CES 2019: From Consumer Electronics to Connected Experiences

1 X CES
CES 2019
FROM CONSUMER ELECTRONICS
TO CONNECTED EXPERIENCES

3 X CES
4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
6 SMART[ER] EVERYTHING
WILL TRULY MODERNIZE MARKETING
12 RETAIL AS A SERVICE STRATEGY
WILL GROW BUSINESS VALUE
16 CUMULATIVE VALUE VS. EXCLUSIVE VALUE
WILL DELIGHT PEOPLE AND DEFEND BOTTOM LINE
20 CONTEXTUAL COMMERCE
IS A LYNCHPIN AND SET TO GROW STRONGER
24 BATTLLE FOR VOICE
HAS JUST BEGUN AND WILL RAGE ON!
26 CONNECTED MOBILITY
WILL UNLOCK MEANINGFUL CREATIVITY
30 COOL THINGS
OUR 2019 HOLIDAY WISHLIST
32 CONCLUSION
TABLE OF CONTENT

4 X CES
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
This year marked the 52nd year of CES– one of the
most highly anticipated product launch platforms in our
industry. With 2.9MM square feet of exhibition space,
over 4,500 exhibiting companies flocked to Las Vegas
to showcase their brands and products to consumers
across every market. There were over 188,000
attendees from all over the globe, including our Havas
digital strategy team, who curated the most meaningful
insights and takeaways for our clients and colleagues.
Since the launch of smartphones circa 2007, the level of
expectation from CES increases each year as marketers
and media practitioners seek the next game-changing
technologies. While it may not have been home to the
next iPhone, Google or Amazon disruptor (yet), CES
2019 went beyond gadgets, robots and cool toys.
Certain key themes have remained of top interest over
the years, and they continue to build momentum in the
marketplace: smart homes, voice, retail, IoT — all of
which ladder up to connected experiences. Connected
devices have given brands unparalleled access to
consumers by shortening the distance between the
consumer and what they want to engage with or
buy. Conversely, they have increased the distance
between brands and the consumers as multiple
connections also bring the challenge of holding their
attention. Connected devices and consumers enable

5 X CES
richer opportunities for brands only when the right
ecosystem powers that opportunity. Furthermore,
consumers expect to get what they want in their
immediate context, at their precise moment of need.  
 For brands, this change in the power dynamic has
raised the importance of effectively and efficiently
interacting with consumers across each touchpoint.
To be able to distinguish themselves and drive
long-term loyalty valuable consumers, they need
to build a long-lasting authentic connection. This is
dependent on their ability to maintain a consistent
and always-on presence in front of their consumers
with or without paid media dollars or exposure. In
a world where marketing dollars continue to shrink,
that is no small feat; however, the mandate is quite
clear: To deliver the best digital marketing solutions,
brands must simply find the maximum outcome from
their investments. And it is with this mandate in mind
that we navigated CES 2019 to draw inspiration
from what was showcased on the floor and
build meaningful themes for our clients and partners
to share in boardroom.

6 X CES
SMART[ER]
EVERYTHING
We are currently looking toward a world of everything
connected and everything smart(er). In recent years,
there has been a lot of buzz surrounding 5G, but within
this year, we are looking at a world both inside and
outside our homes that is truly connected, thanks to the
reality of 5G rollout at scale. We looked at a B2C and
a B2B organization to understand both the consumer-
facing and internal organization focus of how 5G can
help the two sides deliver smarter, more meaningful
results. LG will be the first company to launch 5G
smartphones in 2019 thanks to its 20+ year partnership
with Qualcomm. 5G is designed to connect everything
— people, devices, platforms and technologies. What it
means for consumers from an experience standpoint is
higher video streaming and download as well as high-
performance apps or products to collaborate.
  
WILL TRULY MODERNIZE
MARKETING

8 X CES
LG isn’t just stopping at 5G-powered smartphones,
they are extending it to their full range of ThinQ home
products, all of which are powered by 5G. These were
introduced last year and have since continued to
build on AI solutions. This year, LG showcased how
much further those efforts have come, from enabling
devices to take on smart commands to offering
proactive recommendations to consumers based on
their circumstances. This offers them personalized
suggestions based on contextual understanding of
the users. The two areas of focus that came to light
from LG emphasized proactively providing user-
centric solutions and the most advanced proactive
customer care, both synthesized into their message
of “Ask me simply, I will answer thoughtfully.” In each
of these, it is quite evident that lifestyle data takes a
Air
Conditioner
Air
Purifier
Wash
Machiene
Robot
Vacumm
Refridgerator

9 X CES
center stage. By learning from patterns of how often
people clean their house or the best time to run a
laundry load, they will be able to proactively perform
those functions, freeing up manual productivity time
that goes into doing repetitive chores. Most advanced
customer care is grounded in the principle that the
better you understand someone, the better you can
care for them. In each of their product launches, such
as LG Styler total clothing care solution, 88-Inch 8K
OLED TV with 33 MM self-emitting pixels or integration
with two voice assistants, Google and Alexa plus the
first partner to integrate Apple AirPlay into their TVs, it
was clear that LG is ready to create a powerful value
proposition, building on a fast, intelligent and data-
led ecosystem to surprise and delight their current
consumers or potential new ones.
20,000 devices / 3,500 brands
Routines (Alarm, Traffic,
News Channel)
Music Shopping Home
Network
Skill
10,000 devices / 1,600 brands
Manage Daily Tasks ServiceFind
Answers
Smart Home

10 X CES
In 2018, of all the TV screens sold, 70% were smart TVs.
Consumers increasingly consider streaming to be a basic
TV function of comparable importance to the rest of their
media habits. Android is currently the most popular smart
TV operating system platform, including both the full
Android TV implementation and modified versions used
by many Chinese TV brands. IHS Markit expects Android
will continue to gain share through 2022 as a common
third-party platform with native support for Google Home.
Proprietary smart TV platforms from Samsung (Tizen) and
LG (WebOS) are the second- and third-most popular smart
TV operating system platforms. This means is that we are
looking at a very near future of truly connected media
exposures across all channels and a brand’s ability to buy,
deliver and optimize across those channels…at scale.  
For B2B, we looked at Qualcomm. With 45% of the market
share in the smartphone apps processor market share,
Qualcomm has been at the leading edge of disrupting
mobile technology for the last 30 years. Over the last few
years, their mobile innovation has been focused on making
5G real and eliminating a lot of barriers. Qualcomm
had actual 5G installation right above their CES booth
that was powering many of the experiences across the
smartphones, Industrial IoT or automotive experiences.
As part of the B2B track, they had everything from low IoT
powering static limited decisioning in a set location to real-
time (available today), complex IoT in moving vehicles. 
There were electronic shelf labels that could be updated
in real time through one single database. If a brand
wanted to start a sale tomorrow and wanted to change the
prices of the inventory that was going to be on sale in the
physical stores, all they would have to do is communicate
with the gateway and it could switch the prices all at
once. If one product is not selling very well and there are
business decisions you want to trigger such as adjusting
price, then you can do it on an item-by-item basis. If the
product is out of stock, then the staff can use the handheld
product scanner to scan the product and flash the LED
to know where the product is located for restocking. Each
of the labels had NFC equipped within the labels so that
the consumers can interact with the product in depth. In
China, WeChat is using the QR codes within the digital
labels to also enable buying the product, a setup that has
yet to be scaled across Western markets.
The advantage of the Qualcomm 5G experiences is that
any business can take make use of them. An algorithm
can be modified based on the business need either as a
predetermined set of rules or in real time. Everything from
monitoring user behavior or navigating patterns within a

11 X CES
physical store or a financial institution to optimizing an event experience
for attendees in real time is available to today’s marketers. At a rock
concert, for example, you can have everything from the lights to the
movement of refreshment carts and inventory management synchronized
and respond, based on the data that you can receive from physical objects
equipped with a 5G cellular modem and an integrated A7 processor. Pre-
trained cloud models can be pushed to the devices and trigger different
scenarios. Communications can happen across multiple devices at the
same time across the multiple locations. In the case of complex automotive
decisioning, we are looking at one chip powering the full operating system
within a vehicle, irrespective of whether it’s a sedan or an SUV.

12 X CES
RETAIL
AS A SERVICE
STRATEGY
Rising from the East is the evolution of eCommerce
players beyond just resellers of goods manufactured by
other brands. Given the learnings and success from their
operations and technologies, companies such as Alibaba.
com and JD.com are bringing their expertise to the table
for all marketers alike, in their quest to modernize and
transform their businesses. Both of these players are
opening up their infrastructure solutions as intelligence
and service offerings to businesses across the globe. Last
year, Alibaba introduced text translation in real time,
a feature that is now going to be available through the
Google Interpreter mode this year. Although not in real
time as each speaker has to wait for the other person to
WILL GROW BUSINESS VALUE

14 X CES
talk and Google to interpret the text. Alibaba showcased
a real-time translation in video calls feature this year. With
this, you can have two speakers, one speaking Chinese
and one speaking English over a video call; each of the
speakers will see what the other person is saying in the
language that they are speaking in. The English speaker
will see English text and the Chinese speaker will see
Chinese text. Imagine the impact of this functionality for
people in customer services. Lowering the language
barrier for customer service across multiple industries is a
huge operational win, especially as it puts humans back
into the experience vs. responding to a robot’s monotones.

15 X CES
The feature is going to be fully ready to use in six months
across multiple languages. Right now it is available in
Chinese and English. 
Alibaba also introduced a micro-lending business
feature called “Pay Later” for the US market that caters
to individual borrowers of SMEs. The feature allows
businesses facing financial pressures to apply for a loan
on the platform. Within just 10 minutes, they can get
approved for a maximum amount of $150 USD. Once
approved, the funds can be used to acquire materials
for a business within the Alibaba platform. Given that
businesses can source from anywhere in the world,
the $150 USD can go a long way in a lot of markets.
Alibaba also showcased a dashboard for analysis and
management that was a simple, effective and impactful
visualization of how the business is doing across global
markets, where are they making sales, where they are
growing and what markets are delivering across which
product category, among other areas. These are all
features that a business can effectively use to modernize
their backend operations and capabilities. 
On the B2C side, we saw what the future of modern
or high-tech retailing is going to look like via a few
“stores” that were set up across the floors. The P&G Life
Labs showcased an SKII (Japanese skincare brand)
store that demonstrated how consumers can get their
skincare product recommendations based on a deeper
understanding of each person at an individual level. As
each consumer entered the store, they got a wristband
and from there proceeded to a scanner that took
imaging of their face from all angles. The scanner could
be initiated by touching the band to a small reader on
the wall. The cameras fitted on top of the screen then
automatically read each band so the consumer could see
results. From there, a consultant discussed those results
with the consumer, matching them to the products that
would address their specific needs. Finally, an interactive
screen that monitored hand movements on the table
showed each consumer the information for the product
they touched or would be likely to touch. At this point, the
consumer can either directly buy the product from the
table in the physical store or place a digital order to ship
directly to their home. 
Given the advancement in mobile connectivity via 5G,
beacons, sensors and RFID/NFC-enabled readers
in stores might actually have a fair chance of truly
delivering on the promise from many years of a deeper
understanding of consumer behaviors in making purchase
decisions in the physical world..

16 X CES
CUMULATIVE VALUE
VS EXCLUSIVE VALUE
If there was one palpable undercurrent across CES this year, it was the drive of
businesses to offer cumulative value to people vs. trying to lock them down into exclusive
environments. We can thank the development in voice for this opened view between
business organizations and departments. The LG integration of Google, Amazon and
Apple AirPlay goes to show that marketers are starting to understand that people have
diverse preferences, behaviors and mindsets. And to build stronger relationships and
loyalty, they need to embrace this diversity of choice vs. trying hard to get them to bypass
or cut the other option out, especially in a world where margins in hardware continue to get
squeezed and brands need to deliver on growth and profitability benchmarks. 
WILL DELGHT PEOPLE AND DEFEND BOTTOM LINE

18 X CES
In 2018, there were approximately 223 million TVs shipped
(source: IHS Market) and 45% of those shipments were
smart TVs. The increased availability of hardware that is
integrated with a Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, Alibaba
T-Mall Genie or any other voice solutions that may become
popular is only going to increase the demand for these
products. In 2019, single-family home sales in the US are
projected to be at 595,000. Homeowners are expected to
spend about $339 billion on remodeling in Q1 2019 and
$346 billion in Q2 2019, 6.9% and 7.0% increase YoY,
respectively. All of these projections cumulatively signal
a smarter home design- led market. By integrating the
big three within their TVs, LG has given a strong value
proposition to be more meaningful to new and existing
customers alike. This is a trend that is followed by most
consumer electronics companies so as to get their fair
share in the market. 
In another example, we saw Intel and Alibaba partnering
for the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Both are the
official partners for the event and are combining their
strengths for a first-ever AI cloud-powered 3D athlete
tracking in real time to viewers. As a result, the viewers/
fans will be able to gain more insights into how world-

19 X CES
class athletes perform. They will be able to compare two
or more athletes much more granularly as those athletes
are going through the event. The potential for information
goes much further, however. This could redefine the
future of performance, sports or even potentially health
and wellness. In the immediate term, it also helps brands
featured with those athletes to gain new or reignite existing
customers across markets, with Alibaba ready to fulfill the
demand via their eCommerce offering. 
Even outside CES, the announcements of two or more
brands that are part of the consumers’ lives joining forces,
have been increasing. In November 2018, Apple and
Amazon signed a deal where for the first time ever, Apple
will directly sell new iPads, iPhones, Apple Watch series and
Beats headsets. Google and Walmart joined forces in March
2018 to combat Amazon’s eCommerce domination. Walmart
has also joined up with Bonobos, Tasty and acquired
Flipkart in India to continue to make itself relevant to future
customers and take advantage of the natural behaviors
and preferences within a culture vs. trying to do everything
independently. We are looking at a future where network
effect is not just a term within the technology industry but
one of the focal points of any business across any category.

20 X CES
CONTEXTUAL
COMMERCE
Over the last few years, we have seen digital
technology open up the possibility of making
anything and everything shoppable. The 1.0 version
was buy buttons on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook
or display ads, enabling commerce within digital
channels. Increasingly, we are living in a world
that is connecting, converging and closing the gap
between physical and digital spaces. A missing piece
of that ubiquitous connectivity is the time we spend
navigating or commuting around.
IS A LYNCHPIN AND SET
TO GROW STRONGER

22 X CES
According to the US Census Bureau, the average
roundtrip commute in the US is 52 minutes — that’s 4.35
hours week for a five-day, full-time job and 200 hour per
year spent commuting. For those spending time driving,
those 52 minutes are not the most productive, aside
from making calls or listening to audio content. There
is still a significant portion of time that is lost because
of the need to focus on the road. Connected devices
and faster connectivity in vehicles are elevating that
down time by turning cars into contextual commerce
channels. Whether it’s through the smartphones (58.7%
commuters use smartphones while commuting),
connected in-car dashboards (16.7%) or in future self-
driving cars, technology is turning that lost time into a
contextual opportunity that’s worth $230 billion (source:
p97 Study with PYMNTS). 
One of the industries at the forefront to take advantage
of this growing connected commute is food and dining,
including QSRs, coffee and baristas, groceries and CPG.
Every connected, smarter car on the road is another
connection point for brands to equate for. When we place
this paradigm into the context of penetration of the voice
assistants, the eCommerce strategy gives way to a whole
new perspective, which brings us to our next takeaway…

24 X CES
BATTLE
FOR VOICE
Google Assistants are now integrated with 10,000
devices and 1,600 brands. Amazon Alexa is integrated
with 20,000 devices and 3,500 brands. Between the
two of them, they own 84% of the voice market share,
not to mention the 58% market share that Alibaba
has in voice in Asian market. Those numbers are big
but are just the tip of the iceberg. While in fact today
people might be using those assistants to perform
routine tasks, the adoption and opportunity is far
from being saturated. Shopping and connecting with
voice are new skills to most people. It’s a completely
new behavior. Malcolm Gladwell in Outliers shared
the principle of 10,000 hours (derived from the work
of psychologist K. Anders Ericsson), along with our
natural abilities, of practice to become a natural at
a particular task. Unlike Tony Stark, we are far from
having spent that much time interacting with voice
assistants, to deem them ineffective for commerce
opportunities or consumer adoption. 
HAS JUST BEGUN AND
WILL RAGE ON!

26 X CES
CONNECTED
MOBILITY
The momentum for smarter cities to elevate traffic,
transportation, accessibility, service and safety is
taking shape across multiple countries. There are
examples across the world of smart city solutions
being implemented in Singapore, China, New York,
Stockholm, Barcelona and Dubai, among others.
According to Arup Group, the global market for
smart urban services is estimated to be $400 billion
per year by 2020. We need smarter cities in order to
sustain the growing demand on the finite resources
and space on our planet. Connectivity among
vehicles, infrastructure and communities opens up
WILL UNLOCK MEANINGFUL
CREATIVITY

28 X CES
new opportunities to develop and improve vehicles
and mobility services, which makes the environment
around us safer, more efficient and more convenient.
By seamlessly connecting users, vehicles and services
over the internet, the purpose becomes delivering
more meaningful value to societies and citizens vs. just
a cool ride. We were particularly interested to see how
various business organizations are using technology
to mitigate the scarcity of resources as well as create
new ways to drive the society forward. Bosch stood
out to us in their efforts to bring connectivity from mass
transit to individual means of mobility. The concepts
and showcases at CES around smarter cities and
homes signal the integration of human, artificial and
contextual intelligence. This intelligence hinges on the
development of faster networks (5G and beyond) and
seamless connections among infrastructure, devices,
vehicles, people and the ability of systems to capture,
process and apply the data in real time. The interest
in smart cities is going to pick up momentum and
accelerate with social, economic and environmental
changes. Among what we took away from the
advancement of the automotive and robotic exhibits
were the possibilities that can be unlocked through
the efficient use of physical infrastructure as well as
through data analytics and applying machine learning
to support and build strong societies and connections.

30 X CES
COOL THINGS
OUR 2019 HOLIDAY WISHLIST
BELL NEXUS
Four-passenger hybrid-electric air taxi for the
E-VTOL (electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing)
LG ROLLABLE OLED TV
One of the stars at CES, this 65” TV comes
equipped with LG ThinQ AI. When turned off,
the TV rolls down into an unassuming piece of
furniture

31 X CES
TOTTO NEOREST NX2
The smart toilet features
high-tech sensors that automat-
ically open and close the lid and
flush the water. There’s a personal
cleansing system that uses warm
water, an air dryer, heated seat
and in-bowl deodorizer
VICTROLA
RECORD PLAYER
Vintage record player features a
turntable, CD player, Bluetooth
connectivity and an AM/FM radio
BOSE SUNGLASSES
Feature built-in Bose speakers for music
playback and a microphone so you can make
calls hands and ear-free

32 X CES
CONCLUSION
After four days, 52 miles of walking between the team, 20 portable battery
charges we came back from CES 2019 ready to partner, adapt and innovate,
respond effectively and promptly to changing circumstances of the industry,
society and our client’s businesses. Over the next few weeks we will be issuing
deep dives around specific category verticals and recommendations on how
we can bring these market dynamics to play or inform the business goals of our
clients. Stay Tuned!

33 X CES
SARGI MANN
EVP Digital Strategy &
Investments
Sargi.mann@havasmedia.com
JESS SANTINI
Communications Manager
Jessica.santini@havasmedia.com
ALI GHUZZI
Creative Director
Ali.ghuzzi@havasmedia.com
TEAM OF CONTRIBUTORS

CES 2019: From Consumer Electronics to Connected Experiences

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