CES 2019:
What Matters
for Marketers
David Berkowitz
www.serialmarketer.net
@dberkowitz
david@serialmarketer.net

“Things are blurring like a
m************!”
-overheard at CES 2019

Introduction
I’ve attended the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) every year since 2007. Continuing
in the tradition of my many years of recap decks, including one recapping my first ten
years attending, here is another highlight reel stressing what matters for marketers, with
some topics of general interest thrown in.
I like to have a bit of fun with it too. It’s a big, crazy show. Most of the takeaways and
coverage are equally ridiculous – exercises in bias confirmation rather than meaningful
prognostication. My own role in this is no better, but at least I’m transparent about it,
and in the process, I will show examples from anywhere and everywhere.
Lastly, sources are linked throughout. If you need additional source information, I can
send you the PowerPoint.
Thanks so much for reading this. Please contact me if you have other feedback, or you
know of something I should include in this deck.
David Berkowitz

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Overarching themes, part 1
• It’s the Year of Voice! Again! And it will be in 2020!
• Software continues to be generally more important than the hardware at CES –
not unlike the tech industry writ large. Even for voice-powered devices, the key
theme is how Amazon and Google platforms integrate with other devices.
• The most impactful technologies, such as automated vehicles that transform
how and where people work and live, may take decades to fully play out.
• Despite all the floor space that is still dedicated to increasingly high-definition
TVs (perhaps 16K resolution will soon replace 8K as the platinum standard), so
many critical technologies and paradigms are invisible.
• Artificial intelligence is used to improve countless software innovations.
• 5G networks, as they gradually roll out, will power many of the next enhancements in
hardware and allow consumers and professionals to do even more with their mobile and
other internet-connected devices.
• Insert something about blockchain here. (This line needs to be in every recap
for marketers.)

Overarching themes, part 2
• While the automotive industry commands prime real estate in the Convention
Center’s North Hall and gets some of the largest Fortune 500 brands to make
a splash at the show, look for the healthcare exhibitors to give a taste of
improvements that can materially benefit the largest number of people. Yes,
many if not most of these are frivolous and wouldn’t (and probably shouldn’t)
make it to market, but quite a few others should impact people’s quality of life
– and a handful will save lives.
• The ‘trade war’ between the US and China may be the biggest macro-
economic factor that affects so much of what happens after CES. China in turn
is preventing currency from leaving the country. This could cool the overseas
expansion of some Chinese startups, it could increase prices of goods relying
on parts manufactured or assembled in China, and it could further close off
China as a viable market for US companies.

Most important trends for 2019
• Here are the three stories that are jumping out as I process all of this during
the show itself.
• The New Story: Privacy. I don’t recall privacy coming up much in years past. In 2018,
marketers were getting ready for GDPR (the European privacy legislation), but it didn’t
seem to overtake CES. Now, with every device collecting data, it is top of mind, and
marketers can’t avoid fielding and asking tougher questions. It’s all the more intriguing
that Honda is using this show to announce its Dream Drive program that has so many
privacy implications for buyers, sellers, and consumers. See many more thoughts on that
further on.
• The Evergreen Story: Voice. As noted in the slide above, the mantle passed from the Year
of Mobile to the Year of Voice. Just keep that in your decks at least through 2030.
• The Evolutionary Story: 5G. At CES, the launches and conversations around connected
devices and the Internet of Things (IoT) have been going on for about five years. It’s 5G
that is now making all of this possible at scale, with bandwidth and speed that consumers
and manufacturers need. It’s just funny that 5G is such a hot topic now, but it seems like
everything that one can actually do with 5G has been out here for awhile. And that is to
the credit of CES, not its detriment. If you’ve been coming for a few years or following it,
5G is the glue that’s been needed. And this is also going to be a complex, multi-year story
going forward.

Shadow CES
Already getting nostalgic at the start of 2015, I wrote a LinkedIn Pulse column describing the experience of
attending CES my first few years. It will probably always be relevant. Excerpts:
• This was my ninth straight year attending CES representing a marketing agency. It was a
strange experience in earlier days. Clients weren’t there, unless consumer electronics brands
happened to be clients. I’d spend time hitting up side events of some digital pioneers I admired
like Chris Heuer’s Social Media Club and Jeff Pulver’s 140conf. I was the only person
representing my agency, and most places I went, I was the only person representing any
agency….
• Then, I got to the meat of the story, discussing the differences between Public CES (the one everyone talks
about) and Shadow CES (which is where most of marketers’ education and deal-making happen).
•
The other CES is the Shadow CES. This is the one that tends not to get as much attention, but for
some brands, it’s more productive. It happens at places like the Cosmopolitan or Four Seasons.
A more official version of the Shadow CES took place at the Aria this year. Dubbed the C-Space,
it was where marketers could meet up with established media companies like NBC Universal
and emerging ones like Samba TV. They could also meet with each other. I joined one private
discussion with select executives from an advertising trade association. While it had little to do
with CES directly, it was a terrific opportunity to learn from these people who I wouldn’t have
readily met otherwise.
•

Use this framework to chart the impact of what you see at CES
(note: this will vary for everyone, so you need to customize it for what’s right for you;
a voice-powered home appliance running on a 5G network may be Essential for one business but
Irrelevant for another)
New
Useful
InnovativeIrrelevant
Applicable Essential

CES 2019 Perspectives

Is CES Closer to “Gender Equity”?
Yes, but with a long way to go.
“’Diversity is about having people who see
things differently — frankly, disagree with
you and tell you that you are stupid,’ said
Tania Yuki, CEO of social media analytics
company Shareablee and an attendee of
CES for the past several years. The big
question, she says, is whether CES has
really listened to its critics.”
-AP

Same as it ever was
“‘A.I. will pervade the show,’ said Gary
Shapiro, chief executive of the Consumer
Technology Association, which owns CES.
If this all sounds like a repeat of last year,
that’s because much of it is. Artificial
intelligence was 2018’s hottest tech trend,
too. In other words, the tech industry is in
a state of iteration rather than making
leaps and bounds with something totally
new.”
-The New York Times

John Koetsier’s “13 Amazing, Odd, And
Wonderful Things To Expect At CES”
(read the full article for context)
1. Smart luggage
2. Underwater drones
3. Smart home bonanza
4. Robots for everything
5. AI for everything
6. Voice for… yup… everything
7. 5G
8. 8K
9. Cars (smart & otherwise)
10. Better 3D printing
11. Better batteries
12. Better privacy
13. AR & some VR (but will it be better???)
Source: Forbes

‘Digital wellness’ pervades all
gadgets – not just health tech
“As a growing concern in today’s global culture,
digital wellness goes well beyond the gadget
capabilities that will be featured in CES 2019’s
health and wellness track, which focuses on
medical, wearable, fitness and accessibility
applications. Holistic wellness is something that
consumers now expect to be intrinsic to gadget
design. Perspectives on digital wellness vary widely,
but a seamless, frictionless and ambient user
experience is common to them all.”
-James Kobielus, Silicon Angle

Apple Snubs Google (and less directly
Facebook) via Vegas billboard
Source: @chrisvelazco

What agency execs hope for and
dread about CES
“At CES, I want to see ideas, tech and services that help marketers
connect and stay relevant with this new engaged and empowered
person. Technology is the conduit through which brands tell their
stories, but understanding how tech, ideas, new behaviors and
trends, products & services, and interactions all crystalize to power
daily living – that’s what’s going to create the true consumer
connections of tomorrow.”
-Tim Jones, CEO, Publicis Media Americas in Campaign
(visit the link for many others’ perspectives)

Macro Trend: Keep an eye on China and
how the trade war could hurt tech sales
“China accounts for about $52 billion in sales for Apple, and is its third-
largest market… For Qualcomm, a chip maker whose technology is used in
many Apple smartphones, the figure is $15 billion, or about 65% of its total
sales, according to an estimate by FactSet. Others with big bets on China
include Intel (24% of sales), Micron Technology (51%), and Texas
Instruments (44%)… Tariffs were supposed to hurt China by hitting its
exports to the United States. That hasn’t happened. Should it persist, the
trade war will, of course, hurt Chinese companies, just as it has already
hurt so many American companies. But if the conflict eventually drags down
Chinese consumer demand, businesses all over the world will be the
losers.”
-Weijian Shan, The New York Times

Say “5G” five times fast if you want
to sound smart about CES
“Coming into CES, the odds-on favorite for most talked-about
technology was 5G, the next generation of wireless connectivity that
is supposed to let people download entire movies to their phones
within minutes, if not seconds. Top execs from AT&T and Verizon will
talk about the telecom giants’ efforts to light up their 5G networks in
respective keynotes. And many other sessions throughout CES will
explore various applications of 5G, from self-driving cars and smart
cities to ultra-high-definition streaming entertainment and virtual
reality.”
-Tim Peterson, Digiday CES Briefing

Our phones which might be killing
our sanity could save our lives
“Phones are the new medicine. Digital health and wellness have
grown increasingly popular over the past five years, but innovations
in the space now go far beyond wearables that count your steps and
track your sleep. Nearly 120 digital health companies will be at CES
this year, a 23 percent increase from 2018. There will be plenty of
the usual watches and smartphone apps, but consumer goods are
getting in on the digital health game too — though most remain
shrouded in mystery. Pantene promises to use AI to improve your
hair, Olay is debuting a new skin gadget and L’Oreal is launching
some type of health sensor. Sleep will also be a central focus again
this year, with gadgets that promise to soothe you into dreamland
with meditation, calming sounds and hypnosis.”
-OZY CES briefing

Marketers must not see Facebook Story ads on Facebook,
so Facebook puts them on airport doors instead
“These days Facebook’s biggest topic to discuss with marketers is its
story ads, said Rabkin. The company has been increasingly pushing
the full-screen vertical video ad format since copying Snapchat’s
story product for Instagram and eventually Facebook and
Messenger. The company even plastered signs promoting its story
ads on automatic sliding doors at McCarran International Airport, so
that marketers coming to CES see them when exiting terminals on
the way to the taxi line.”
-Tim Peterson, Digiday CES Briefing

Hungry? Eater has your guide for where to take a client
or treat yourself

Need some good reading material?
Check Gary’s book club

E.B. Moss at MediaVillage has video recaps for Day
1 and Day 2 (and perhaps others not here yet)

The New York Paper of Record Crowns
Virtual Assistants and 5G the CES Victors

DigitasLBi: B2B brands tap CES to find partnerships,
control internal costs and learn about the future (with lots
of specific brand activation examples)
Source: Advertising Week

View Twitter’s own roundup of CES tweets from its
marketing team (how meta)
(and yes, I’m psyched they cited my tweet-storm on Honda)

Tech Highlights

Honda dashboard gamifies rewards
for drivers with brand integrations
“With Honda Dream Drive for
Drivers, drivers can earn points
for using the connected
dashboard to navigate to their
next destination, pay for gas,
order food or purchase things
like movie tickets. Passengers
also get points for listening to
the radio or playing games
through a Honda app.”
-Ilyse Liffreing, Digiday
(image source: Honda)

So many questions for Honda re:
Dream Drive
• How easy is the opt-in/opt-out process for drivers?
• Will participants know exactly what data is shared with who? How easily can
they be tracked, or can personally identifiable information (PII) be
surreptitiously tied to an individual?
• Do passengers have any say in this? Does getting in a driver’s car mean you
implicitly opt in to their data collection? It’s one thing to have to accept their
taste in music, but now you have to accept their data?
• Could there be a worse time to announce this? See Vice’s investigation on
data resellers, or The New York Times’ piece analyzing data that apps collect,
or this new lawsuit against The Weather Channel.
• Is all of the skepticism overblown? Are consumers – actual Honda drivers –
likely to be that concerned, or will they welcome getting a free cup of coffee
for something they do anyway?
• See more on my Twitter thread:
https://twitter.com/dberkowitz/status/1083009982092664837

CES: The Show Where Real Companies
Put out Real Press Releases with the
words “Intelligent Toilet”
From a very real press release:
“Use app or the remote to program
personalized presets for different
users, and you can use voice to
access the preset/profile (in case
you misplace the remote). There is
probably a difference between you,
your spouse, and your children
when it comes to washing; this lets
you easily program and select
personalization using voice and
app.” - Kohler

Also, there are smart toilets for dogs…
Source: Inubox

Every Smart Home needs a Swidget
(this is a plug for a friend’s company, and it’s not a bad idea to minimize
hardware clutter)

HTC wants to be “Netflix of VR” – but Netflix is a media company,
and VR needs to get over many hardware issues as well as offering
must-watch content
Source: Adweek

Again at CES, everything is connected to a mobile app and has a
screen – such as the Whirlpool Connected Hub Wall Oven concept
“Our new Connected
Hub Wall Oven will act
as a helping hand in
the kitchen – teeing up
recipe suggestions
based on preferences,
offering cooking tips,
maintaining the busy
family calendar and
providing step-by-step
cooking instructions –
straight from the oven
door. It will offer
families a whole new,
automated way to
approach getting food
on the table.”
-Whirlpool

Yes, there were some token mentions
of blockchain
Source: @dberkowitz

The informal favorite gadget that kept
coming up in conversation: BreadBot
Source: CNET

Wellness company accuses CES of gender
bias for rescinding innovation award
Source: Lora DiCarlo

Dean’s Best of CES roundup leads
with P&G
“Procter & Gamble showed up at CES at with five
innovative products, including the Opté Precision
Skincare Wand. It scans your skin with a blue LED
light to find your age spots. A microprocessor
analyzes the age spots and customizes the serum
instantly to apply to them. It uses inkjet technology
to deposit the customized serum to cover each
imperfection, careful to avoid putting the serum
on non-blemished skin.”
-Dean Takahashi, VentureBeat

Intel/Warner Bros show off how immersive
entertainment could look in self-driving cars
Source:
Intel / Adweek

Neutrogena launches
MaskiD, a 3D-printed
sheet mask

Serenity now! Mental health tech has
a big year at CES
“One key trend that absolutely exploded this past year is mental
well-being. Between the sleep, relaxation, concentration and
meditation products on display, you couldn’t walk five feet without
encountering another pitch. The list includes some familiar faces (to
us, at least) like the Muse meditation and sleep headsetsand a whole
slew of new entrants.”
-Brian Heater, TechCrunch

TechCrunch: Holoride in-car VR ‘best
thing at the show’
“After days of demos and announcements
and miles of walking, I’m confident in
declaring Holoride the best thing at this
year’s CES. The designation of ‘The best
thing at CES 2019’ is my badging. This
isn’t an official award handed out by a
governing body. This is just me
saying Holoride is the best thing I’ve seen
at the show…. The thing that impressed me
the most is from Holoride, a startup
from Audi that wants to put VR in cars to
entertain and reduce motion sickness.”
-Matt Burns, TechCrunch

It’s the Year of Voice
(Part II, or III, or IV, or…)
Remember the 20 years in a row of the Year of Mobile?
They’re over. Just in time for the next 20-year cycle.

Alexa voice skills are up 120%, but
quantity isn’t a barometer of quality
Source: TechCrunch

It’s the Decade of Voice
“The baton has been
passed from the iPhone to
Alexa as the most
transformative technology
over the next decade.”
-Scott Galloway, Gartner L2

Smartest branding and partnership: Google Assistant reps were
around as extra hands in booths with products that integrated with
Google (even if the products also worked with Amazon and others)

Not every brand is taking sides with
Google or Amazon
Source: LG

Stuff Delivery races ahead of People Delivery
Source: WSJ

Simplehuman’s latest ‘innovation’ is neither simple or
something any human wants: a mirror that is also a lamp
and Google Home speaker
Source: The Verge

Simplehuman, hold my beer…
Source: Mike Murphy

Alexa, stop screwing up my demo
Source: Buzzfeed

360i gives Google the edge in voice
"The war on voice is going to be won in your pocket, on your mobile
device. Not your smart speaker. What's less understood is that
Google is coming on extraordinarily strong, and their advantage is
the smartphone. It's Android; it's what's in your pocket. That's going
to lead to a lot of strength for Google.“
-360i CEO Jared Belsky in Ad Age

Voice assistants “conquer” CES;
which one can you trust?
“If virtual assistants haven’t yet taken
over the entire tech world, they’ve at
least conquered CES, the annual tech
expo that’s going on right now in Las
Vegas. Alexa, Google Assistant, and
various also-rans are de rigueur
among this year’s wares at the
conference, animating everything
from lawnmowers to dishwashers to
a $7,000 smart toilet.”
-Will Oremus, Slate

Fun with CES
Some highlights from past years with new updates for 2019

What innovation really looks like
Source: @dberkowitz

2 days later: Reddit’s founder sees it
my way!
Source: @alexisohanian / CNET

Facial recognition needs a rebrand
Source: @dberkowitz

Blockchain Bingo: Check the box when you hear someone say
blockchain is the solution for…
Transparency Apathy Herpes Supply chain
management
Fraud
Beating
Jeopardy!
Internet of
things hacks
Fake news Locusts Declining
productivity
Beating
LeBron
Food
poisoning
FREE
(store your
Bitcoin here)
Bed wetting Hollywood’s
reliance on
sequels
Forgetting
lyrics
Anti-Semitism Halitosis Kardashians Digital rights
management
World peace Self-driving
car accidents
Atheism Rabid ferrets Nougat

Voice Assistant Bingo:
Find any of these voice-powered devices
Refrigerator Hose Razor Ice cream
cone wrapper
Pepper
grinder
Lamp Bridle Selfie Stick Minivan Vacuum
Watch Toilet FREE
(shut up and
enjoy a rare
moment of
quiet here)
Condom Stilts
Rosary beads Luggage Gas pump Umbrella Dog leash
Thermometer Bra Toboggan Pack of gum Shoes

Drone Bingo! Find a drone that…
Slices bagels Waters plants Takes selfies
of you
Takes selfies
of itself
Kills spiders
Whispers
sweet
nothings in
your ear
Hallucinates Tickles Farts so it
covers up
when you do
Shuts up
movie talkers
Plays a
perfect game
of Jenga
Fights fires FREE
(recharge
your drone
here)
Dances Clips toenails
Votes Tampers with
elections
Builds walls Sweeps
chimneys
Plays soccer
Collects
stamps
Cuddles Gives rides to
hamsters
Fetches
newspapers
Holds your
place in line

Still the best thing to ever come out of virtual
reality: Oculus founder Palmer Luckey memes
Source: The Verge

And this year, there’s CES Middle East!
Source: David Weinberg

This was from CES 2015, and it remains one of the craziest show announcements ever. The Belfie Stick got more buzz
than some of the CES keynotes, and it has one of the best logos ever. Now that’s category innovation.

See you at CES 2020?
Let’s plan ahead!
David Berkowitz
david@serialmarketer.net
www.serialmarketer.net
Connect:
• LinkedIn: David / Serial Marketer
• Twitter
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