CeBIT America audit shows low attendance

CeBIT America drew less than half the expected attendance for its debut outing in June, according to an audit report released Monday.

The show attracted 8,500 attendees, according to the report – short of the 20,000 that show organizers hoped would turn up for the European CeBIT extravaganza’s first U.S. offshoot. Knocking PC Expo/TechXNY out of its traditional spot on the calendar of New York’s Javits Convention Center, CeBIT America is trying to draw a screened audience of corporate IT buyers and resellers.

Managing Director Mark Dineen said CeBIT America is willing to work will small crowds at the show so long as the attendee ranks comprise technology buying decision-makers.

“One thing we did not do at this past June show, we did not do last-minute panic. We did not go out and get masses of people just to fill the aisles,” Dineen said. “We really kind of stuck to our guns and said we’ll live and die with the quality. We’ll wait for the quality in the future as CeBIT becomes better known. We are going to control the growth of the audience.”

CeBIT America launched at a time when most large IT shows faced slumping attendance. Vendors have been increasingly focusing their resources on smaller shows catering to specific industry segments. CeBIT America is intended as a mix of the two show styles, bringing vendors and buyers in a number of niches together for one large conference.

Dineen now hopes to attract 15,000 to next year’s show, in late May. Even with the smaller crowds, CeBIT America will stay put in the cavernous Javits center, with which it has a multi-year contract.

“New York is still the enterprise marketplace,” Dineen said. “We’re not trying to be a destination event. This is really about the business, and New York is a great place for business to be able to walk in off the street.”