PRIMEDIA to Sponsor Keynote Luncheon: COMPUSA’s Tony Weiss to provide insight into retail strategies for digital home technologies

Tony Weiss, President and COO of Stores for CompUSA, will bring his retail expertise to the luncheon keynote for CONNECTIONS™, in which he will discuss the marketing challenges created by new convergence technologies for the home. CONNECTIONS™:The Digital Home Conference and Showcase, hosted by Parks Associates in partnership with CEA, will take place at the Wyndham Anatole in Dallas, Texas, on May 5-7, 2004.

Mr. Weiss’s keynote, sponsored by PRIMEDIA’s Connected Guide to the Digital Home and entitled Reaching Consumers: The Marketing of Digital Convergence, will take place May 6, 2004, at 1:15 p.m. He will discuss CompUSA’s new retail strategies to meet consumer demand and market new technologies that have evolved beyond single-function products.

“The Connected Guide to the Digital Home will help provide consumers with information on convergent 'whole house' technologies and their many lifestyle benefits,” said Tricia Parks, president of Parks Associates. “By 2007, more than 150 million devices will be in a multimedia-centric home network. Retail is crucial in realizing this potential, and Mr. Weiss will detail the significant steps CompUSA is taking to market and sell these new cross-category products.”

“Connected Guide is the guide for the enthusiasts—the smart, successful tech aggressive consumers—who are ready to embrace the connected lifestyle,” said Carol Campbell, publisher. “Fifteen years ago, when another market shift was beginning to make its presence felt, Audio Video Interiors was the first magazine to explore it. AVI now becomes Connected Guide, evolving from a home theater magazine to one with a broader purpose, mirroring the dynamic changes in the marketplace,” she said.

About CONNECTIONS™
CONNECTIONS™: The Digital Home Conference and Showcase, produced by Parks Associates in partnership with the Consumer Electronics Association, is the largest international executive conference for digital home technologies. CONNECTIONS™ provides a comprehensive review of all aspects of the digital home value chain. Industry and consumer perspectives are provided through presentation of Parks Associates and CEA research, keynote speakers, panel speakers, media and organization support, and a show floor displaying the latest technologies. For information on sponsoring, speaking, or attending CONNECTIONS™, please visit www.connectionsconference.com.

About PRIMEDIA and The Connected Guide to the Digital Home
The Connected Guide to the Digital Home is the authority on the connected lifestyle, in which technological products and systems interconnect to provide maximum efficiency and enjoyment. The Connected Guide to the Digital Home will aid smart, successful, "tech-aggressive" consumers as they acquire and adapt scientific solutions to creating and maintaining extraordinary homes and lives. The magazine features convergent "whole house" technologies and their many lifestyle benefits. The Connected Guide to the Digital Home focuses on the ethos and attitudes of enthusiasts who use integrated technologies - including home theaters and other entertainment systems, security and navigation systems, information technology appliances and networks - to achieve mobile, yet connected lives.