E-venting.net

CES is finally (legimately) an Interactive Industry event

CES kicks off tomorrow in Vegas (link is to the 'Conference' page as the CES home page has, predictably, garish audio and flash). As a technology and electronics show, it's always been top-shelf. But as an interactive media show, I frankly haven't paid much attention to it since about 2000. And I wouldn't have this year, except Charlene Li of Forrester tipped me off in her blog that the Day 2 Keynotes are Terry Semel of Yahoo! and Larry Page of Google.

This year, CES IS an interactive media event. Consider the 8 product categories CES features in its 2500 exhibits, and how they've nosed into interactive media, even within the past 6 months:

  Audio: iPod, iPod, iPod. And Steve Jobs was just named 'Radio Person of the Year' by, of all people, 'The Daily Voice and Journal of Broadcasting' (thanks to Jaffe for the reference)

  Digital Imaging: Yahoo! acquires Flickr, Flickr becomes a blogosphere standard, suddenly photos that wouldn't even have been snapped previously  are shared with reckless abandon without printing (all while subsidized through advertising, hopes Yahoo!).

  Emerging Technologies: This has almost always referred to online and interactivity.

  Gaming: Finally, gaming has become a venue worth embracing for marketers. Increasingly, even shows rooted firmly in interactive are devoting space to it.

  Home Networking: My guess is that the interactive media story in this category at CES is the announcement that isn't made, as it's being held for another show the following week.

Home Theatre / Video: In a keynote address at OMMA EAST in New York last September, Samsung marketing chief Peter Weedfald detailed Samsung's plans to own the inch of space just on the other side of the plasma or LCD screen. And see also 'Home Networking' above.

Mobile Electronics: See 'Wireless' below. 'Pimp my Ride' meets the neverending Hot-Spot.

Wireless: Ask Google if Wireless is an Interactive Media play now.

I'll be keeping an eye on the CES Blog RSS feed to see what new products are unveiled on the show floor, and probably make plans to attend next year.

Ad Club of NY Goes Interactive

On Wednesday November 16, the Ad Club of New York is producing a lunchtime event called "The Future Direction of Online Advertising Featuring Audi, Pepsi and Virgin Atlantic". (It's a mouthful, but at least it's better at telegraphing show content than an inscrutable acronym...)

What does it mean that the AdClub is now doing Interactive Events?

1. Interactive has crept inward from the fringe. But we knew that already.
2a. The AdClub's largely traditional, largely creative-focused membership is increasingly interested in interactive, or...
2b. There are enough interactive-focused members (Matt Freeman of TribalDDB is on the Board) to support a "niche" event, or...
2c. The event is subsidized by somebody, probably Yahoo!, as the Event Chair is from Yahoo! and the inimitable Jerry Shereshewsky is moderating. (Which wouldn't be at all surprising - Yahoo! tends to only sponsor events that target traditional advertisers, like AAAA and ANA events, and Advertising Week in NY. They already know how to reach interactive marketers.)

And most importantly:

3. There is more competition for audience and mindshare in interactive events.

The bad news for current event producers is that the content and speakers at their next show are less likely to be unique if there are more luncheon meetings, breakfast conferences, and dinner roundtables on interactive. The good news is that The AdClub charges everyone for attendance. And the people who pay are largely the same people who are comped attendance at many interactive shows.

Any event that charges for interactive content and speakers can only help the industry in the long run, even if there is some near-term competitive pressure, or at least overlap. Real money is changing hands through interactive, and real revenues are being driven by interactive marketing. Any content that facilitates these exchanges is dear, and should be priced accordingly.