[Field report] Latest trends in “digital marketing” understood from CES 2024

CES (Consumer Electronics Show) is a major technology industry event held every year in Las Vegas, USA. In the past, it was literally a “home appliances exhibition,” but in 2015 it underwent a major change in direction. It has evolved into a comprehensive technology showcase that showcases the latest products and services and discusses the social change they bring.

This year’s CES was held from January 10th to 12th. Looking at the exhibitors, there are many startups exhibiting new products, but more and more large companies are mainly explaining their visions for the future. For example, Sony, as a company that supports the creative activities of video and game creators, uses the event as a venue to demonstrate what tools it develops and provides.

It is an exhibition that attracts a lot of attention from a marketing perspective. Discussions are taking place on hot topics such as how to revitalize promotions and product sales through the Internet, and the content will be of great interest to marketers as well.

The author (Masakazu Honda) covered this CES on-site. This article will report on CES 2024 from two perspectives. The first is a report on the technology marketing of giant US technology companies (Big Tech) represented by GAFAM. The other is a report on the use of the latest technology in the United States, an advanced country in

digital marketing

.

Big Tech’s ever-increasing dominance

Even after the introduction of digital technology, home appliances continued to be products dominated by brand manufacturers. However, as network-connected,

cloud

-integrated services become more valuable, the presence of Big Tech behind them has become more visible.

How are companies conducting marketing to acquire partners in order to expand their sphere of influence (ecosystem)?

apple

Apple is not participating in CES. This is to avoid being seen as “one company among many,” and not participating is an important part of Apple’s branding.

However, its influence is clearly reflected in the products of the startups exhibiting. News was announced during CES that Apple Vision Pro, a spatial computing device, would go on sale on February 2nd, but even before that, the groundbreaking device was already driving product and service development across the industry. It set the direction.

According to an announcement by the organizers, the number of exhibition booths themed around VR (virtual reality), AR (augmented reality), and MR (mixed reality) increased by 27% from the previous year. In recent years, VR-related exhibitions have been sluggish. The reason for this is that producing great content is expensive, and the popularity of devices has been slow.

Under such circumstances, the number of exhibitors has increased significantly due in no small part to Vision Pro.

The fact that the exhibition featured the keyword “Spatial”, which Apple had introduced, was prominent, giving a sense of its influence. In addition to the sensory innovation of virtual reality, Apple’s creation of a new concept called “Spatial” and the spread of the idea that the computing infrastructure itself will revolutionize can be described as a feat of Apple’s technology marketing.

google

Google is focusing on technology marketing to the automobile industry.

The company’s technology is, of course, incorporated into a Google-branded AI assistant that you can summon by saying “OK, Google.” However, Google’s technology has permeated many products as fundamental technology. Google’s technology is essential to the TVs of major home appliance manufacturers including Sony, and the company’s current focus is on making inroads into automobiles. At this year’s CES, improvements to Android Auto, a smartphone feature for cars, were announced.

Android Auto, which, like Apple’s CarPlay, is increasingly being used as the basis for navigation and driver experience in cars, now includes new battery management features for electric vehicles.

By sharing battery level information with Google Maps, a function has been added to guide users to charging facilities when navigating. However, like Apple’s CarPlay, features such as Android Auto are separate from automakers’ systems, and automakers are concerned that the in-car experience will be dominated by Google and Apple.

However, Google, which has a self-driving technology company called Waymo in its group, has relatively high expectations compared to leading electric vehicle and self-driving companies such as Tesla. However, there is still deep-seated distrust from the auto industry. Detailed communication with partner companies seems to be an issue.

microsoft

CES has long been a venue for Microsoft to chart new directions for Windows PCs. Therefore, it can be said that it is the company that is most adept at utilizing CES as a technology marketing venue.

At this year’s CES, we will be promoting the generative AI functions provided through the cloud platform Azure. In addition to being the first to introduce superior AI capabilities based on OpenAI technology, we have also invested in highly efficient neural network processors (chips dedicated to AI processing), making us a leader in this field. Showed.

Additionally, the company announced that it will allow users to easily call up AI functions by installing a “Co-pilot button” on the keyboard of Windows PCs. Windows PCs starting this spring will be able to utilize AI more easily.

With the installation of a standard call button, all users, and the new generation of PC users in the future, will be able to master computers with the use of AI in mind. This is likely to have a major impact on how we use computers in the future.

Microsoft is also actively involved in AI technology incorporated into cars, and Microsoft’s technology will be incorporated into Sony Honda Mobility’s new electric vehicle “AFEELA”, which is scheduled to begin accepting orders in 2025.

Sony Honda Mobility President Izumi Kawanishi said, “This is the best option for understanding the context, grasping the passenger’s requests, and responding appropriately.” Microsoft’s technology is likely to become popular in products such as electric cars, which have high unit prices and require long-term maintenance and updates, as they seek higher quality interactivity.

Amazon

Amazon, the world’s largest online shopping company, has a strong presence at CES, renting a dedicated hall and displaying many of its products. This is probably technology marketing aimed at general visitors. Meanwhile, Amazon’s technology is also being used in other companies’ products, and the company is working hard to signal how well its new partnership is progressing.

For example, the much-talked-about generation AI is being incorporated into many industrial equipment and consumer products as “Amazon Bedrock.” It has become clear that it has begun to be used widely, including in inexpensive products. The streaming device “Fire TV” has so far only been included in inexpensive TVs, but at this year’s CES they announced a partnership with Panasonic. It has become part of a global brand.

Panasonic’s TVs equipped with Fire TV will also be sold in Japan. In the Japanese domestic market, where the company has a large share, this is big news that will have an impact on viewing trends for streaming distribution works.

BMW’s in-vehicle systems are also expected to incorporate Amazon’s technology, providing conversation-based assistant functions. Amazon is often seen as inferior to Apple, Google, and Microsoft when it comes to technology, but in reality, many companies rely on the infrastructure provided by Amazon through AWS.

In particular, the services of IoT products are often built on AWS, making them difficult for general consumers to see. Amazon’s services also exist in these areas. The CES exhibit effectively promoted this fact.

Digital marketing continues to be updated with the latest technology

Reflecting the US market, where many of the latest examples of digital marketing are being created, CES has an exhibition and panel discussion venue called “C-Space.” This has been in place since 2016 and has received a lot of attention from marketers.

The central theme of this year’s CES is, of course, AI. There were also presentations of examples that combined the latest technologies such as VR/AR/XR. For example, XR technology can be used to give users a simulated experience of products and services.

Wayfair is one of the largest online sales platforms for furniture and home goods. The company has 14 million products from more than 11,000 suppliers, but AR technology is the key to its growth.

How does the furniture actually look in your home? It is important to be able to freely select products online and check how the layout can be arranged. To this end, the application of XR technology, including AR, will be important.

Wayfair’s AR simulation technology started with furniture, but has now expanded its scope of application to all kinds of daily necessities. It is said that it can be checked online using a smartphone or VR goggles so that it is easy to remember the usability.

Initiatives in the travel industry are also progressing. Travel agency Brown + Hudson has developed a system that allows users to customize ChatGPT and create their own travel plans in the same steps as consulting with an agent. It is said that it can make the best proposal online by researching the availability and price of rooms and planes at that time, and it also uses VR technology to allow you to simulate the proposed accommodation and optional tours.

You can experience real-life experiences such as strolling through the backstreets of Marrakech, Morocco or driving a hypercar on the Nurburgring. Ultra-luxury resorts in Europe and Asia, including Six Senses, Shangri-La, and Soneva, have also started using VR when making reservations.

The reason why this application is progressing at luxury resorts is because agencies that utilize VR have sprung up exclusively. Gecko Digital Global is leveraging technology to expand its partnerships with hotel groups.

Shopping mall marketing is also evolving. What was impressive was the initiative by Westfield, which operates shopping malls across the United States.

The company’s shopping malls have an innovation division called Westfield Labs, which conducts research and development to enhance the shopping experience with the latest technology. Established the innovation center “Bespoke” in San Francisco. This is a hub that brings together over 75 digital marketing and EC-related startups and brands.

At 3,700 square feet, Bespoke is a co-working space for startups focused on 3D printing, e-commerce, data analytics, mobile technology, wearable technology, and more. By bringing together a wide variety of companies, it not only serves as a place to consider investment directions, actual sales space, or incorporation into web pages, but also serves as a kind of test marketing. I would like to pay attention to the future movement of “Bespoke”.

Latest technology for live events

Pablo Robinto, head of the VR/XR department at Nexus Studios, which is known for digital video production using the latest technology, announced AR events held in New York’s Times Square and London’s Piccadilly Circus.

These two places are some of the world’s most popular tourist spots. It is also an area with a complex mix of commercial facilities. When holding a large event in this area, safety measures are extremely difficult. Therefore, we utilize AR technology. They conducted a trial in which the latest information on live events and collaboration with nearby commercial facilities were displayed graphically and in an easy-to-understand manner using smartphones based on QR codes.

Nexus Studios’ solution is simple and the opposite of immersive content, which uses head-mounted displays to project high-definition images. For example, in a joint project with Major League Baseball, they are developing a system that displays past data, trivia about the players, and data about the game itself so that players can enjoy the game more deeply. The idea is to have AR act as an assistant.

This kind of approach is also used at live music events.

Live Nation is a company that organizes huge live events for world-famous artists. The company’s Kevin Chenett says he is partnering with technology companies to utilize AR in content delivery.

Although devices are not used while participating in live events, the company is developing online experience value such as streaming for fans who are unable to attend live events. In addition to utilizing AR, we are maximizing the value of live concerts and participating artists by improving the waiting time to enter concerts and the quality of the fan festival experience.

Marketing is evolving to a new dimension with the help of the latest technology. CES made me realize this.