The thirst for technology is real. That rings true even more so in the desert as the biggest consumer technology show of the year unfolds in Las Vegas every January. Global brands in wearables, drones, robots, connected cars among countless others travel to CES in Sin City looking to hit the jackpot with the estimated 175,000 visitors and international press corps in attendance.
With over 3,600 exhibitors traversing in more than 2.23 million net square feet of space across several locations on the iconic Strip, CES certainly is not for the faint of heart. Brands ready to reveal the ace up their sleeves will revel once it pays off in spades.
You can always count on CES to kick-start the New Year with the largest gathering of media, executives, marketers and consumers looking to share, listen and learn what new platforms, innovations and products we will be connecting with at work, home or on our personal body, Chris Younger, a principal at the Ayzenberg Group, a full-service advertising agency, tells [a]listdaily.
Younger will be moderating the Gaming and Celebrities: Mobile Branding and Monetization panel at the Digital Hollywood track, part of the official CES industry conference, discussing how gaming platforms serve as vehicles that capture customer loyalty. (Editor’s note: [a]listdaily is the media arm of the Ayzenberg Group.)
There ll be plenty of panels discussing brands, gaming and celebrities and the movement behind socially connected consumers that generate billions in revenue for these companies, Younger said. It s no surprise that gaming plays a significant role in this week-long event.
Although E3 is where the game sharks come out of the tank, CES still proves to be a great marketing opening for brands in the land of the card sharks. Turner will be a big part of Vegas gaming proceedings when they showcase their latest jewel in the portfolio in eSports with a $50,000 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Championship tournament that feeds into a $2.4 million prize pool for 2016. And with eSports, there s big money to be made all around, of course.
Sponsors want to partner with us and figure out how to create the most value for both of our brands without turning off the gamers, said Craig Barry, executive vice president of production and chief content officer at Turner Sports, per Fortune. Instead of approaching this as this is our ELeague and pounding our chest, we want to help the entire eSports ecosystem and be authentic to both TBS and CS:GO We want to help bring stability to the ecosystem.
Jay Baage, executive director for [a]listdaily who ll be speaking at the Cross Platform Content: Branding and Programming panel, says content is also a focus for marketers at CES.
No matter what the new gizmos will be at CES, we re seeing a shift to marketing the experience and entertainment value that the product can provide to the consumer, rather than the product itself. I m especially interested in getting a better understanding of new augmented-virtual reality content experiences and seeing what s the best way for marketers to help enhance those experiences for consumers as well as get more involved in actual mass media implementations like 360 video on Facebook.
The virtual reality hype machine is real, and it s here it certainly has the makings of being the darling of CES. Long gone are the days of traditional gaming there s a real desire and need for VR content. Last year set the tone with a series of momentum-shifting developments like the first broadcast of an NBA game in the platform. The VR industry could grow to $6.7 billion in 2016 alone, driven mainly by hardware sales as the main contenders battle for market dominance. More than 40 exhibitors Oculus VR, Virtuix and Sphero among them will showcase the next wave of VR systems and environments at CES.
Developments in virtual and augmented reality have made significant strides to allow us to engage in a 360-degree gaming experience, explore the inside of foreign landmarks, treat phobias, better train medical professionals, virtually attend an event and much more, said Karen Chupka, senior vice president of corporate business strategy for CES. The gaming a virtual reality marketplace at CES 2016 will showcase all of these immersive innovations that are advancing this futuristic industry.
