CES is beyond a Technology show

EMarketer predicts that 2025 digital media will account for 80% of total US ad spend and 75% of global ad spend, illustrating the dominance of digital channels.

Over the past two decades, CES has taken on increased importance for global advertisers as technology increasingly drives effectiveness and innovation. 60% of Fortune 500 companies attend, and 82% of the world’s most valuable brands.

Many technologies that surfaced at CES may not be ready yet for mass consumer adoption as they are cutting-edge, highly expensive, or even dead ends.

However, it is essential to pay attention. CES illustrates the directions in which today’s technology will likely develop. For example, this year, many transparent screens were announced, with LG’s priced at USD 60k. Although they won’t scale immediately, as costs decrease, they will likely define how we think about physical retail and experiential spaces.

Potential disruptive technologies were explored. At The Omnicom Platform, a panel focused on the future marketing potential of Quantum Computing. Technology is starting to show it can solve real-world problems.

Recent developments such as Google’s Willow Quantum chip show how to link more qubits strongly (A qubit, or quantum bit, is the basic unit of quantum information in quantum computing). Soon, we will be able to optimize assets and experiences across several dimensions unimaginable with classical computing, enabling truly efficient and empowering personalization.

New protocol architectures enable new roles for bands and inventory opportunities - such as software-defined vehicles changing the nature of driving. This means we may see automotive media as a category alongside retail media, leveraging the unique data points, need states, and experiences in the car.

Omnicom’s Transformation Experience

It has been said that we should think of CES as a compass rather than as a map. Omnicom’s presence at CES is focused on curating the multiple technologies in a direction that will allow our clients to innovate effectively—understanding what is possible now and soon.

Media over the past 20 years has expanded beyond traditional news and entertainment contexts. Search and social contexts are now mature worldwide, and retail media has been the fastest-growing channel in recent years.

Every year has seen significant change, but 2025 has a feeling of more abrupt change. It is characterized by the German compound Zeitenwende, a historical turning point.

At the very least, in media, the merging of trends such as retail media, CTV, influencers, and agentic systems scale to the point of disruption but potentially in human history as we edge closer to AGI and intelligence that exceed human capability.

This week, Sam Altman enigmatically?shared his six-word story, “Near the singularity; unclear which side.” We are very close to a long-predicted period of unprecedented change. Omnicom Transformation Experience at CES 2025 was built around the concepts of accelerated change, facilitated in many cases by AI technologies in the intersecting themes of commerce, culture, and play.

Through innovations such as the NFL sports broadcasting via the Madden gaming platform. This details the data of positions and plays to engage gaming audiences and create new experiences.

We have a unique opportunity to create value for consumers and brands.

Search is a behaviour, not a channel.

Just before CES began, Omnicom shared significant research around the changing nature of the search, which has morphed from a single-channel focused activity to a multi-modal set of behaviours working across channels.

This implies a challenge of greater execution complexity and the opportunity to reach consumers in new ways to deliver growth.

To this end, Omnicom announced a series of search-related innovations across multiple platform partners.

The first innovation is with Google. A partnership that leverages AI to bring next-generation insights as search queries evolve. Two solutions have been developed.

Firstly, ‘Share of Voice Planning.’ This solution uses search query volume to show how a brand's share of voice compares to its competitors, allowing clients to adjust investments and increase their visibility.

This partnership addresses the limitations of traditional search marketing by using AI to provide insights into brand Share of Voice and untapped demand.

Secondly, the ‘Next Generation Search Agent.’ This uses Share of Voice, Omni Search Data Lake and Omni Audiences data to recommend keywords, targeting, and assets. The goal is to provide a better understanding of brand awareness and uncover untapped demand.

The Next Generation Search Agent leverages AI to analyze this data and recommend keywords, targeting, and assets (including text, images, and video) to improve ROI and accelerate the go-to-market strategy.