CES 2023 is coming to Las Vegas in the next few weeks, and many media and investors are asking me what can we expect this year? The Consumer Electronics Show is the premier kick-off event of the year with all sorts of new technology, electronics, ideas and announcements. It represents companies, technologies, industries, ideas and new thinking from all over the world. So, let’s take a closer look at what we can expect from this year’s event.
First, Covid-19 seems to be fading into the sunset, however, after closely following this show and others over the years, let’s face it, things are different today simply because of the pandemic.
Plus, depending on the country, there seems to be mixed messages regarding Covid. While everything seems to be getting better here in the United States and other countries, China is reporting a resurgence, renewed lockdowns and record numbers of cases.
How Covid-19 continues to impact CES 2023
Last year, the CES comeback story began. It was the first, semi-normal event since the coronavirus showed its ugly face several years ago.
The good news is it looks like this upcoming CES 2023 will be even stronger and better. However, we should expect plenty of pushback from certain companies and countries around the world.
I also believe CES 2023 will impact MWC Barcelona 2023. If CES is successful, that will drive more attendance to the wireless show.
How CES 2023 will impact MWC Barcelona 2023
Any way we slice this, we must understand there is a new normal that we must get used to. As more people officially return with in-person visits, others still attend using video conferencing services.
The good news is there is room for both and both companies and attendees can still see great value if they follow the rules of the new-normal.
There are differences between the two which are important to understand for everyone involved, to make CES a success.
Services like Zoom, WebEx, Microsoft Teams popular at CES 2023
There are pros and cons to either going in person or going virtual by using conferencing services like Zoom, WebEx, Microsoft Teams and others.
These services started out several years ago as a weak substitute. However, many companies have learned valuable lessons increasing their value in getting their messages out.
And it’s all about getting the message out above the loud background noise level.
There are pros and cons to these services. While they let us attend virtually, they also make it difficult to mix and mingle with others, meet new people and see new things that you didn’t plan for in advance.
Companies have choice in how to present to top attendees
To tell you the truth, as an attendee who typically juggles more invitations than time, being there in person was always tough to manage.
Companies like to book private briefings with their senior executives to get on the radar of key influencers, analysts, investors and more.
These are important meetings, especially today as many companies are struggling with job cuts and a weak economy. After all, companies need to put their best foot forward.
These are always in different hotel suites up and down the Las Vegas strip. Travelling around town was always time consuming and fulfilling all requests is always tough especially when one meeting is up north at the convention center area and the next at a resort on the south end.
Companies also find there are pros and cons to in-person or virtual events. On one hand, virtually they can expand their reach to more participant’s. On the other hand, executives cannot get close and personal to attendees online, which is one of the big long-term benefits to these events.
After all, solid business is conducted between people who work well together and who trust each other.
In fact, I prefer to have a brief introductory meeting, but book one-on-one briefings before or after the show with interesting companies.
Executives prefer to meet short-list of attendee’s privately
Let me share something with you. I have attended these kind of shows for decades. I am fortunate enough to be on a short-list invited to private and smaller events with executives in a more personal gathering.
These are the get-togethers which have not really taken place in recent years at these conferences thanks to the pandemic.
The good news is these one-on-one meetings are smaller, more intimate gatherings are starting to make a comeback.
That’s why I believe each year CES will get better and stronger going forward, year after year. That being said it will take more time to get back to normal.
In fact, this new normal is what we must get used to.
We must learn about and get good at this new way of doing things for CES, MWC Barcelona and in fact every other trade show globally.
Companies must punch through high “noise level” and be noticed
There is a noise level in the industry that is higher than ever as companies all scream for attention from investors, media and analysts.
That means every company needs to figure out new ways to punch through the noise to be heard and noticed. Otherwise, they may simply fail.
Great companies are still learning how to do this today. Going forward, they need to learn new ways to be heard in this new-normal world we find ourselves.
That’s one reason CES, MWC Barcelona and other events are so important. They give executives the chance to blast their companies message and be heard above the ambient noise level of the industry and other competitors who are also trying to be noticed.
The good news is we are heading in the right direction, one step at a time. It will just take more time to reach the end goal. Companies must continue to sharpen their swords for this new battle.
We are at the cutting edge as we all get used to this new normal and learn new ways to get our messages heard.
Of course, one thing you will miss if you attend virtually. They haven’t been able to figure out a way to bring those amazing crab leg buffets through Zoom, WebEx or Microsoft Teams… not yet anyway. So, there is still more work to do.
