By becoming a driving force for innovation, opportunities expand.

Continuing from last time, we present reports from the perspective of employees of Dentsu Inc. who participated in "CES Asia."

Showcasing Innovation: Exhibiting at CES Asia and SXSW

I'm Yima Makai from the Creative Planning Division 5. This time, I took on the challenge of exhibiting at CES Asia as the developer of "Smile Explorer." I'd like to share my perspective as an exhibitor, also drawing comparisons with our participation at SXSW (South by Southwest) in March.

As the environment surrounding businesses and consumers undergoes major transformation, advertising agencies are also being asked to fundamentally grasp various challenges. At Dentsu Inc., we have begun exploring new forms of communication starting from challenge discovery and prototyping solutions.

One such project is the "Smile Explorer," an IoT stroller designed as a "communication stroller that makes (for parents) the slightly challenging time of travel more enjoyable." It monitors the baby in the stroller via smartphone, automatically capturing and mapping the moment the baby smiles. Using the baby's smile as a signal, it naturally fosters parent-child communication. Furthermore, it envisions utilizing the accumulated big data—comprising stroller movement logs and smile location information—to contribute to creating optimal urban environments and developing services for families with young children (see "Prototyping for Issue Discovery" for project details). Following prototyping, it was decided to exhibit at CES Asia as an external presentation opportunity.

DAN booth display near the entrance

What struck me most at my first CES Asia was that the majority of products are already entering the adoption phase. Visitors approached booths with a showroom-like mindset, showing genuine intent and enthusiasm to purchase products. This wasn't just about high purchasing desire; it also highlighted the rapid pace of market change. It wasn't just that new things commoditize quickly; what was striking was the attitude and momentum among consumers to actively embrace new products. Perhaps because of this, we received detailed questions that went beyond "What can this do?" to include things like "What's the maximum distance the stroller can connect to a smartphone?" or "What material is this part made of?"

We also exhibited at the Interactive section of SXSW held in Austin, Texas, USA, in March. Often called a "problem-solving" event, it's not just an exhibition but a place for generating innovation. In contrast to CES Asia, it featured startups primarily, with major companies also showcasing experimental prototypes. Since our project was precisely problem-based prototyping, it might have been a more suitable venue for presentation. At our booth, people would even say things like, "I have a friend who's the president of a baby-making company—I'll introduce you!"

Gaining insight into local needs and opening new perspectives

The biggest takeaway from exhibiting at CES Asia was gaining direct exposure to local Chinese needs. The most prominent example was the demand for monitoring air pollution. Children are particularly vulnerable, and this perspective only became clear upon arriving locally. We also met someone at a Japanese manufacturer's local office developing smartphone-linked air pollution sensors, opening up potential collaboration when commercializing products specifically for the Chinese market.

Gaining insight into local needs was also true at SXSW. We encountered diverse perspectives from various regions, reflecting the event's international character, including the US where it was held: "Since many people run with strollers in America, it would be great if the device could capture parents' smiles too," and "In France, strollers are often bought secondhand, so an attachment-type device would be better." Furthermore, feedback unique to SXSW was striking. A director from a Japanese company's research lab suggested, "If we could also capture video, it might aid research on children's language development." A technologist from a major IT company proposed, "Why not add a time concept to Smile Pin?"

The Importance of Taking the Lead

What struck me as most crucial this time was "taking the initiative in communication." Typically, our work involves supporting clients behind the scenes, and even at the exhibition, we heard surprised reactions like, "Wait, you're Dentsu Inc. right?" from Japanese companies.

However, through our participation at SXSW and CES Asia, we strongly felt that by Dentsu Inc. taking the initiative to create something new and actively communicating it externally, opportunities to provide solutions for various societal challenges will also expand.

Ideas for solving problems only truly demonstrate their value when they take tangible form in society, not just through presentations. We are taking the diverse feedback and positive responses gained from this exhibition seriously and continuing our efforts to bring Smile Explorer to market as a product. We aim to work hard toward the day when we can share the results of these efforts.

(Reference) Click the image above to view the Smile Explorer explanation video on its official website.