Ad Age's Take on CES 2016
The world's largest consumer electronics trade show, CES, was held in Las Vegas, USA, from January 6th to 9th. Over 170,000 attendees gathered across eight venues covering a total area of approximately 232,500 square meters.
According to Ad Age, while automakers' participation has been prominent at CES in recent years, "connected cars" gained even more momentum this year. Connected cars are next-generation vehicles equipped with systems that connect to networks and collect/analyze various data, aiming for capabilities ranging from advanced navigation systems to autonomous driving. This year, General Motors announced its intention to develop self-driving taxis and a $500 million investment in ride-sharing service Lyft. AT&T and Ford revealed the "Ford Sync Connect" project, enabling owners to access their vehicles remotely from anywhere to unlock doors, check fuel levels, and more.
Beyond cars, in the trend where everything will ultimately be connected, in the sports sector, Under Armour partnered with IBM's artificial intelligence Watson for its fitness device "UA HealthBox," while Spalding collaborated with the basketball-specific tracker "ShotTracker." Additionally, home appliance manufacturers like Panasonic, Samsung Electronics, and LG Electronics showcased their latest proposals for the "connected home." As IoT evolves, wearable devices—currently mostly bracelet-type—are drawing attention for developments like embedded chips, with the healthcare industry primarily eyeing their application.
However, concerns about security and privacy issues surrounding the spread of IoT remain high, and concrete solutions to these challenges were not evident at this year's CES.
Another notable topic was the heightened interest in "vertical video"—content designed to be viewed in portrait orientation on smartphones. While its adoption was previously limited to services like Snapchat, this year saw Twitter, Facebook, Yahoo!, and others actively promoting their own vertical video formats at conferences. This further underscored smartphones' growing dominance in media consumption.
Among corporate marketers and advertising professionals, CES is increasingly established as a venue for exchanging ideas with executives from major global companies. The number of advertising agency executives attending CES now rivals that of Cannes Lions. Keith Weed, Unilever's Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, commented, "We have CES at the beginning of the year and Cannes Lions in the middle. It's an ideal schedule."
Source: Ad Age
Five Takeaways From CES
Was this article helpful?
Share this article
