Why CES? The Ad Industry Attached Itself to a Consumer Tech Show, But as CES Evolves, Should That Continue?

Which actually brings up a good question How did we get here Why did this particular trade show at a ridiculously inconvenient time become such a mecca for Clevels marketers and the media sales communityThe first CES was held in New York City in June 1967 with 17500 attendees and more than 100 exhibitors The highlight that year was the pocket radio and TVs with wait for it integrated circuits Not so many ad folks attended that one amp8212 or any of the ones that followed for decades for that matter unless they happened to service a consumer electronics accountFastforward to 2019 CES amp8212 which moved to Las Vegas in 1978 amp8212 had more than 175000 attendees from over 160 countries 4400 exhibitors took up a legthrobbing 29 million square feet of convention space including the CSpace at the Aria and Park MGM which is solely focused on the adtechmartech spaceBy the end of the 1990s and early 2000s televisions had evolved and the old 32quot cathode ray tube TV began its notsolong goodbye while the first flatscreens and 720p hidef made their debut The annual CES rite of LG Panasonic Samsung and Sony competing for the rights to hype quotthe largest TV screen everquot began In 1999 Mike Ramsay announced that something called quotTiVoquot would launch in early 2000 beginning an era that would rock the foundations of live TV viewing and permanently change viewing habitsAll of these changes to the core advertising medium along with the parallel growth of digital media piqued media and advertising professionals39 interest in CES By 2002 a much larger number of media agencies were sending their key executives holding global executive meetings and exploring the expo floor It was during this time of exponential technological change that the news media began to cover CES extensively driving interest in attending from marketers who saw the potential opportunities and disruptions that this revolution would bringAgencies saw the potential too recognizing the ability to steward their clients through the morass that is CES show their expertise and bond with clients Agencies started by offering show floor tours for their clients Full disclosure For over a decade I led many of those for OMD With both agencies and clients in attendance seniorlevel sales executives began attending and formal toptotop meetings began Most of these meetings took place with digital companies such as AOL at the time Facebook Google Twitter and Yahoo In a very real way CES turned into a preUpfrontSoon agencies began to grow concerned about all the competitors mingling with their clients To minimize risk and control their clients39 agendas they created programming that took up substantial amounts of time amp8212 filling the days with panels social events and celebrity discussions to add some sizzle to the experience The CSpace conference within a conference which launched in 2015 as a partnership between the Consumer Electronics Association and MediaLink is now the de facto hub of the ad industry39s presence at CESWhile most clients found some value in all this the core point of coming to see the Consumer Electronics Show was minimized to a twohour tour But it39s impossible to see even a percentage of what CES has to offer in two hoursThere is however a serious question when it comes to the future importance of CES for marketers and agencies Some plan to scale back their presence which can be quite costly amid economic uncertainty around 2020 Added to that the focus of CES has shifted away from television and mediacentric hardware to artificial intelligence the Internet of Things drones robots and other technologies not as obvious as potential advertising or marketing communication vehicles Even the focus of CSpace is evolving from just topics such as adtech data privacy and the quotstreaming warsquot to also include issues such as sustainability and brand purpose Per Michael Kassan cofounder and CEO of MediaLink that runs CSpace amp8220CES has not lost its relevance at all Agency people may be looking for greater justification and rationale for the investment but the relevance of CES is stronger than everamp8221But I believe it39s important that marketers and agencies attend CES I also believe that agencies need to rethink their agendas to allow more engagement and time with the incredible startups and innovation on display on the main show floorsThere are countless industry events all year 39round featuring talkinghead panels toptotop meetings can happen in New York or Los Angeles anytime Witnessing a gathering of the world39s most entrepreneurial and innovative companies is a onceayear opportunity Engaging directly with those entrepreneurs and the ideas that come from speaking with them can provide solutions and new product ideas for allBut Wait That39s Not Allamp8230If you are reading this and are in Vegas for CES I recommend attending MediaVillage39s 2020 Advancing Diversity Hall of Honors Advancing a Diverse Workforce career meetup Both events feature an Alist of top brand and agency leaders who will gather to honor those who have made the greatest contributions over the past year to embed diversity and inclusion into the ethos of corporate America as well as to find the next generation of talentThis year39s inductees includeJill Baskin Chief Marketing Officer The Hershey CompanyJ Michael Haynie PhD Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation Institute for Veteran and Military FamiliesTim Jones CEO Publicis Media AmericasTim McNeal Vice President Creative Talent Development ampamp Inclusion Walt Disney TelevisionSue Obeidi Director Muslim Public Affairs Council The Hollywood BureauTony Rogers Chief Member Officer Sam39s ClubTiffany R Warren Senior Vice President Chief Diversity Officer Omnicom Groupamp160Founder ampamp President ADCOLORShelley Zalis CEO The Female QuotientThe cornerstone of the evening is an interactive Creative Tensions experience run by the Sundance Institute Theatre Program I attended last year and it was absolutely one of the best events I39ve experienced in my media careerPlus there is ample time for substantive networking The event is at the Park MGM on Wednesday January 8 from 4 pm amp8211 7 pm It39s an inviteonly event so if you are interested in attending please message me directly at jeffmediavillagecomAlso follow me on Twitter and Instagram mediawhiz and always at mediavillage for more posts microblogs and links to full articles on CESClick the social buttons to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Why CES? The Ad Industry Attached Itself to a Consumer Tech Show, But as CES Evolves, Should That Continue?

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Jeff Minsky

FEMA and the Ad Council Encourage AANHPI Communities to Enhance Disaster Preparedness in New PSAs - Ad Council InSites

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Why CES? The Ad Industry Attached Itself to a Consumer Tech Show, But as CES Evolves, Should That Continue?

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