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5 PR Surprises from CES 2019 Data for Automotive & Mobility Suppliers

A market research executive once told me: “In the absence of data, people make sh*t up.”

It’s true, without data, all we have to base our decisions on are opinions.

The audited data is in from CES2019, and there are a number of data points that may be helpful to the automotive and mobility technology companies who plan to leverage PR at CES2020.

Here are the top five data surprises we found in CES’ Attendance Audit Summary:

• Attendance at CES 2019 was down. Overall attendance was down almost 5% from CES2017’s record of 184,279 to 175,212 in 2019 …

But CES host Consumer Technology Association says that this result aligns with their strategy to weed out less qualified attendees and reduce pressure on Las Vegas infrastructure and hotels …

So exhibitors can expect to see more highly qualified, engaged attendees – and perhaps a little less congestion – during at CES2020.

• Senior-level executive participation was high. Executives with C-level, president/founder, vice president or director/general manager titles comprised 45% of verified attendees …

And those that attended represented 307 of 2018’s Fortune Global 500 companies …

So there’s no question that CES delivers important decision-makers to the venue.

• Media attendance continues to be strong. Despite the shrinking number of working journalists, CES2019 attracted 6,365 reporters, editors and other media attending the show who generated some 226,273 media hits and more than 900,000 social media mentions in January alone …

And almost 41% of those media people were from 78 countries other than the United States …

So there are few shows, if any, that offer better potential for media coverage, given a compelling story, the right PR approaches and an experienced PR agency partner.

• Vehicle technology is a major component at CES. With more than 23,000 (or 13.3%) of CES2019 attendees involved in the vehicle technology sector and 677 of the show’s 4,400 exhibitors (15.4%) involved in automotive vehicle technology …

And this product category became the fourth largest product category at the show behind AI, smart home and wireless devices categories …

It’s clear this event is growing in importance as an automotive venue. In fact, renowned automotive industry journalist, analyst and host of the popular Autoline Detroit TV show, John McElroy, called CES 2019 was “the best auto show I have ever attended!”

• CES attracts many of the world’s top media outlets. Covering CES2019 were more than 125 major media outlets around the world – print, broadcast and online – from ABC-TV to ZDnet, from Buzzfeed to USA Today, and from Fortune to WIRED …

But of course, not all of those journalists are focused on covering your automotive and mobility technologies …

Still, some 200 to 300 of the journalists attending CES2020, who together have a potential reach of millions of impressions, could be potentially interested in your technology, IF your story and visuals are compelling, you use the right pitch and you work with a PR partner that is experienced at helping its client stand out at this uber-competitive show.

And if you’d like to take your PR at CES2020 to the next level, check out these posts:
• PR Challenge vs. Opportunity: Six Media Relations Facts You Should Know About CES
• CES 2020: Six Ways Auto and Mobility Suppliers Can Maximize PR
• Five Things Auto Suppliers and Mobility Technology Providers Need to Do Now for a Successful CES