Exhibiting at CES Las Vegas: standing out among thousands of booths
CES compresses global tech buyers, press, and investors into one January week. A practical lead plan for exhibitors who are not the keynote.
CES in Las Vegas opens each January as the world's largest technology showcase: thousands of exhibitors and visitors from well over a hundred countries, with every major tech buyer and journalist in one city.
For most exhibitors the risk is disappearing in the noise. Your booth competes with concept cars and giant screens — but deals are won in conversations, not spectacle.
Book before you fly: US retail buyers, distributors, and investors fill their CES calendars weeks ahead. Cold outreach in December beats a great booth in January.
Work the qualification hard: CES draws enormous non-buyer traffic. A friendly 30-second filter — role, company, project — protects your team's energy for real prospects.
Capture with context and score fit daily. An evening review of the day's leads — who gets a same-week meeting, who enters nurture — keeps the pipeline moving while competitors sleep off the parties.
Follow up fast and personal: US buyers expect a next-business-day email that references the exact conversation. Ship the recap while your competitors are still at the airport.