This January, I attended the 2024 CES conference in Las Vegas. The conference boasts it is “the most powerful tech event in the world,” and while I haven’t been to any other tech events to compare it to…I can certainly suggest it must be the BIGGEST. The event exhibits (featuring innovations in consumer tech from robot pool cleaners to wireless, transparent TVs to wearable health monitors) are the real showcase of the conference. The exhibits span three huge conference centers with multiple exhibit halls at each location. I set aside an entire day for exhibit exploring, and I probably only saw 40% of the sprawling expanse of booths.
On the days I wasn’t getting lost in exhibit halls, I spent some time attending marketing speaker sessions. I’ll recap these sessions below, but if you’re already feeling TLDR vibes from this post, here is the one takeaway I would leave you with:
Limitations to data and targeting access will shift the focus from performance-based marketing back to the basics: branding, creativity, storytelling and authenticity. But there still may be good opportunities to use the data you do have to drive AI innovations.
Keynote: Brand Loyalty in the Age of Always On
Evan Spiegel, Co-Founder & CEO at SnapChat
Michael Kassen, Chairman & CEO at MediaLink
Allegra Krishnan, Global Customer Engagement at McDonald’s
Lynn Teo, CMO at Northwestern Mutal
Dara Treseder, Chief Marketing Officer, Autodesk
A conversation with industry leaders on why creating brands and products that people love is a key driver for business success.
- “Brandformance”
- Building your brand = trust and reliability in the long term
- High performance = results in the short term
- Authenticity Best Practices
- Be where your customers are
- Representing your customers in the content you create
- Knowing and staying true to your brand
- Prioritizing customer service and experience
- Establish yourself as an expert in the industry (educate your customer)
- Maximize what customers already need/want
the craft of storytelling in a modern era
Sophia Bambuck, Chief Marketing Officer at The North Face
Douglas Martin, Chief Brand and Disruptive Growth Officer at General Mills
Michael Sugar, Founder and CEO at Sugar23
As many concentrate on AI and its impact on creativity, it raises questions about the future of storytelling. Hear insights from a new generation of storytelling experts.
- Cookie Deprecation: in 2024, Google will ramp up third-party cookie restrictions, limiting marketers audience targeting and data access
- How Do we Respond? Back to the Basics
- Take risks (strategies that you can’t prove with data)
- Be ready to react
- All-in on your audience relationships
- Treat your “targets” like “fans”
- Get creative with loyalty programs
- AI and Asset Management
- Opportunity to utilize AI in the optimal organization of internal assets (media, content, etc.)
2024: The Year Marketing Will Change Forever
Kristen O’Hara, Vice President Agency, Platforms & Client at Solutions Google, LLC
Vinny Rinaldi, Head of Media at The Hershey Company
AI is scaling marketing to the next level. Learn how modern marketers can leverage its potential to drive growth and enhance creativity.
- AI = Improved Efficiency
- More time to think
- Create better strategy
- AI = Durable Measurement
- Use data to drive AI
- Remember: AI is just software
But that’s just the takeaway from the sessions I attended! You can get the full Trends & Takeaway Report from MediaLink here.
But the trip wasn’t ALL work and no play! I made time to relax and enjoy Las Vegas as well. Checkout my personal blog to see how I enjoyed my time compared to the last time I was there in 2014.