MarTech implications of what our Chief Technology Officer Sheldon Monteiro witnessed at the world’s largest consumer electronics show.
Last Friday, 2015 CES wrapped up in Las Vegas, NV. It was mammoth – official statistics tallied 170,000 industry professionals and 3,600 exhibitors – the largest in the show’s history. 38 football fields of exhibit space is a lot to cover in a week, not counting dozens of private demos and meetings in hotel suites all over South Las Vegas Boulevard. Was it worthwhile? And what does it mean for brands and agencies?
First, let’s put CES in perspective. A lot of products are showcased at CES, roughly 20,000 this year alone. Despite that staggering number, if you’ve been following the news, many pundits lamented that nothing was launched that defines the next big category or thing. Some technology titans like Apple and Microsoft weren’t even there though their technology was embedded throughout the show in other vendors’ gadgets. Yet, in a few days, in one location, I got to see the latest from startups to household names. I witnessed a host of incremental innovations, both small and massive, across a range of product categories, including televisions, automobiles, appliances, virtual reality, augmented reality, 3D printers and scanners, wearables, sensors, drones and media. I even saw some game changers – self-driving cars and a scooter that may disrupt urban commuting. But in addition to finished products that can be nicely gift-wrapped under a holiday tree, CES is where I get to see a lot of foundational technology, the bits and doodads that inspire creativity to invent amazing new experiences and activate brands at the intersection of technology and story. Here are 10 takeaways I’ve filed in my idea box:
1. Televisions got bigger, smarter and connected; big screen targeting is around the corner.
Curved TVs sporting OLED and quantum display technology were everywhere. Big screens got even bigger (100+ inches). 4K televisions with resolutions of 3840-by-2160 are the new normal, with a few top-end models featuring 8K resolution and even bendable screens.
This technical upgrade to 4K resolution has a profoundly important implication for advertisers – cable providers will be reluctant to put many bandwidth-hogging 4K channels over their broadcast networks. So, it’s quite likely that the pre-dominant mode of content delivery to next generation TVs will be Internet streaming.
In fact, Dish Network made news at CES by announcing competition for traditional pay-TV services. For $20 a month, Dish’s Sling TV will offer Internet streaming of live sports (ESPN), lifestyle, family, news, and information channels. Yes, live Internet streaming of channels you actually might want. Before would-be cord-cutters raise the champagne, it’s worth noting that this announcement is from a player within the pay-TV industrial complex, unlikely to cannibalize existing revenues.
Smart TV platforms saw consolidation. Roku, which already has significant share of the Internet streaming appliance market, will now dominate entry-level sets, embedded into Insignia (BestBuy house brand), Haier, TCL and Hisense TVs. Sony changed course from their proprietary platform and will build on Android TV, along with Sharp. Samsung is on Tizen, LG on WebOS, and Panasonic on Firefox OS. Fewer platforms hold the promise of much needed simplification of interactive TV brand experience development.
For advertisers, two things are certain: we are closer than ever to understanding what individual households are watching, and we will increasingly be serving up relevant interactive experiences directly on the big screen. Watchwith and Brightline both demonstrated solutions for interactive TV ad formats at the C Space area of the show.
2. The Internet of Things (IoT) is here, and we’re just getting started.
If there was an overarching theme that dominated the whole show, it’s that everything – from lightbulbs to chairs, wearables to cars, toothbrushes to baby pacifiers – will be connected to the Internet. Samsung’s CEO proclaimed that each and every one of the products they sell will be connected by the end of this decade. Unsurprisingly, with this rush toward connectedness, there are different standards and platforms camps emerging. In the smart home category alone, I saw products aligned with Google’s Nest/Thread ecosystem, Apple’s HomeKit, and Samsung’s SmartThings over Z-Wave, ZigBee, and WiFi, to name just a few. It’s clear that we have a “Tower of Babel” syndrome. To realize the promise of IoT will require standards and interoperability that’s not here yet.
For now, the immediate potential of IoT is twofold for brands – (1) creating connected things and places, and (2) leveraging data from connected things to deliver more contextually relevant communications and experience. Brands must start with a strong use case – why would a consumer want to use this connected device or interact with an experience? A great use case for me was the Kolibree toothbrush, which uses 3D sensors and gamifies the drudgery for kids brushing teeth with something that looked a lot like Minion Run on a connected phone or tablet. Along the same lines, Sevenhugs showed me a sleep monitor for the entire family, complete with historical analytics for each family member. Both those devices addressed real pain points. A less compelling use case for me – the Belty – a motorized belt buckle that expands and contracts with your waistline. But consumer trends are hard to predict – Belty gathered a lot of attention at the show.
As a marketer, I’ll also be watching for how the “context broker” market unfolds. How will companies like Google, Apple and others who can see the data within their connected ecosystems share it with brands who want to deliver contextually relevant content and experience?
3. Tech meet fashion, fashion meet tech.
I’m a watch junkie, and as much as I love my aging Pebble smartwatch for its retro geek factor, it really isn’t a fashion accessory. This year at CES, there were glimpses of good and some great-looking smartwatches and wearables. The Withings Activité Pop activity tracking watch, Alcatel’s affordable OneTouch smartwatch and Garmin’s fēnix 3 GPS sportwatch are fashionable watches I want to wear. Of course, while Apple was not at the show, the conversation around smartwatches inevitably drifted to their soon-to-be-released watch. Swarovski and Misfit announced a collaboration – the Misfit Shine activity-tracking device that sits within a faceted crystal and was shown with a nine-piece jewelry collection including pendants, bracelets and watch straps.
How can brands get in on this trend? Making wearables is getting easier. Intel announced Curie – a tiny, system-on-a-chip designed specifically for wearable technology with a bevy of sensors and Bluetooth connectivity. With modular and pre-integrated technology like Curie, brands with a use case for wearables can focus on bringing oodles of fashion and creativity and save a few bucks on engineering.
If you do not have a wearable use case, CES this year was proof positive that design matters. Even gadget makers like Mother, which makes a line of smart sensors for home automation, get that design is critically important. Their sensor hub and sensors, affectionately called cookies, are gorgeous – something I wouldn’t mind placing on my living room shelf. Heck, I was tempted to nibble on their cookies. For brands, the simple message is if you are going to make tech, make it beautifully desirable, not just useful.
4. Automobiles got smart, really smart, and yes – connected. They might even become living spaces.
CES 2015 conclusively proved that Google has credible competition in autonomous cars. Delphi, Valeo, Mercedes-Benz and Audi all had working demonstrations of their self-driving cars. They had major differences, but the race for the future is on. The Mercedes-Benz model had the driver’s seat facing away from the road – showing a future where a vehicle might even be just another living space with its attendant possibilities.
In the near term, all the auto manufacturers showed off connected in-car technology, demonstrating integration with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Ford discussed their Nest collaboration on an app that optimizes energy. The app will switch the Nest thermostat to “Away Mode” when the driver leaves home and will set the house temperature when the vehicle is approaching home again. LG and Audi partnered on a watch that can unlock the car.
Should brands care? First, connected cars will also be data sources. For certain verticals like auto insurers, that data will be hugely useful. I’ll be watching for data brokers in this space. An immediate opportunity stems from GM’s announcement of a concierge service which brands can tap into to market local offers and deals to OnStar drivers who use their new “AtYourService,” based on the current location of the vehicle. Pretty nifty.
5. In a connected everything world, CRM will include managing technological obsolescence.
Another insight for me stemmed from a question I asked at every auto exhibit. How will you manage technological obsolescence? If I purchase a new vehicle with connected technology, can I expect to have the latest upgrades and bug fixes for the life of the car? Sadly, none of the vendors, with the exception of Panasonic, which is the integrator for Ford Sync had a credible answer. The sad truth is, my top of the line, barely a year old 2014 truck does not get any software upgrades unless there is a critical recall. This is a glaring and obvious gap for product manufacturers at large. If your device is now connected, you have to make the shift from a sell it and forget it product lifecycle management (PLM) mindset to a service lifecycle management (SLM) mindset where you have an ongoing exchange of value with your existing customers for the useful life of the product.
But fret not, if you have a car with old technology, Parrot’s RNB6 and Pioneer’s AVIC-8000NEX offer impressive after-market options to upgrade to the latest connected tech. In fact, I observed several products designed solely to upgrade older technology – plain old lightbulbs, smoke detectors and refrigerators can now be connected.
For brands, your best retention strategy is being valuable to, valued by and connected with your existing customers. It was a pity that none of the auto company representatives I spoke with understood that simple concept.
6. Virtual reality is just around the corner; brands seeking immersive experiences should start taking notice.
Facebook-owned Oculus VR’s CEO observed at CES, “The first step is making a device that can make you believe you’re in a different place.” Based on what I experienced, they’re getting creepily close. Oculus Rift Crescent Bay features positional surround sound, 360 degree head tracking and amazing graphic clarity. Their content demos transported me to different locations. I actually felt I was in some scary situations even though I knew I was at a crowded conference.
Tucked away in an off-floor suite, I also experienced an impressive shoe-shopping demo from Sixense. Shopping in a virtual 3D store, I was able to pick a shoe off a shelf, examine it in 3 dimensions, put them on a mannequin and drop them in a shopping cart. Sixense believes that richer product demonstrations with VR will facilitate endless aisle and reduce product returns.
Samsung Gear VR partnered with Marvel to demonstrate a virtual Avenger’s world, and Razer spoke about their open source project and partner friendly development kit.
Augmented reality was also present in abundance. Sony demonstrated a clip on accessory for glasses that provides a Google Glass alternative. I tried out the ODG smart glasses which looked pretty decent and provided the functionality of an Android tablet, overlaid on my normal field of view. Control was via a separate Bluetooth dongle.
Creating content and applications for VR and AR will be a significant challenge and opportunity for brands. Intel demonstrated the integration of their RealSense technology with Oculus, which allowed for people in distributed locations to play a virtual game of volleyball. I can see all sorts of uses for this, including immersive, even live product demonstrations and consultative customer service.
7. Sensors for everything… even ones that can read your mind and change your mood
As I mentioned earlier, I saw dozens of wearables with sensors aplenty. But I also saw some real gems that deserve special mention.
Tucked away in the IEEE booth, surrounded by the hardcore geeks (as opposed to the posers like me), was a really nifty mind-control demo with Emotiv’s EEG headset hooked up to toy race cars. Literally, this is a sensor than can read your mind. Thync demonstrated a neurosignalling device and app that delivers small electrical pulses to the brain to induce calm or improve energy. The Muse headband, which is already retailing on Amazon, uses sensors to detect brain state and as a mind training tool. Imagine helping a customer through a complex sale by providing her a visualization of how she felt as she considered her purchase options.
The low priced Steelseries Sentry Eye Tracker could be incredibly useful in experience usability studies.
Intel’s RealSense technology allows for sophisticated depth sensing. With Intel’s focus, it has a very high chance of deployment at scale. Stereolabs showed me their Zed camera, which also addresses depth sensing. The applications of depth sensing are broad. Computers understanding 3D spatial concepts are able to recognize gestures, navigate in 3D space, scan a real object and better detect emotional state. I can only begin to imagine the brand engagement possibilities.
8. Faster, smaller and more clever
Moore’s law held at CES 2015. Intel announced their new Broadwell line of processors featuring higher performance, battery life and graphics. It’s going to take more power to manage 4K screens and process 3D in real time, and Intel appears to be looking at these technology waves in tandem, which is good news.
Not to be outdone, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 mobile processor will be able to wirelessly stream 4K video, play advanced games and even power VR and computing experiences, all behind the covers of a smartphone.
NVIDIA, famous for its graphics processing within the hardcore gamer community, devoted nearly its entire booth to showcase their in-car autonomous computing platform. The platform is powered by a processor as powerful as two supercomputers from a little over a decade ago. It takes some horsepower to process images from multiple cameras around the car and make sense of them.
And yes, the Internet of Things will be a fire hose of data.
What does this mean for brands? Simply, more raw compute headroom for immersive experience. While we will always have to be aware of the long tail of adoption, future experiences can be more immersive, able to process more sensor input in real-time, and drive higher resolution displays than ever before. In venue technology with larger screens and even more interactivity will get more affordable, and more brands will deploy them.
9. We’re still figuring out mobility and proving we were there.
I saw a bunch of Segway alternatives telepresence robots at the show, with the IO Hawk personal transporter and Double robot getting a lot of attention. High resolution 4K+ cameras and selfie sticks were also in abundance.
And there were more drones than I could count. The most featured use case remained aerial photo capture with some interesting enhancements – being the ability to follow you at a fixed distance, which sports enthusiasts will love, and the ability to stream HD video in real time over a 4G network connection.
Another really interesting announcement was Gogoro’s battery powered Smartscooter. Gogoro has an ambitious plan to deploy a network of charging stations in urban areas. You will never plug the scooter into a charger; simply swap batteries. And Gogoro intends for their battery network to be used for other devices besides the scooter, potentially even being daisy chained for larger workloads than a scooter.
As a marketer, it’s clear that we want to be mobile, to show that we were there and what we did. And inevitably, there will be opportunities to weave these technologies into activations.
10. Diversity is top of mind.
I saved this one for last, because it is so close to my heart. Intel CEO Brian Krzanich ended his keynote last Tuesday night with a commitment to increase the diversity of its U.S. workforce by 2020. He pledged $300 million to fund the hiring and retention of women and underrepresented minorities. I attended a panel discussion on diversity featuring Soledad O’Brien and Brian himself, moderated by Intel’s HR Chief HR and Diversity Officer. My sense coming out of that discussion is Brian is fully aware of the uphill battle Intel will face in achieving their diversity goal. Like the engineer he is, he will chip away at it with the zeal of making Moore’s law real in the diversity context. Certainly, it was an unusual announcement to hear at CES. Brian gets how important diversity is to re-imagining the human experience with great technology. For that, I applaud him. He is an inspiration for me and for all of us at SapientNitro in our own commitment to diversity.
CES 2015 is a wrap!
By Sheldon Monteiro (@sheldon_tm), Chief Technology Officer
Photo credit: Adapted from original by Joe Swallia