CES Wrap: Ten Thoughts & Observations from The Consumer Electronics Show

by | Jan 10, 2011 | Blog, Marketing Think Tank | 0 comments

Ten thoughts and observations from last week’s CES, in no particular order:

  1. The consumer electronics economy is nearly 100 percent recovered from the great recession. Are you acting accordingly?
  2. More than 100 tablet devices will be introduced this year. Computer sales will plummet. Tablets are the new computers.
  3. Accordingly, exhibitors showing apps for tablets were through the roof this year. If you are wondering about a growth category within consumer electronics that will skyrocket for the next many years, look no further than tablet software.
  4. Three-dimensional televisions rightfully took a backseat to more practical technologies. Look! Logic in CE!
  5. I don’t understand why some companies even invest in coming to CES. Their executives are impossible to find. Their PR people have little information. And their booth boys and girls are simply unhelpful. (How can they be? They’re hired for four days.)
  6. I’m always fascinated by manufacturer employees who don’t want to talk about their company or products at CES. Some of them — and I count executives among this group — look disinterested and bored, and act put upon when they have to talk about their devices. You’re at CES. Your employer has invested in bringing there. At least pretend like you’re interested!
  7. From a business perspective, nothing productive happens on the show floor.
  8. After all these years of attending CES, I still don’t understand the point of having scantily clad dancers at your booth. Why? To generate attention? As soon as I see a half-naked dancer, I know that your products aren’t compelling enough to generate a similar level of interest. (And do you really want the people these dancers attract at your booth?!)
  9. I saw a blogger at a media event with a nice, expensive digital SLR. Nice lens. Nice, external flash. With an 8.5-by-11 piece of paper roughly rubber-banded around the flash to diffuse its light. Really? You’re meeting executives who you want to interview and that’s the first impression you want to make? Invest in a $10 plastic diffuser, for goodness sake.
  10. There is energy in CE again. The industry is almost fully recovered from the recession. Are you acting accordingly? (This is a repeat of my first observation, if you haven’t noticed.) It’s time to get into growth mode. And urgently.