CES 2018 Top 5 Things (according to us)!

Author: David Paull

CES 2018 Signage Las Vegas

A few of the Dialsmith team members were just out in Las Vegas for CES (the Consumer Electronics Show) and we wanted to share our highlights. (co-authored by guest blogger and networker-on-the-move, Leigh Ferreira)

CES calls it the global stage for innovation on their website and while we don’t yet have 2018 numbers, their 2017 data pretty much confirms that:

184,000+ attendees
Attendees from 158 countries
4,000 exhibiting companies
600 startups
1,200 speakers

Source: CES Attendance Audit Summary

In 50 years of the show CES and its attendees have seen a lot, but this year we were treated to two surprises:

RAIN

It rarely rains in the desert and it hadn’t rained in 178 days!

It was a torrential downpour on Tuesday morning (the kick-off to the show) which tied up

traffic for hours and even shut down the Google branded experience in front of the convention center.

A BLACKOUT

On Wednesday, th power went out on the main floor for 2 hours.

We know. It’s thick with irony. Yet it happened. We tried to help out with: “Alexa… turn CES Power ON”. But, no luck.

Luckily the sun was shining, so it was a good excuse to get out and get some sun/lunch or head to another CES venue with power.

As you can see, the Energizer booth took full advantage of the situation!

If you want a good laugh, checkout all the social media backlash: #cesblackout

None of this could stop our hunt for the most innovative things at CES (and some fun!).

Here’s what our team was most excited about:

TRENDS

With so many exhibitors and products it’s hard to weed through to find trends, but the things that stuck out to us most were:

Self driving vehicles
Voice recognition platforms/virtual personal assistants (Google Assistant, Alexa, etc)
Internet of things (IOT)
Wearables & fitness trackers/data collection
Headphones
Blockchain/cryptocurrency
Google was EVERYWHERE

BEST THINGS WE SAW:

DAVID

I loved ZenSpace. It’s small, on-demand meeting spaces that can be put almost anywhere (indoors and outdoors). You reserve it through the app and use an on-site tablet screen to get the unlock code for the door.

They can seat 2-6 people and include a monitor, power, and ventilation. (Naturally, we took a selfie inside!)

LEIGH

I am really excited about self driving cars, so I loved the full digital dashboard/features that Byton had on their car. This is truly a connected car!
And the dashboard/ways to get access to information possibilities are endless.

BEST EVENT WE WENT TO:

DAVID

Well, the most fun event was the C Space party at Jewel in the Aria hotel. With Lil Jon as the DJ, it was a fun and wild experience.

LEIGH

NO CONTEST! The Intel drones at Bellagio show. They programmed the drones to fly in sync with the Bellagio fountain. It was so beautiful! Well done Intel and MGM Resorts Int’l/Bellagio.

https://vimeo.com/250317906

BREAK THROUGH THE CLUTTER

We went by so many booths that we had no idea what the company did or sold. Because the work we do is to help clients tell their best story to their target audience, we have some simple suggestions to consider:

Say what you do
Show what you do
Keep it simple
Display your url, social handles and any hashtags you use so that people can easily share on social media
SELL YOUR PRODUCT!
If you can’t, then provide info on where to buy your product
If possible, offer a CES special that gives a discount or access to an exclusive

PEOPLE/PEOPLE/PEOPLE

While all the things we mention above are great, the best part of CES is the people.

We had some wonderful meetings with clients, partners, prospects and friends. Thank you to everyone who made the time!

There are so many excellent people at CES, make sure you make the time to talk to everyone. Oh and we also ran in to Flavor Flav (clock around his neck and all). 🙂

BONUS: CRAZIEST THING WE SAW (SPOILER ALERT)

NOTE: I almost don’t want to share this in case they do it again at another event because everyone should experience this without knowing like we did.

What do you think this is for? We were told it was a company that was able to replicate you with enhancements. “A clone?” I asked? I had so many questions. Come on in to the booth to learn more the rep said. So we walked in and it was even more bizarre (a body in a body bag, medical instruments, etc) and then there were many more questions.

My first response was that we were being punk’d and that this was for sure made up. (A possible SNL skit?)

And just when I was at the point to ask what the heck is going on, I saw the Netflix logo with the Altered Carbon series title and discovered

IT WAS FOR THEIR SHOW! BRILLIANT!