CES showed how marketing will progress in prediction, permission and purpose

I often hear from marketing colleagues how they never managed to break out of the C Space, the area of the conference dedicated to talks and panels from CMOs and agency counterparts around content consumption and consumer behavior. While that is certainly the cradle of Adland at CES, personally, I couldn’t wait to walk the show floors. It’s often in the convention center and exhibitor halls where I start to make bigger, broader connections between disparate industries and categories and the real fireworks begin to happen.

This year, those connections began to reveal three major themes for 2024 that every marketer should be leaning into.

The big themes of CES

1. The future of mobility will drive prediction. One of the most exciting things I saw at CES 2024 was the crossover between wearability and mobility to pave a new road to prediction. Human data from wearables met mobility data from vehicles to predict the health of car and driver in a display from BMW and the Garmin Auto OEM and “prediction engine,” which “monitors vehicle functions, user actions, environmental information and more to make helpful predictions.” Think about the possibilities for pre-empting driver behavior, vehicle performance, etc. The way forward – for all categories – will be connecting and combining precise data sets to become predictive.

2. Partnerships = Permission. There were a myriad of brand and product crossovers on display across the show, which allowed brands to play in new spaces and tap into new audiences. The BMW and Garmin partnership is certainly one example of two brands understanding that by partnering with the other, they would unlock permission to interact with a new set of consumers. Another example of collaborations allowing crossover and driving creativity was the Reebok partnership with Delorean to launch the F100 Mini Go-Kart, which not only solidified Reebok’s position as a player in mobility, but also brought luxury into the everyday and married two very different consumer demographics. This is not an entirely new concept, but it felt completely fresh the way these partnerships allowed authentic brand and product extensions.

3. AI Finds Purpose. AI was everywhere at CES this year and on the tips of everyone’s tongues – from generative AI to robot pets. But what I found to be most inspiring were the displays of AI to help vulnerable communities – in particular aging populations. Whether it was a wearable to keep active, a device to assist with physical therapy or cognitive assistance for those struggling with Alzheimer’s, this personalized monitoring and care grounded in real-time data showed us how AI can improve the human condition. While “AI” and “aging” aren’t typically two terms used together, when you consider that 30% of the wealth in the US is controlled by Americans over 70, this all feels like a pretty smart bet.

I left CES inspired and ready to evangelize what I believe to be the biggest trends of 2024. Let’s double down on the data to get predictive; partner up to make authentic connections with new audiences; and think about how some of the most cutting-edge tech can bring purpose to the most unexpected consumers.