2011 CES Social Report

CES
SOCIAL
REPORT
2011 | WWW.CESSOCIALREPORT.COM
a report about social media and brands
at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show

2 | 2011 CES SOCIAL REPORT oxfordcommunications.com

2,700 exhibitors came to
display. 140,000 attendees
came to see. 5,000 members
of the media, bloggers and
analysts came to publish.
The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) has
been a barometer of innovative trends and consumer
demand since its inception in 1967. The 2011 CES, which
took place between Jan. 6 and Jan. 9, was no different—
this year, the world’s largest consumer technology trade
show manifested an all-out collision between social
behavior and consumer electronics.

With over 158,000 CES-related tweets, it’s clear that social
media was used as a primary means of communication
between attendees and exhibitors alike. The most exciting
announcements from brands at the trade show were based
on social technology or on socially-charged consumer
behavior. This report will show how social media is
impacting the way exhibitors exhibit, the way consumers
consume, the way in uencers in uence and the way the
successful achieve success.


WELCOME TO THE REPORT!
Every year, CES takes over Las Vegas to do what the destination is
best at: dazzle visitors. The annual CES has become something of a
marker of trends—a baseline for year-over-year realization of social
CES
shifts in our society.
SOCIAL
Think about it— ve years ago at CES 2006, Facebook was still only
available to high school and college students and Twitter had yet to
be invented. Over the years that I have attended CES, I have
REPORT
2011 | WWW.CESSOCIALREPORT.COM
watched exhibitors, attendees and the conference itself grow
increasingly immersed in the world of social media. Meanwhile, I’ve
watched even the most basic products presented there become further information on the report’s website and request in-depth
more and more integrated with the social Internet. Unsurprisingly, interviews when possible, and we were happy to have many brands
at CES 2011, social media played a bigger role than ever. In fact, take us up on our request of deeper insight.
some of my team’s most exciting observations were about the
adoption of socially-powered technology by consumer electronics Still, we’d love to hear what you thought of CES 2011 and the
brands—both in products and in the way they presented report … and since it is all about being social, we’d love to have a
themselves at the trade show. conversation with you, so feel free to reach out to us on
www.CESsocialreport.com. Additionally, if you or a brand you
The past year has made it clear that social media is here to stay— represent will be at a future CES, please let us know so we can
and that it is a force that demands to be recognized by elds include you in our plans for 2012.
ranging from politics to marketers to consumer electronics
manufacturers. As an integrated marketing agency, communication We do hope you’ll enjoy and stay social with us until next year’s
is the currency we deal with daily at Oxford Communications. In report!
fact, that shift toward social media is fueling the strategy behind our
most effective initiatives for clients both on and of ine. Yours Truly,

The CES Social Report has been developed by my team at Oxford
to capture and catalogue our professional analysis of how the social
revolution is affecting the strategies of exhibitors at CES. In the Ben Grossman
following pages, you’ll see our take on what brands are doing in Communications Strategist
response to the rise of social media at the world’s largest consumer Oxford Communications
technology trade show. This report is not intended to promote or e: bgrossman@oxfordcommunications.com
offend any brands or individuals. We did issue an open call for c: 602.741.0314


THE 2011
CES SOCIAL REPORT
The CES Social Report has been developed to capture and catalogue
what brands are doing to energize the in uential social media socialites
at CES; how they are creating branded experiences worth talking about;
and which trends set the tone at the International CES. In order to
deliver that level of insight, our team was immersed in pre-show buzz in
the weeks leading up to the opening day, had our social listening
dashboards up constantly, attended several of the most in uential
parties hosted by exhibitors and tirelessly walked the trade show oor
each day of the 2011 CES. ALL IN THE INFLUENCE
80 percent of in uential impressions about
Here, you will nd pro les of what we deemed to be the top 10 most consumer electronics are generated and distributed
interesting brands based on their response to the rise of social media, by 1.8 percent of online adults. This small fraction of
examples and analysis of the top ve trends in social media and a look social media constitute a brain trust of high-
forward of what we’re expecting to see at the 2012 CES in terms of powered opinion-makers who collect and distribute
social media’s impact on exhibitors and attendees. facts, insights and news about the consumer
electronics industry. Marketers are quickly realizing
that opportunities to ef ciently reach the right
people can unleash a tidal wave of earned media
and in uence.

Each year, over 5,000 members of the media and
bloggers travel to Las Vegas to cover the product
launches, announcements and futuristic experiences
delivered at CES. These people are the
super-in uencers who fuel the opinions behind the
impressions spread during and after the show. They
have personal connections with large numbers of
people through social media, and their opinions are
sought out by their friends and family at a rate 2.5
greater than the average online adult.


WHAT WE
SAW


WIRED MAGAZINE & AMD
Wired Magazine and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) joined
together to create one of the most impressively social presences at
CES 2011. Their socially infused efforts were uni ed by the call to
action for attendees to ‘Make a Scene.’ The booth, armed with
powerful computers and tech experts, and its ‘Make a Scene’
initiatives provided a plethora of opportunities for visitors to create
content and easily share it across their social networks.

One of the most compelling, shareable pieces of content generated
at CES 2011 were the YouTube videos that Wired Magazine and
AMD facilitated. These videos were created as short accounts from
booth visitors of their CES experiences. After recording their videos,
visitors were provided with a computer, software to edit and
guidance from a team of tech experts. Then they were encouraged
to upload their videos and share them with their social networks.
The creators of the 10 videos with the most views at the end of
each day were entered into a drawing for a computer.

Another social activity we found at this booth was the opportunity
to create a digital cover of Wired Magazine that featured a picture
of the booth visitor. This was accomplished using computers and
cameras in the booth that were available to visitors and
complimented by a full staff of tech experts.

Each of these social objects gave visitors the chance to create
something worth sharing, but then also provided avenues for
branded content to be shared in relatively organic ways. Getting
branded objects out through the networks of booth visitors proved
to be savvy and yields peer in uence impressions for these brands
across a diverse audience.


KODAK
Another booth that had an abundance of social tie-ins was Kodak. With space dedicated for bloggers, special guests, a SCVNGR game,
QR codes, signage that encouraged social actions, shareable content galore and products that have built in social capabilities, Kodak’s
‘social-ness’ was almost excessive. Kodak deserves full-credit for capitalizing on many of these social opportunities effectively at CES
2011.

Some efforts were highly engaging and led to meaningful plugs for the Kodak CES event across social networks. Notably, Kodak
allowed visitors to play SCVNGR, a popular mobile social game, in a highly branded context. Playing the game, users were prompted to
describe how they de ne a Kodak moment with the option to share their response with their personal networks. We spoke with
members of the social team at Kodak and they were very open about the fact that to be a leader in social spaces, you have to engage in
some experiments, and this year SCVNGR was just that for Kodak.

Kodak has also continued to introduce products that feature a ‘share’ button. This button uses built-in technology to allow users to
share their pictures across the social network of their choice right from the camera. After recognizing that consumers share photos
across their social networks at staggering rates, Kodak built products that streamline the process. Doing so has allowed Kodak to make
its products more relevant... and, in the process, developed a key differentiator for the brand.

Photo Credit: Kodak Blog

Photo Credit: Kodak Blog


AMERICAN EXPRESS | OPEN FORUM
American Express brought their OPEN Forum campaign to CES in a big way.
At their booth, OPEN Forum hosted notable speakers who discussed
business trends and how technology is impacting business strategies. Among
these speakers was social media superstars Chris Brogan and Guy Kawasaki.
The OPEN Forum has a history of tapping into top in uencers for content in
their small business community, and we were impressed by this extension of
that philosophy for the trade show environment.

We stopped by the booth to catch Chris Brogan’s presentation, and in
addition to speaking about ways that business has changed in the 21st
century and plugging AmEx OPEN Forum, Brogan made an effort to show
the opportunity that our new digital behaviors pose for businesses. He
covered topics ranging from nding complaints on Twitter to customizing
websites, to the importance of an organization’s email database. Brogan
challenged those present to assess if their (or their brand’s) practices were
in-line with consumers’ everyday behaviors.

Before Brogan got to CES, he was publicizing his presence and in turn AmEx.
These in uencers’ activities make it clear that AmEx’s decision to employ
experts like Brogan was a smart move. They have some of the largest, most
enraptured and powerful networks on the social web. By enlisting their
valuable expertise on topics, AmEx also got immediate exposure and
impressions among Brogan and others’ substantial networks.


MICROVISION
How can a brand capitalize on a product that is inherently shareable without an
especially notable booth of its own at CES? It can go guerilla. That’s right;
guerilla marketing is not just for the streets of New York City, it is also welcomed
in the hallways of 2011 CES.

MicroVision, a laser projector that pairs with Apple iOS devices, was one of those
products and may just have been the best example of how to have a non-booth-
based presence at CES. The MicroVision crew, conscious of the regulations of
the trade show, were using the product themselves and happy to engage in a
discussion with attendees that were curious.

When we stopped by to meet them in a dark hall behind a booth, they showed
us how their product could be used in a gaming situation and invited us to plug
one of our devices into their product to project something of our choice. In
addition to using their product and showcasing its capabilities, the MicroVision
crew offered anyone willing to tweet that they were seeing SHOWWX+ iOS Pico
Projector at CES a $10 iTunes gift card.

Sample tweet by one
author of this report.


GRIFFIN
For the second year in a row, Grif n has enjoyed success in social spaces leading up to CES. Grif n has shown an ability to assemble
share-worthy ideas and activate social media presences to distribute their content far and wide. Last year, prior to the CES 2010, Grif n
created a series of YouTube videos about members of their company road tripping to Las Vegas in a restored Volkswagen Van.

This year, Grif n shared a slide deck through SlideShare.net that gave 25 tips for those attending CES. Grif n initiated the spread by
seeding this content on Facebook, Twitter and other corners of the web. This content capitalized on a real need that existed within the
CES community. Grif n also shared CES 2011 by tweeting live updates as its booth was assembled through a branded Twitter handle.
This strategy created an af nity for the booth, and generated a desire among followers to see the booth in real time during the show.

Engaging attendees before the show while they are planning their activities, has proven to be an effective way to handle the inevitable
bandwidth issues that arise during the show. After all, Grif n did claim this year’s iLounge.com’s Best of Show 2011. That said, the booth
lacked speci c call outs to join, connect, follow or share any aspect of the show experience through social media.


RCA & AUDIOVOX
RCA and Audiovox (its parent company) saw
CES as an opportunity to grow the fan bases
of their brands and to share meaningful content
with their existing online connections. Through
coordinated efforts, these two brands used
custom tabs and a specialized set of pro le
images to draw awareness to their presences at
CES as the show approached. The Facebook
Pages featured a series of pro le pictures that
counted down the days to CES. This coupled

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with effective management, engaging content

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Because of this success, there was some press

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attention paid to how these brands were using

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social media ahead of the show, and a company
representative was quoted in a Los Angeles
Times blog, saying, “This year at CES we will
place a signi cant focus on our RCA and
Audiovox Facebook and Twitter presences. Our
main goal is to build up our fan base. Not just to
hit a certain number, but to have a large group
to be able to reach out to with new products, fan
giveaways, contests and focus groups.”

During the show, Audiovox equipped models on
the oor with iPads and sought out Facebook
fans and Twitter followers on the spot. In
addition to this, there were call outs in the booth
on stanchions for attendees to ‘Like’ the brands
on Facebook and follow on Twitter.


SKULLCANDY
At this year’s lifestyle-centric Skullcandy exhibit, members of the general public could take free branded items, listen to DJs mixing
music, watch artists generating street art and play a ‘Plinko’ style game (for those Price Is Right fans out there) for a chance to win
Skullcandy products. Lifestyle engagement was about all the average attendee got from Skullcandy at CES 2011. Invited journalists,
however, were invited to a private area to see Skullcandy products and announcements. Despite the lack of publicly available product
on display, Skullcandy had an extremely successful and crowed booth. Why? They capitalized on the social nature of lifestyle marketing
and appointment dynamics.

Branding through lifestyle, while sometimes expensive, can certainly make your brand, event or booth worth talking about. Skullcandy
further capitalized on this draw by creating scarcity and demand for the different aspects of its booth. The company had DJs spinning at
speci c times and ran certain activities to coincide with these events. This created a heightened sense of interest in the booth. If an
attendee showed up to see something speci c, he/she likely showed up at a time when many other people were there too. This made
the booth feel like a real event in and of itself.


POLAROID
One of the old tricks of the trade for marketers is borrowed interest. Polaroid
is seeking to capitalize on the FAME Monster of Lady Gaga to rejuvenate its
brand. At last year’s CES, Lady Gaga was named creative director and
inventor of specialty products, causing quite the media stir.

This year, it was time to show the yield of this partnership. Polaroid and Lady
Gaga didn’t disappoint. The line of products, called Polaroid Grey Label,
claims to represent the simple, but cutting-edge aspect of the brand. With
the compelling booth that Polaroid had and some well-executed literature,
Polaroid created a very sharable experience. Layer on top of that Lady
Gaga’s second annual appearance at the booth, and Polaroid had a swarm of
attendees, media and fans alike, two hours in advance of the appearance.

The camera submersed in a tank with live sh certainly warranted an MMS home.
Whether it warranted the ght with AT&T’s over-burdened network the weekend of CES
is a whole separate question.


CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) – which hosts CES, has made
a concerted effort to capitalize on the social nature of the attendees at the
world’s largest trade show. CES is no longer just a chance for Foursquare
users to get their Super Swarm (or this year, Super-Duper Swam) badges.
This year attendees could earn a special CES-branded badge in addition
to a multitude of other opportunities to share their CES 2011 experiences.

CES is aiming to give attendees plenary ways to connect through social
media–not only with the exhibitors at CES, but also with the conference
itself. This year, CES had covered all its bases with presences on
Facebook and Twitter (@intlCES), blogs at Digital Dialogue, a partnership
with Foursquare and a mobile application for all major devices.

The Facebook and Twitter presences have garnered respectable
followings, and each are actively used by CES to plug events, exhibitors
and up-to-the-minute news. This year, CES also had an of cial TweetUp,
to which all CES-goers were invited to join in on at the SpaceQuest
Lounge on Friday, Jan. 7. Between the burlesque dancers in the middle of
the venue, giveaways and a Twitter stream lled with tweets attempting to
grab the attention of those at the TweetUp made for a rather unful lling
experience.

One of the ways that CES had hoped to organize the social happenings at
the trade show was through an interactive site called the CES Social
Circle. The site was designed to show recent mentions of CES-related
topics across social networks. The site featured recent tweets, Facebook
posts, press by key in uencers and mentions based on location. Though
we admired the effort, we ultimately felt the CES Social Circle lacked
recognition of how the social elite behave. The online social elite is the
world’s best self-organizing crowd. Providing the CES Social Circle for this
crowd is akin to having assigned seating at your local Starbucks. We can
only assume the CES Social Circle was more popular with social media
beginners following from afar than it was for in uential power users.


INTEL
Intel, the chip manufacturer and perennial CES case study had
a booth that earned signi cant attention. With a visit from the
Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am, a Facebook-streamed press
conference, high volume of posts on Twitter and more than
1,343 check-ins, Intel was not only present on social media,
but reaping the rewards of highly in uential attendees.

Though Intel was not the only brand to stream a press
conference via Facebook, the brand did provide fans following
CES from afar the opportunity to stay engaged. Intel’s
Facebook community was hyper-engaged in the live-streaming
event and the brand was also heavily talked about on Twitter,
claiming to be the 10th most mentioned handle for CES
related tweets.

In addition to all this activity, Intel created a custom app that
tracked check-ins across Foursquare, Facebook Places and
Gowalla for all the brands at CES. Across these platforms,
there were 10,133 check-ins to branded booths at CES, with
BlackBerry (2,422 check-ins), Sony (1,573 check-ins) and Intel
Photo Credit: Intel Blog (1,343 check-ins). NBC Universal was a distant fourth with 353
check-ins.

Intel’s Social Media Strategist, Brian Rhoads, succinctly
expressed the opportunity that exists for brands in social
media at CES 2011: “Social media builds awareness for Intel,
builds community and connects us to users wherever they are,
in the medium of their choice,” said Rhoads. “It’s expanding
Intel’s voice everywhere.”

We agree with Rhoads because expanded voice and
connecting with users on their terms is what social media at
CES should be focused on.


WHAT WE
OBSERVED


2011 CES TRENDS
What’s changed always tends to be a main area of interest
whenever we attend CES. Here, we’ve set out to document some
of the shifts we’ve seen in brands’ presences as a result of the
continued rise and evolution of social media. This year, we’ve
selected ve major trends:

1. Inviting In uencers In: Instead of trying to grab
in uencers’ attention as they walk by booths on the trade
show oor, brands have begun inviting in uencers to
set-up shop broadcasting within their exhibits.

2. Social Check-box: While some brands reached out to
online audiences through social media in 2011, others
checked that box off the list with rather simple social
media activities, showing that brands know they need to
be in the space, but aren’t yet sure how.

3. Interdependence of Social Media and Technology:
Social media doesn’t only act as a marketing tool for
brands at CES. Many brands have begun introducing
products or service offerings that are powered or inspired
by social media.

4. Exhibiting Without An Exhibit: In a world where brands
can build audiences and communicate with attendees on
the y, they also no longer have to stay on the trade show
oor. Several brands broke away from a traditional exhibit
to meet in uencers elsewhere.

5. The Proper Party: CES 2011 featured over 35 known (and
many more unknown) parties. Some resulted in quality
conversations about the host brands, while others just
resulted in liquored attendees.


INVITING INFLUENCERS IN
Brands spend much of their time at CES trying to get in uencers’ attention by greeting them once at their booths, inviting them to the
right parties and making sure they don’t get too close to un-media trained product engineers. Some especially savvy brands are
beginning to realize that’s yesterday’s way of relating to in uencers who are increasingly asking, “what’s in it for me?”

This year, we were highly impressed with NBC Universal and Kodak’s efforts to invite in uencers to become part of their booths. NBC
Universal gave bloggers, podcasters and online in uencers a home base, The Hub. These in uencers were given time slots to use NBC
Universal’s space throughout the show right next to the international professional broadcasting studio, where each in uencer had their
own set, Internet hookup and power sources. Kodak created the Blogger-Zone as part of its K-Zone, a section of their booth where
Kodak featured its chief blogger, and invited The Pulse Network, a social media content producing startup, to interview thought leaders
and produce live content.

The best part? Not only did these brands draw important in uencers in to cover their booth, but the invited guests had their own
in uential guests come to be interviewed under the auspices of the host brand. In fact, we caught Chris Brogan being interviewed at the
Kodak booth shortly after his presentation at the American Express OPEN Forum booth.

In short, both brands set out to develop relationships with in uencers ahead of time and found meaningful ways to provide true value to
the in uencers they wished to reach. While the in uencers were welcomed to broadcast (and tweet) whatever they wanted from the
booths, they always made sure to cover - and thank - their hosts.


SOCIAL CHECK-BOX
As social media has gone mainstream, so too have consumers’
expectations that companies will have an active presence on some of the
key social media sites—like Facebook and Twitter. That expectation
seems to spill over to brands and attendees at CES. But there’s a key
difference between having meaningful, result-driving social media
strategy embedded within a company’s presence at the trade show and
simply being able to check a box off a list of requisite components of an
exhibit.

While many brands went well above and beyond checking a box, some
brands chose to keep it relatively low key when it came to social media,
while others featured no visible mention at all. JVC’s booth featured an
uncharacteristically last-minute-looking 8.5”x11” sign on its welcome
counter inviting visitors to “stay connected” with the company. Blackberry
featured a rotating graphic on its big screen simply providing users with
the requisite information to visit its Twitter presence, Facebook Page and
blog. Victorinox put up an easel with a call-out to check-in on Foursquare
and follow the brand on Twitter, as well as a loose tie to a “crack the
code” contest. Our take-away from these brands was that it was great
that they are trying to get involved, but ultimately need to focus further
on the value proposition their social media presence is offering up to
attendees.

Still more interesting was the impact consumer adoption of social media
had on the way brands talk about themselves. We noticed a slew of brand
tag lines that directly referenced a more connected and social consumer.
GE’s ecomagination section touted the brand’s role in “empowering the
connected consumer.” One of RCA’s newest products touted its bene t
to a connected consumer: “Never be left powerless.” The side of
Kenmore’s booth featured a direct reference to the size of its social media
following. Kenmore’s brand is on the cutting edge of the social media
revolution- breaking new ground as the largest appliance brand on
Facebook. In our estimation, size isn’t all that matters, but we like the
zeal!


INTERDEPENDENCE: SOCIAL MEDIA & CONSUMER ELECTRONICS
One of the trends that goes well outside the traditional bounds of marketing with social media
is the impact that social has had on business decisions and product development. At CES, we
were interested to see social-driven features incorporated into products as well as a heavy
investment in social technologies by brands in areas outside their standard wheelhouse. These
shifts that have begun surfacing over the past year prove how convergent social technology
and consumer electronics will be in the years to come.

Last year, at CES 2010, Polaroid announced its partnership with the highly in uential (and social
media savvy) Lady Gaga, by which the recording artist and pop culture personality will act as
the company’s creative director. At this year’s show, Lady Gaga made her second appearance
to announce some of the products that have been the yield of that relationship. Polaroid’s new
Grey Label collection, designed by the Haus of Gaga, trumpets the products’ inherent tie to
social media in literature about the line: “Every Polaroid Grey Label product was designed with
the idea that creativity and sharing go hand in hand, in both the digital and physical world.
After all, where’s the fun in creating something amazing and keeping it to yourself.”

Qualcomm featured an entire side of its booth labeled “Social Networking.” Comprised of
several socially-oriented concepts, the two that caught our attention were Vive and Skoot. Vive
is a platform that operates as a start-up within Qualcomm as a result of a group of employees
winning an innovation contest. This online application hooks into social networks like Facebook
in order to help people nd mobile applications that their friends like no matter what device
the user’s friend owns. Skoot is a mobile application that is white-labeled to cell phone carriers
like Verizon and comes standard on new phones. The white-labeled application allows cell
phone owners to use one application to navigate all of his social networks within one
application. Carriers are incentivized to license the technology from Qualcomm, because it
prioritizes communication with the mobile network to conserve the phone’s battery and the
bandwidth of the wireless towers. Skoot was acquired by Qualcomm after originating as a
private start-up.

Keep an eye out for companies to continue to make social features standard in their products
going forward. Once limited to cell phone makers, increasing consumer demand is resulting in
pressure on manufacturers of devices ranging from cameras to appliances to include social
relevancy.


EXHIBITING WITHOUT AN EXHIBIT
With over 2,700 exhibitors at CES 2011, it’s easy to
understand why some brands fear they’ll be lost in a
sea of branded set-ups. This year, we noticed a major
in ux of brands opting to exhibit at CES outside of a
traditional booth space on the trade show oor.
Whether they leveraged show oor-based guerrilla
demos, outdoor street teams and models or off-site
suites, brands big and small made a splash at CES
without paying top dollar for oor space (which goes
for $41 a sq. foot). Our favorite example of a brand
exhibiting without a major exhibit was MicroVision, a
Redmond, Wash. based technology company that offers display and imaging products for mobile devices. The company initiated buzz
around its CES appearance ahead of time by trumpeting the fact that brand representatives would be holding impromptu RAGE HD
matches in the darker areas behind exhibits on the trade show oor. To participate, attendees were encouraged to follow MicroVision on
Twitter (@microvision) to nd out where they could nd the brand’s team and play for a chance to rank as one of the day’s top ve scorers
to win their very own SHOWWX+ projector. When we ran into the team, they were also offering attendees $10 iTunes gift cards for
tweeting their thoughts about the demoed product on the spot.

Intel’s team took to the streets outside the Las Vegas Convention Center to hand out rather ponderous books to the masses. While the
brand certainly had a major presence on the trade show oor, at the height of registration madness, Intel jumped ahead in attendees’
psyches by giving them their rst giveaways and putting the Intel booth number in their hands immediately. While Brother International
Corporation’s embroidery crew did have a presence at the North Hall, buyers
interested in Brother’s inkjet and laser printers had to look beyond the grounds of
CES 2011 to meet Brother’s team. While the brand’s printer products were absent
from the trade show oor, Brother rented out the Playboy suite at The Palms casino
to host a luxe experience for invited guests.

Engaging with attendees in the halls and grounds of CES forces brands to manage a
ne line. But it can pay huge dividends. As the hubbub on the CES oor only
continues to grow with the advent of 3-D TV, increasingly popular celebrity
appearances and TVs the size of houses with the depth of credit cards, we expect to
continue to see brands stepping out of their booths to create more unique and
differentiating experiences for attendees.


THE PROPER PARTY
Early in the 20th century, American comedian Fred Allen de ned a cocktail party as, “a gathering held to enable forty people to talk
about themselves at the same time. The man who remains after the liquor is gone is the host.” While Allen may have been of a different
generation and parties at CES often exceed a forty-person head-count, he pinpointed a challenge that party hosts at CES still face today.
Because attendees at in uencer parties often have their own agendas and personal interests, how can brands allow them to talk about
themselves, while also in uencing conversations (in-person and online) to center around the purpose of the party? At CES 2011, there
were over 35 known (and many more unknown) parties planned by brands. While some kept their products and messages front and
center, others just served to support Allen’s sardonic supposition about parties.

Nissan made a big splash at CES 2011 to publicize the launch of the new LEAF, billed as the world’s rst affordable, all electric vehicle
available on the mass market. While the automobile’s presence at the show extended far beyond the rst day, Nissan hosted a launch
party at Little Buddha in The Palms hotel. Over the course of the night, a few hundred attendees and around 50 media folks stopped by,
but we were left wondering if there was a way Nissan could have gone beyond generating awareness of its product to engage attendees
with product attributes while at the party.

Instead, attendees engaged mostly in exploring the attributes of a free bar and Michael Jackson-obsessed dance oor (with occasional
appearances by a giant Nissan polar bear). Partner brands, including Microsoft’s Windows Embedded technology did make appearances
at the party through coasters and literature on bar tops, but the event missed the opportunity to have attendees chatting about the
LEAF, rather than the party itself. The one thing that will always stick with us? These bizarre hired interactive dancers that Nissan had
cloaked in gauzy botanical dresses.


THE PROPER PARTY (continued)
One of the most successful parties at CES for the past few years has been Lenovo’s Blogger Lounge. Hosted at Aquaknox in The
Venetian, Rebecca Welles, graphic designer on Lenovo’s corporate identity team brings the brand to life through a meticulous and
impressive showcase that takes over this high-end restaurant. The photos alone show how beautiful this invite-only event is, but we’re
also consistently impressed with the simple number of conversation-worthy occurrences at the party every year. This year, Lenovo
partnered with the Social Media Club to allow in uencers to request a spot on the guest list.

On the night of the festivity, attendees were greeted by brightly-colored and gripping product displays, complete with screens showing
the most recent activity across social networks about the party and products. An open bar, DJ, acoustic performance by popular band
(and viral video masters) OK Go and a stand-out ThinkLab (laboratory featuring torture tests on Lenovo products) all entertained and
excited in uencers to stick around and publicize the happenings at the party. Knowledgeable and sociable brand representatives were
strategically placed around well-executed displays to talk attendees through product offerings, announcements and contests.

We’re expecting brands to become better at connecting people (including their own representatives) in the esh by allowing attendees
to plan in-person meet-ups based on pre-party social media contact. Finally, keep an eye out for companies (like Lenovo) becoming
more savvy creators of in-person social experiences that translate more seamlessly into social experiences online.


WHAT WE
LEARNED


6 LESSONS
LEARNED FROM CES 2011

1. Be Generous: 3. Be Experimental: 5. Be Timely:
Give people a reason to mention you, Just like Kodak’s use of SCVNGR at 2011 We are all familiar with the phrase, ‘be in
even if it is compelling sharable content CES, brands looking to take the lead in the right place at the right time.’ But can
or a space in your booth where bloggers conversations about exhibitors will need you engineer what is the right time for
can write and recharge. If you can give to be prepared to experiment. Try new speci c people to be at your CES booth?
something of value to in uencers, they platforms, widgets and applications Yes, you sure can and Skullcandy
are likely to mention your brand. Getting routinely. As with all efforts, seizing provided an excellent example this year.
mentioned leads to awareness of your opportunities and growing will always be Through appointment dynamics, you can
brand’s CES presence and can create a the result of trying new, and sometimes create the need for certain audiences to
meaningful platform to share your scary, things. be at your booth at certain times. This
messages. can allow you to know when you will be
4. Be Proactive: busy and when speci c types of guests
2. Be Sharable: Capitalize on the ability to create will be more likely to stop by.
Being generous and providing motivation content, connections and conversations
to share is one thing, but prompting and prior to the start of the show. Build pre- 6. Be Brilliant:
enabling sharing is what gets word to show buzz with compelling updates or Being at the world’s largest consumer
travel. Do you prompt people to connect valuable information like Grif n. Start electronics trade show puts you on an
with you in social spaces? Do you conversations with folks before they make excellent stage to share your message
encourage visitors to share their it to show oor and make sure they are with the world, but it is a very crowded
experiences? Do you suggest sharable planning to visit your booth. Finally, stage indeed. How will you stand out?
items that people will be inclined to create strategic content that is ready to Brilliant strategies, tactics and execution
share? be posted, or can be scheduled to post always cut through the clutter. Seek an
while you are busy with booth attendees. innovative partner who can bring outside
perspective and illuminate opportunities
to differentiate your brand.


OXFORD COMMUNICATIONS
We are the full-service marketing, creative and
communications agency that issues one call to
our clients and employees alike: Be Brilliant.
That call echoes through our agency’s work that ranges the full gamut of integrated services, including account planning, social
media, interactive, public relations and trade show experience design. Ultimately, our services are built to leverage a combination of
online and of ine initiatives that generate in uence when, where and how it matters to consumers most.

Oxford has a track record of bringing category re-de ning work to brands in a diverse set of industries, ranging from fashion retail, to
consumer electronics, to quick service restaurants, to healthcare organizations. As a result, we are proud to have worked with some
of the biggest names in the industries we work in, like Audiovox Corporation, Bombardier, Prime Retail and Brother International, as
well as many other dominant regional and niche players.

GET SOCIAL WITH US, BEN GROSSMAN
Communications Strategist
WON’T YOU? c: 602.741.0314 | o: 609.397.4242 x174
For more information, e: bgrossman@oxfordcommunications.com
please contact one of the t: @BenGrossman
report authors:
CHRISTOPHER STEMBOROWSKI
Associate Communications Strategist
c: 980.253.7164 | o: 609.397.4242 x172
e: cstemborowski@oxfordcommunications.com
t: @cjstem

2011 CES Social Report

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