I spent last week walking CES and watched millions of dollars evaporate in missed opportunities.
The Stevie Wonder Moment
An exoskeleton company had built a demo at their booth. Stevie Wonder walked up to it.
The booth rep didn't recognize him. Didn't engage. Let him walk away.
Think about that: a mobility tech company let Stevie Wonder, someone who could be both a user and the most credible ambassador on the planet, walk away because a booth temp didn't know who he was.
That's not bad luck, that's a symptom of why most CES booths fail. You spend $500K on the booth and $0 training the 22-year-old temps working it.
What I Saw Break
The $50K red light therapy bed where the booth rep couldn't explain what red light therapy actually does
The AI massage chair that promised personalized relaxation but felt exactly like every other massage chair (turns out "AI" just means "has buttons")
AI companies handing out paper business cards (the irony was completely lost on them)
The AI video model with a "ask me anything" prompt that only talked about coffee
The eye cancer scanner that couldn't demo because the WiFi died (at a tech conference)
Building-sized QR codes on the Strip's biggest hotels that just redirected to exhibitor booth pages—no CTA, no capture, nothing
Every AI demo in the startup zone was impossible to hear over the noise, making the "interactive experience" completely pointless
The Startup Zone Got It
The only booths that worked were the scrappy ones in Eureka Park.
Why? Because the founders were there, not booth temps reading scripts. They knew the product. They cared about every conversation.
They were qualifying leads in real-time and routing to the right next step.
The Real Problem
Most exhibitors treat CES like a billboard campaign—get the logo in front of eyeballs and hope something happens.
But you're not paying $500K for impressions. You're paying for conversations.
And if you can't:
Qualify the lead during the conversation
Capture the right next step in the moment
Route them to the right person immediately
...then you're just an expensive business card dispenser.
What Should Change
Stop optimizing for booth aesthetics. Start optimizing for conversation outcomes.
Train your reps on the product, not the pitch deck.
Build demos that work in noisy environments (or don't build demos).
And for the love of god, if Stevie Wonder walks up to your mobility tech booth, recognize the moment.
What did you see at CES that actually worked? I'm building Boop to help exhibitors capture and route leads in real-time, would love to hear what you experienced. cal.com/horaciorilo/call