ShowStoppers wins "Squeal of Approval" from Newstips for press events

From Newstips Electronic Editorial Bulletin             Issue # 2004-12c

SPECIAL REPORT: CES AFTER HOURS COMPARISON

We've spent some phone time with the forces behind the three after-hours gang press feeds during CES. CEA runs CES Unveiled on   Tuesday night (when about 30% of the press corps is in town) with no exhibitors who aren't also on the show floor. Last year's event was somewhat crowded, more by the space than by population, the food was pedestrian but nobody left hungry. Many products on display were unaccompanied by people, more were unaccompanied by information, and among those with both, only a few had enough to be interesting. We used it as a heads-up on stuff we might want to find during the show, for which it proved ultimately useful. Digital Experience is run by Pepcom on Wednesday night (about 70% of the press corps is in town). While we have never been allowed in, our investigations among both exhibitor & press people who did attend give the event good marks for A/B-list press draw, fair marks for food, fair marks for exhibit interest & an overall time-not-wasted score. We have never met a Pepcom person we liked, which is why we depended on reports from reliable third parties. The Showstoppers reception is on Thursday night, the night of the opening day of CES, so the full press corps is in town. It began long ago as a mountain of shrimp with a few exhibitors around & since grown significantly into a venue that may see more than a hundred exhibitors this year & almost a thousand journalists. The producers are again raising the bar this year on both press & exhibitor support with special   facilities for broadcast journalists, special help for press people with tight schedules & special interests & special amenities that begin outside the doors before they open. We researched the gang of exhibitors coming to this year's event & found some really cool & surprising gear, plus a lot of significant next-phase products from some of the very big brands. When the producers of Showstoppers heard complaints from the press about the competing night-before event, they even extended a compelling outreach to several of the major companies not exhibiting at both to give more journalists a chance to see those   products they might otherwise have missed. And they are even taking pains this year to accelerate the check-in process at the door. We don't do this often, but we find Showstoppers good enough to earn a Newstips Squeal of Approval.