New CEA Brochure Seeks to Drum Up Sales of CES Conference Passes

"Explore the New Worlds of Knowledge" headlines a 14-page "conference guide" that CEA just sent via presorted first-class bulk mail to drum up paid attendance for the CES conference and workshop program. The guide was sent to all who have preregistered for the 2015 CES, those who purchased a conference "track" at last CES, "plus about 7,000 people who receive Dealerscope magazine," Karen Chupka, CEA senior vice president-events and conferences, emailed us Friday. "The purpose of the mailing was to promote the conference program, upsell current registrants and generate interest." The highest of three tiers of conference passes trumpeted for sale in the guide is an All-Access Pass that costs $1,300 for an advance purchase, $1,600 for purchase onsite at CES. It’s "like the proverbial golden ticket," and will admit the buyer to "nearly every conference track at CES," the guide says. "CES offers over 300 conference sessions," Chupka told us. About 10 percent of the sessions "are included at no additional charge in the exhibits plus pass," she said. "The remaining sessions are paid sessions and can be purchased individually at $150 per session or in various packages. The All-Access Pass has been in existence for five years and the pricing has remained consistent." Other features of the guide: (1) The uncaptioned photo in the keynotes section on page 7 is that of Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, who keynoted the last CES. Her photo is situated next to a description of Intel CEO Brian Krzanich, who is scheduled to give the opening-afternoon CES keynote on Jan. 6. The photos used in the guide "were a sampling of keynote speakers from previous years since at the time of printing we didn’t have current images yet," Chupka said. (2) The "Register Now" boxes that appear in six places throughout the mailing advise conference pass purchasers to "Use Priority Code C1" when registering. "That priority code is for marketing tracking purposes so we can analyze which pieces generate a response," Chupka said. "We want to see who is using the guide, but there is no specific discount or other special purpose associated with it."