CES

The largest consumer technology show

CES was first held in New York in 1967 and has been held in Las Vegas every January for decades. It is organised by the Consumer Technology Association, which owns the show. What started as a consumer electronics fair now covers cars and mobility, health, energy, robotics, smart homes and artificial intelligence, with startups gathered in a dedicated area, Eureka Park.

CES is spread across several venues: the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Venetian Expo and hotel spaces along the Strip. Distances between them are real, and many attendees spend part of their day in transit. The audience is made of trade professionals, buyers, press and investors; the show is not open to the general public.

Planning your participation

For a European company, CES means a long trip, a time difference and a fixed date in early January, just after the holidays. Prepare before the end of the year: the list of people you want to meet, the demo, the badges and the campaign. Many European startups exhibit through a national or regional pavilion, which helps with the stand and with visibility; check what it includes.

Hotels in Las Vegas are expensive during CES, and transfers between venues take time. Group the team's meetings by venue, and plan the days so nobody crosses the city three times. Give each person their own link and QR code to the campaign, so the contacts made in Eureka Park, at the convention center and at evening events are attributed and land in one place.

On the floor

The pace is intense and the visitors are international. Write the form in English, keep it short, and add one question that sorts buyers, partners, investors and press. Trade show mode lets the team photograph a card or a badge and tag the contact in a few seconds; it keeps working when the network of a crowded hall drops. A QR code on the demo itself catches the people who watch without stopping to talk.

Note where you met each contact. With several venues and many evening events, it is the detail that brings the conversation back later.

After the show

You will be back in Europe when your American contacts start their week, so plan the follow-up with the time difference in mind. Send it within a few days, in English, with the next step and, for buyers, the document they asked for. Contacts from other European countries met in Las Vegas are often the easiest to convert: a meeting at home is a short trip away.