CE Execs Gather, Network At CEA Fall Forum

By Steve Smith -- TWICE, 11/5/2007

CORONADO, CALIF. — Attendees at the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) Industry Forum, held here in mid-October, drew top manufacturers, retailers and analysts to the scenic Hotel Del Coronado.

Executives not only met with colleagues during CEA committee meetings, they also heard the 14th Annual CE Holiday Purchase Patterns study (TWICE, Oct. 22, p. 1); a panel on digital content issues and a keynote from EMI Group executive Barney Wragg (TWICE, Oct. 22, p. 4); further details on 2007 International CES events and keynoters (TWICE, Oct. 22, p. 4); and witness one of the most memorable evenings on the CE industry calendar every year, the induction of this year's class of CE Hall of Famers (TWICE, Oct. 22, p. 82).

Other events and activities during the CEA Industry Forum this year were the Small Business Council Board Meeting; a seminar called "Dispelling the Myth: How Fires Affect TVs and Other Electronic Devices"; a general session on social networking and a keynote by author Chip Heath called, "Made to Stick: While Some Ideas Survive and Others Die."

These and other presentations at the Fall Forum educated, entertained and informed the several hundred who gathered here. But just as important was the ability to network and exchange ideas during the Marketplace Receptions. This is where companies showing products or services could get some wanted attention and colleagues could discuss the Forum's events, and maybe prospects for fourth quarter sales, during a deserved break in the action.

Pictured on p. 22 and 23 are a few of the attendees who attended the Receptions and the CEA Fall Forum, which next year will be held Oct. 19-22, 2008, at the Four Seasons in Las Vegas.