CES: The Casual Encounter Show

CES. The consumer electronics behemoth that brings in more than 150,000 people from around the world to see the latest and greatest in the world of technology.??Much will be written about the key trends, product innovations, the future of AI and more. And while I will touch on some of this, as you’ve come to expect with The Roar, what follows is my unique take on what I can only describe as the madness that is Vegas in early January.??

Like any big show, it’s impossible to see, do, and attend a fraction of all that is happening. And with Vegas as the backdrop, everything is supersized, including the noise, making the show easily feel overwhelming. Similar to my approach to Cannes, I focused on a few key things I wanted to see and accomplish and left plenty of time for the casual encounters that are often where magic happens. Think of these as the commercial breaks for my take on this year’s show.?

Casual Encounter #1. I’m in my seat on my Delta flight Sunday evening when a woman sits down next to me. At first, I couldn’t see her face, but I thought it might be someone I knew. She turns around and we simultaneously recognize each other. It had been thirteen years since we worked together (or seen each other!) and the flight gave us the perfect opportunity to catch up.?

There was plenty of buzz about the Delta keynote, and those who read my musings regularly know Delta Air Lines is my jam. Many people don’t often think of an airline when they think of tech innovations, but regardless, the lines to score a ticket were formidable. A lot may have had to do with the venue (the Sphere), the promise of cool swag (love the tag: 100 Years and Still Fly), or the chance to see Lenny Kravitz perform. Whatever the reason, Delta captured the attention of close to 18,000 people, many of whom spent upwards of 4 hours immersed in their world.??

Celebrating its centennial, many cool experiences highlighted Delta’s history, from an early crop duster flight to its vision for the future of travel. I loved designing my own digital airplane with stamps of places I’d visited and thought they made good use of the technology available at the Sphere to create an immersive experience as part of the keynote.??

CEO Ed Bastian talked about the point of innovation being to lift people up and Delta’s goal of creating a seamless travel experience from start to finish. And while they announced several cool partnerships (Uber, YouTube, Draft Kings, Joby), the upcoming launch of an AI-powered concierge exemplified one of the key trends prevalent on the show floor – consumer-facing AI agents. Al is moving beyond backend efficiency to directly engage with consumers, acting as coaches, advisors, and, my favorites, the robot baristas and bartenders.?

Casual Encounter #2. My friend and former client Nick Sylvia introduced me to some of his colleagues from Mastercard and I had the good fortune of sharing a terrific conversation with Matt Checkowski about multisensory brand strategy and innovation. This was the quintessential casual meet-up – an hour spent waiting in line, first for coffee from Starbucks and then the CES ticket line so he could snag entry to the Delta keynote.?I now believe that standing in line with someone is the quickest way to bestie status :)?

So, back to the topic of AI, which, as you might imagine, was truly unavoidable at a tech show. Now us marketers and creatives, after our initial fear of the great AI unknown, are embracing the possibilities and the potential. And while the narrative has shifted from Generative AI to Agentic AI, it’s unclear whether consumers are drinking the AI Kool-Aid yet. On my show floor tour (shoutout to Stagwell and ON Discourse), there was talk about how one very large brand saw sales plummet when they touted AI on their packaging.??

This skepticism around AI was further reinforced by research conducted by HarrisX for the Stagwell Risk & Reputation Unit. Currently, few Americans (16%) say AI has a significant impact on their daily lives, although they expect big change within five years’ time. Americans across the board also anticipate AI having a net negative impact on jobs and most Americans believe AI will amplify misinformation.?

Casual Encounter 3: Tuesday night was the official Sport Beach kickoff party (is the countdown to Cannes already starting !?!), where I ran into friends old and new. It was great to see the entire Allison Worldwide CES team all together and to catch up with Dana Block, Josh Karpf and Executive Forum colleague Dennis Tze. Each meet-up just adds to the magic ???

Of course, there was more to CES than AI. At the Brand Innovators Marketing Leadership Summit,?Drew Panayiotou,? CMO for Keurig Dr Pepper, shared the concept of raving fans when talking about part of what can make or break challenger brands. He shared examples, including Beats by Dre and Chick-fil-A, and spoke about how brands with raving fans rarely, if ever, discount their product. It’s interesting to think about how raving fans differ from brand loyalists and brand advocates, whether established or traditional brands can engender raving fans and if there are generational cohorts that further define a raving fan. All questions I’ve been noodling since Wednesday’s session.?

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Casual Encounter 4: At the eleventh hour, I got the upgrade nod from Delta, which is how I wound up meeting Todd Parsons from Criteo. Not only did I get a crash course in how advertisers, retailers, and publishers can activate and monetize audiences everywhere shoppable moments happen, but we also talked about ways to engage consumers across their shopping journey and the value (or lack thereof) of the promoted closet on Poshmark. Of course, we didn’t spend all five hours talking shop – I learned about his wife Julia’s really cool jewelry business, Incredible Rising, which she founded to empower women to celebrate success milestones. There is so much to love about this concept – I may just need to do a little shopping ???

Inspiring, thought-provoking and the perfect number of casual encounters made this year’s CES an exciting start to 2025. And while the show was all this and more, I was keeping close tabs on the dire situation in LA and all my colleagues, clients, family and friends. To those impacted – there really are no words, but I’m so sorry.? You are in my thoughts, and you will not rebuild alone.??

Stay fierce,??

Lisa?