Dear %%First Name%%, As you may have heard, I’m pleased to have recently joined Emerald as Group Vice President for CEDIA Expo and the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS). For many years, I led the InfoComm show for AVIXA and helped launch Integrated Systems Europe. I’ve attended CEDIA Expo many times and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work with you, the CEDIA membership and the residential systems integration industry. But most importantly, I’m
excited for the return of the in-person CEDIA Expo 2021 this September 1-3 at the Indiana Convention Center. After months of COVID-19 pandemic meeting restrictions, vaccines are finally being distributed in mass and live events are beginning to come back safely. Emerald and Indianapolis are committed to
putting on healthy and safe shows; in fact,
Indy has hosted 51 live events since getting back on track in July 2020, safely welcoming more than 130,000 visitors to the city with no known COVID-19 cases. And this week,
Indianapolis is hosting the NCAA March Madness Tournament, welcoming 68 teams from across the country! By this September, it will be 2 years since the industry last gathered in person at CEDIA Expo 2019. There is a strong desire from manufacturers to be able to show their new products to the thousands of integrators and channel professionals who attend CEDIA Expo. And attendees desire to see the latest gear, network with peers, learn about the latest trends and receive product-specific training from the sessions to be held at the show. That’s why getting everyone back together in Indianapolis this September is so important to me, CEDIA and Emerald. CEDIA Expo helps to accelerate the industry’s business. CEDIA Expo 2021 will be your company’s best opportunity in two years to connect with the residential integration channel in a significant way. We are working closely with CEDIA on the planning for CEDIA Expo 2021. Over 100 CEDIA education sessions both live and streamed are scheduled and dozens of case studies, product application briefs and industry thought leadership sessions will be held on the CEDIA Expo show on the Smart Stage,
Innovation Hub and other pavilion stages. We’ll be highlighting product growth segments such as smart appliances and connected living solutions in our Design + Connection Pavilion, Lighting, Outdoor Living, Resimercial, Security, Work from Home in our Innovation Hub exhibit area, and Wellness Pavilion. Not forgetting new to market exhibitors in
The LaunchPad exhibit area. And the annual CEDIA Expo Sound Rooms, High Performance Audio Rooms and Manufacturer Training Rooms will continue to feature the opportunity to experience products hands-on. Leading brands including Crestron, Digital Projection, Elan, Harman, Lutron, Samsung, Savant, SnapAV/Control4, Sound United, URC and Yamaha among
nearly 200 other exhibitors have already contracted to participate in the fall’s show in Indianapolis. We are expecting over 350 brands to exhibit by show time. Known as the Crossroads of America, Indy is within a day’s drive of over half of the country’s population. CEDIA Expo hasn’t been back to Indy, home of CEDIA’s headquarters, in ten years. It’s a
great city with walkable hotels, restaurants and numerous entertainment options. There hasn’t been a better opportunity to connect with integrators, dealers, installers, consultants, distributors, architects, designers and home builders in the Midwest, across the U.S. in years. CEDIA Expo 2021 will be your avenue to further propel your sales and reconnect with the channel. Next week I will be joining the CEDIA Podcast to talk about upcoming show plans as well as our wonderful destination, Indianapolis, directly from the people who live there! I look forward to welcoming you back to CEDIA Expo when we meet in person this September. Feel free to reach me directly at
jason.mcgraw@emeraldx.com, +1 703.932.9097 and online @MrShowGuy. I look forward to connecting with you! Best regards,
