Unless you have been on the floor at CES, it’s really hard to put into perspective just how enormous this show actually is. Not only does CES take up the entire Las Vegas Convention Center, the show has grown so massive that it reserves convention hall space in both the Venetian and Palazzo hotels. And finally, this still doesn’t complete the picture, as many up-and-coming companies reserve private suites in the Venetian, Paris, and Mirage, to name just a few mega resorts on The Strip. All in all, there are over 3,000 exhibitors displaying their new line of products each year at CES. To rise above the muddled middle, you have to do something spectacular. While producing a bigger and better show year after year may seem daunting for most companies, it’s simply become an annual tradition for Team Monster.
Monster, Inc. (the company officially dropped the “Cable” part of its name just recently) has been at CES every year since 1979, the year it was founded by Head Monster Noel Lee. Mr. Lee is quite the eccentric gentleman (he is often seen riding around on his blinged out Segway, and his love for grand entertainment is duly noted), but his seeping enthusiasm for everything Monster never once seems fake. This passion branches out to every area of the company. Every single employee I talked to at CES – be it an audio engineer, a sales person, or a member of their expansive PR and social media team – is genuinely happy to work at Monster. A happy and enthused work force is crucial to any company succeeding, and even with a demanding CEO, it’s easy to see that Team Monster has plenty to be happy about for the upcoming year. With sales still growing and a killer product line on tap for 2012, Monster has a lot to look forward to.
Speaking of the new products coming in 2012, my brother Matt and I got the early scoop by attending Monster’s CES 2012 Press Conference, which we live blogged over here. Monster debuted some really cool power management devices which utilize cloud services to make your house much more efficient in its use of electricity. Also on the docket were new solid-state drives and a new line of portable speakers called Monster Micro. However, Monster saved the stars of the show for last – multiple new lines of headphones. With news breaking that Beats and Monster plan to end their partnership at the end of 2012, Monster needs to start branding its own lines of headphones in order to maintain their insane marketshare percentage in the $1 billion headphone market. The company started this shift at CES 2011 when they debuted the initial version of the Miles Davis Trumpet line of in-ear headphones, and this year they debuted many additional lines of headphones.
We covered the entire line of new Monster headphones in our live blog, but I want to emphasize one particular new line of headphones – the Gratitude series from Earth Wind & Fire. The pnosker.com crew got a first-hand look and listen of these in-ear headphones, and their sound matches their top-notch style! These headphones are built with live music in mind, and the sound really does pop out of the drivers. These are already available for sale, with some of the other headphones debuted at the Monster press conference headed for market in April 2012.
Of course, as I mentioned in the first paragraph, Team Monster knows how to put on a great show at CES, so I couldn’t write this article without mentioning all of the other awesome events Monster throws down. Most notable is the Monster Retailer Awards, which the company has hosted the last several years. This event honors retailers big and small that help grow sales for the company. However, to be honest, I think most of the attendees are their for the concert! Considering that past performers have included the mega stars Stevie Wonder and Earth Wind & Fire, this should come as no shock to you. For 2012 the performing band was Chicago, another huge name in music for over 40 years.
The entire pnosker.com crew got the hookup from PR & Social Media Monster Gina Hughes, who joined Monster in June 2011 after successful stints at other tech companies. Gina is also Founder and Editor-in-Chief of TechieDiva.com, a “technology blog with an undeniable feminine twist.” We want to thank Gina immensely for showing us around the Monster booth at Pepcom’s Digital! Experience and on the floor at CES 2012, not to mention granting us access to the Monster Retailer Awards and after party. We also want to give a shout out to Kate and Stacie from DBA Public Relations, who also helped show us around the Monster booth at CES and for hanging out with us at the after party. We had a blast at CES 2012 and we’ll definitely see you at CES 2013 (and hopefully sooner!).
Check out some pictures from the Monster Retailer Awards featuring Chicago and after party below!
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