, but they are encouraged. After all, thousands of people from diverse countries will all converge in one location. After that, how else can you prepare for CES 2023?
Plan Well in Advance for the Event
As soon as you know they are attending the event, you should start planning for it. This includes planning meetings and preparing any necessary documents and equipment to go. Planning also means booking your hotels early, knowing who will be attending what, and to have your pitch ready for when it comes to networking.
Bring Your Business Cards
Attending CES 2023 will be a great opportunity to meet peers and colleagues, so don’t forget to bring business cards, and plenty of them, so you can share them with as many potential clients and networking peers as you want.
Bring Comfortable Walking Shoes
There will be plenty of walking around to do at CES 2023, and even though you may want to look your smartest when liaising with potential leads, you need to be practical and understand that you will be walking distances to visit booths, different keynotes, and side events in Las Vegas. With a show floor spanning over 13 miles, it is best to think about comfort before aesthetics.
Don’t Bring Your Thickest Winter Clothes
January can be chilly in Las Vegas. Especially at night. However, being in the middle of the desert means that temperatures can be moderately warm during the day and then drop quickly at night. You should bear that in mind when packing and know what clothes to wear if you are going to spend the whole day without visiting your hotel room to change clothes.
Pick a Suitable Place for Your Meetings
There may be a lot of movement around the Convention center. But that doesn’t mean you have to close a deal in a local coffee store. Instead, invest in reliable private meeting places, like suites, if you have the resources available to do so. It can give a stronger and more professional impression.
Don’t Miss Out on the Side Events
The official event schedule holds a list of important attendees who will be present at CES 2023. However, the golden list is the series of small events that occur around CES. By having a clear idea of your target audience and carefully elaborating a plan with the help of event intelligence, you can attend smaller, more focused gatherings, where it is a perfect opportunity to meet exactly the kind of people you want to meet for your business, and subsequently, justify the investment in going to CES 2023.
The least you can do is go with a shortlist of 2-3 people you would like to build a relationship with and turn into a potential lead, and who you would usually have difficulty meeting if it wasn’t for this event. The relaxed and casual atmosphere of CES can make it very easy to break the ice and connect with new people while placing the building blocks for new opportunities.
CES Attendee data: discover who is attending an event and prepare for it.
Vendelux already has CES 2023 attendee data with thousands of attendees, exhibitors, and sponsors who will be going to Las Vegas for the event. This information lets you analyze the kind of audience who will be at the event. For now, the audience includes 32% of peers with professional seniority, 46% are C-suite executives, and 22% are VPs and Directors.
If done with preparation and attention to detail, attending CES 2023 can provide you with leads and partnership opportunities that can consequently deliver a positive ROI.
Summary: Careful Planning Can Make a Big Difference When You Go to CES 2023
CES 2023 is a standout event for many businesses. However, attending these events requires investments in terms of money and resources, and support from your C-suite. Managers will want to receive positive ROI from these investments, so it is best to make the most of the face-to-face networking opportunities in and outside CES 2023 so that you don’t leave Las Vegas empty-handed.
To make the most of these events and the trip to Las Vegas, you may also want to prepare and organize yourself for any after-parties and post-event networking opportunities.
To do so, it is recommended that you scope out the sessions that are of interest to your business and identify the networking opportunities inside CES 2023. Make a plan of who you would like to connect with, and once you are done, gather all the necessary CES 2023 attendee data and leverage the insights you can get regarding the attendees you want to network with.
With planning and insights, you can enjoy CES 2023 and deliver the right results, lead generation opportunities, and ROI for your company.
