CES 2023: 4 Trends that will shape the future of marketing

After two years in a row with dips in attendance, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was held in full fervor from January 5 to 8, 2023, in Las Vegas. The show floor in Las Vegas was filled with buzzy, headline-grabbing products, gizmos, and gadgets. But the real value of this world’s largest show is how it lays out the vision for where marketing and technology trends may go in the future.

Here are some of the biggest marketing themes that the event heralded:

1. Pervasive Applications of Metaverse and Web3

Web3 technologies are everywhere. As a result, it's no surprise that it took center stage at this year's CES event. This event, however, revealed a more practical side of metaverse applications with a variety of AR and VR products. The activations kept brands and media agencies on their toes, exploring new use cases for the metaverse and Web 3. But the innovations still have a long way to go as consumers are hesitant to adopt some of these devices and technology due to high-cost concerns. That being said, some of these virtual platforms simply require an online browser, while headsets are optional for an immersive feel.

2. The Silent Disruption of Podcasts

Marketers and agencies delved into the evolution of podcasting and audio at CES' C Space in January 2023, honing in on how these platforms fit into the future of advertising and technology. The future of podcasting can get bigger with the widening scope of smart speakers, connected cars, and spatial audio.

3. Future of Attention Metrics

In an increasingly fragmented media world, there is a growing need to obtain standardized measurement frameworks to assess campaign performance while honoring consumer privacy. The viewability of an ad doesn’t actually reveal whether people are paying attention. The C-Space Panel discussed the need for attention metrics as well as the challenges of implementing a standard methodology.

4. Enterprises Push Towards Sustainability

Business leaders are increasingly focused on sustainability, naming it a top 10 priority in 2022-23, according to Gartner's annual survey of CEOs and senior business executives. Using new technologies to advance sustainability goals is what drew Yancho Gerdjikov, solutions architect at food and beverage company Nestlé, to a session Thursday at CES called "E-merging Energy: Incentivizing a Greener Future with Crypto and Blockchain."

Innovation, sustainability, accountability and metaverse were the major themes in the CES show this year. Most of the innovations showcased at the event were aimed at being practical and humanized, with a focus on digitizing consumer experiences.

We already know that the only constant today is change. However, the pace of change is accelerating, and the places marketers need to now reach out to current and potential customers are changing-as are the ways to connect with them.

In the year ahead, marketers need to prioritize linking content, commerce, and community in order to effectively serve consumers and boost brand efforts. " If you build it, they will come" is no longer a reliable marketing strategy. Marketers need to focus on delivering content in a way that consumers want and find ways to improve their experiences.

This year’s CES tech gadget feast was predominantly focused on audio, video, spatial, and immersive experiences. Thus, marketers can take a cue from these developments and shift their communication to more virtual, interactive, and spatially rich tools.

The new products, experiences, and discussions that emerged from the event are poised to unlock new opportunities for marketers. The emphasis on uniform measurement solutions and attention metrics, in particular, are important trends to keep an eye on. As businesses step meticulously into an uncertain economy, they are under pressure to demonstrate accountability with their spending.

Besides, this might just be the year that we move through the hype cycle of Web3 and test practical applications that will make or break widespread metaverse adoption possible.