Why more brands are starting their event calendar at the world’s biggest technology festival.
Contributions by Georgina Burrows, Head of Strategy, Cheerful Twentyfirst
CES (Consumer Electronics Show) is one of the largest and most influential technology trade shows in the world. Brands descend into Las Vegas every January to attend and activate at CES; tapping into around 140K conference delegates that join them onsite.
It’s a busy, bustling week, and the perfect global meeting moment for the tech sector to showcase new products, close international business deals, and make a bit of brand noise, too.
In partnership with some of biggest technology brands in the world, you might say we have a soft spot for CES, and a muscle memory for how to translate a CES event brief into an onsite experience that puts the audience at the heart of the activation.
Find our deep dive into CES below.
1/3: Activations outside the main show are serious business
Launching a product? The main convention centre is your arena. Looking to build relationships? Activate further afield.
For some of our clients, the real value doesn’t come from the exposure of being part of the main tech show – which, in a convention center of 4.6 million square feet, can be overwhelmingly busy – but by taking a space in the Aria Resort. There, they can hold high value meetings and sessions with a carefully curated guest list.
While the product launches at the Las Vegas Convention Center often get the big press headlines, the real movers and shakers are changing the world with content and deals going down in the Aria.
Inside the Aria in 2024, the C-Space entertainment, advertising and content track focused on how tech trends are driving changes in content consumption and consumer behaviour. For the first time, the C-Space content track expanded into the Cosmopolitan hotel next door, showing the value CES is placing on this particular stream.
With panels from Steve Huffman, co-founder and CEO of Reddit, Catherine Halaby, Head of Entertainment at TikTok, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel and a live performance by Wu-Tang Clan for Yahoo – all outside of the convention centre – brands capitalised on the opportunity to activate away from the show floor.
And suites are not the only option
Netflix took over the East Donuts and Coffee shop at Proper Eats in a never-before-seen pop-up activation. Creating the Netflix x Speakeasy Donuts right in the middle of the main drag of the concourse was a stroke of genius. Not only was it new and different, it served as a central meeting point for what felt like half the attendees, and the coffee wasn’t bad either!
The rest of the year, the exterior donut shop hides a small pop up speakeasy bar, hosting live entertainment, parties and inventive cocktails. It was one of the most talked-about parts of the Aria activations, given the high footfall and novelty element.
Behind the coffee/donut shop, invited guests could get access to an immersive speakeasy space for programming and meetings. This ticked both the high-profile activation and exclusive content boxes, and while the space wouldn’t have been cheap, this activation delivered maximum bang for the Netflix buck.
Creativity counts for a lot with this crowd – and it’s worth exploring other ways to bring a message to life onsite. It reminds us of that time we took over a London club with YouTube.
2/3: Expect the unexpected – but AI was still the dominating theme
No one was surprised that AI was top of the talking point trumps, but unexpectedly, it manifested in different ways across the show. While CES itself set out its stall by using AI-generated imagery to promote the show, tractor manufacturer John Deere was an unlikely technological star, exhibiting self-driving tractors and crop-management AI technology.
Another hot announcement was Siemens showcasing how its digital twin software uses AI to create accurate virtual representations of physical goods – huge for online shopping brands. Elsewhere, Holoconnects demonstrated an AI-powered hologram and Baracoda showed off an AI mirror for mental health. The mirror can analyse expressions and adapt to moods with light therapy and suggested meditations.
We also saw AI robot companions and Smart Home Agents, alongside a real life flying car, apparently ready for sale in 2025. So far, so futuristic.
Back in our client’s worlds, ad agencies have adopted generative AI to assist in conceiving ads, and media holding companies have been working with all the tech companies to introduce AI-powered tools to help manage ad campaigns. At CES, these ad agencies were looking for the next big advances in AI, and that’s what the majority of the conversations and meetings were about in the suites.
3/3: (Room) Keys to Success
We were delighted to activate at CES 2024 for Criteo and Smartly. Through beautiful, custom-built suites inside the Aria, we super-powered sales conversations and created a curated oasis in the Vegas festival. Key audience observations and insights into behavioural spacial design helped drive our activations, both considering how guests would move through the event to build the perfect audience flow.
Together, we were able to build an oasis of calm within the CES chaos for both our clients.
With the world’s biggest tech show back with a bang and growing year on year, there’s certainly value in brands showing up in this space – but a considered, creative approach will be key to success in 2025.
Interested in how we used behavioural science to influence suite design, or want to see some of our work? Reach out for more!