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  1. Production & Strategy
  2. Experiential Marketing, Activations & Sponsorships

C.E.S. 2019: 17 Buzzy Highlights From the Show Floor and Other Activations

See the tech trade show's most memorable booths and experiences from brands including Facebook and Instagram, LG, Samsung, and Google.

Ian Zelaya
January 16, 2019

Polaroid OneStep Booth Polaroid gave guests the chance to experience the new Polaroid OneStep analog instant camera from Polaroid Originals. With an oversize replica of the camera as a centerpiece, the booth featured interactive stations that showcased the product’s features such as double exposure, light painting, and noise trigger. Andreas Bergmann designed the booth, while Skyline handled the build and PRG handled audiovisual elements. Photo: Christopher LeeIn its 52nd year, C.E.S. remains one of the world’s most influential technology events—and a cornerstone for what to do and what not to do at massive trade shows.

The auto industry took center stage at this year’s convention, with major auto brands and ride-sharing companies sharing new ventures and ideas. Hyundai debuted its design for a walking car and Bell Nexus revealed its futuristic, flying taxi, while companies like Uber and Ford debuted new technologies. Meanwhile, the buzz for virtual reality, slated to be the next big trend in tech at the convention just a few years ago, was almost nonexistent. For the first time in years, Facebook’s Oculus brand, arguably the most commercial V.R. product, didn’t hold a flashy press event, and brands like Sony and HTC had a minimal presence.

C.E.S. once again faced criticism for its treatment of women. Most notably, the convention revoked an award it gave a robotics company for a women’s sex toy, which the company’s founder argued was sexist. The Consumer Technology Association did, however, announce it would invest $10 million in venture firms and funds focused on women, people of color, and other underrepresented startups and entrepreneurs.

From January 6 to 11, C.E.S. drew more than 4,500 exhibitors that showcased some of the newest technology innovations to some 180,000 attendees, across more than 2.9 million square feet of exhibit space in Sin City. Here’s a look at how brands such as Facebook and Instagram, Intel and Warner Bros., Polaroid, Nikon, and more engaged attendees in fresh, innovative ways.

Facebook and Instagram’s Hall of Reactions
Facebook and Instagram’s Hall of Reactions
Facebook and Instagram set up their C.E.S. headquarters at the Wynn Hotel Las Vegas. To celebrate the engagement of one billion stories shared daily across Facebook’s apps, the brand partnered with creative agency 72andSunny and luxury candy designer Maayan Zilberman of Sweet Saba to create a social-media friendly tunnel. The tunnel’s mirrored walls featured custom sugar art lollipops of stickers available on Facebook and Instagram Stories. We’re Magnetic produced the activation.
Photo: Sherman Thomas Pollard
Facebook and Instagram’s Hall of Reactions
Facebook and Instagram’s Hall of Reactions
The activation displayed graphics and information about how businesses have used Stories ads to drive business results. Guests were welcome to take lollipops with them.
Photo: Sherman Thomas Pollard
Google Assistant Playground
Google Assistant Playground
Google had a massive presence at C.E.S. that focused on the Google Assistant, the company’s A.I.-powered virtual assistant available on mobile and smart home devices. The brand activated in an outdoor space in front of the Las Vegas Convention Center, where attendees could test out the Assistant on numerous devices. The space also was home to product demos and live podcast recordings. Google partnered with Sparks to produce the activation.
Photo: Courtesy of Google
Google Assistant Playground
Google Assistant Playground
The main attraction was a theme park ride that seemed to take inspiration from It’s a Small World at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. The three-minute musical coaster, powered by Google Assistant, took attendees through a house with an animatronic family. The ride told a story about a husband asked to pick up a cake for a surprise party. At the end, riders were given a picture, a branded macaroon, and a free Google Home Hub redemption code.
Photo: Courtesy of Google
LG OLED Falls
LG OLED Falls
LG Electronics created a striking audiovisual installation with 260 LG OLED digital signage screens in curved and flat configurations. Developed in house, the exhibit was 20 feet tall and 65 feet wide, and featured 76 concave, 72 convex, and 112 flat 55-inch screens. The video installation displayed changing images of waterfalls, the desert, ocean, and natural lights.
Photo: Courtesy of LG
Intel and Warner Bros. Autonomous Car Experience
Intel and Warner Bros. Autonomous Car Experience
Intel and Warner Bros. partnered to launch an immersive experience on the show floor, delivering on a commitment the two companies made at the Los Angeles Auto Show in 2017 to explore the potential for entertainment in future autonomous vehicles. The autonomous vehicle, a 2019 BMW X5, offered a virtual ride to Gotham City narrated by Batman’s butler Alfred Pennyworth. The experience, which combined an adventure story with information about the vehicle’s safety measures, featured a large-screen TV, projectors, mobile devices, sensory and haptic feedback, and immersive audio and lights.
Photo: Walden Kirsch/Intel Corporation
Twitter’s #StartWithThem Activation
Twitter’s #StartWithThem Activation
For the fifth consecutive year, Twitter worked with experiential agency NA Collective to create a 20,000-square-foot space for C.E.S. attendees and Twitter employees to work and network. The activation featured a common space with several meeting pods, nine meeting rooms, two special event spaces, and a cafe. Wall graphics and conversation pods highlighted Twitter’s #StartWithThem initiative, which highlights how the platform benefits advertisers.
Photo: Jon Carmichael
Twitter’s #StartWithThem Activation
Twitter’s #StartWithThem Activation
The activation included a branded café that served coffee, food, and cocktails.
Photo: Jon Carmichael
Spotify Supper
Spotify Supper
Spotify’s sixth annual C.E.S. event took place at Hakkasan Las Vegas nightclub. The event, produced internally, featured a performance by Rita Ora that was enhanced by lights in the streaming platform’s signature green color.
Photo: Denise Truscello
Samsung City
Samsung City
Samsung showcased its newest TVs, monitors, appliances, and more within “districts” in the brand’s city-inspired space at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Guests were welcomed to the space by a wall resembling buildings at night, with Samsung TVs serving as the lighted windows. The space was created in house.
Photo: Courtesy of Samsung
An exhibit about Samsung’s role in the future of connected technologies featured a diorama that depicted how the brand’s driving and C-V2X (cellular-vehicle to everything) technologies will help people in cities commute more efficiently and safely.
An exhibit about Samsung’s role in the future of connected technologies featured a diorama that depicted how the brand’s driving and C-V2X (cellular-vehicle to everything) technologies will help people in cities commute more efficiently and safely.
Photo: Courtesy of Samsung
Polaroid OneStep Booth
Polaroid OneStep Booth
Polaroid gave guests the chance to experience the new Polaroid OneStep analog instant camera from Polaroid Originals. With an oversize replica of the camera as a centerpiece, the booth featured interactive stations that showcased the product’s features such as double exposure, light painting, and noise trigger. Andreas Bergmann designed the booth, while Skyline handled the build and PRG handled audiovisual elements.
Photo: Christopher Lee
Attendees could have their picture taken on color or black and white Polaroid Originals film and experience film photography techniques like emulsion lifts. Polaroids were displayed on branded walls.
Attendees could have their picture taken on color or black and white Polaroid Originals film and experience film photography techniques like emulsion lifts. Polaroids were displayed on branded walls.
Photo: Christopher Lee
Nikon Booth
Nikon Booth
Nikon’s booth aimed to educate and inspire consumers to unleash creativity through photography and videography. The booth featured a stage for ambassadors and photographers to give presentations, as well as a variety of product displays. The booth also included an interactive fan area, the Nikon Pop-Up Studio, which offered colorful takes on popular photo ops such as ball pits. The brand created the booth with partners, which it declined to disclose.
Photo: Courtesy of Nikon
Logitech’s #WeCreate Activation
Logitech’s #WeCreate Activation
Computer and mobile accessories company Logitech created an interactive live mural inspired by Las Vegas, with company products incorporated into the skyline. The brand partnered with designer and illustrator Timmy Ham on the project, which invited attendees to contribute. Attendees were encouraged to take a photo of the mural with the hashtag #WeCreate for a chance to win Logitech products. The activation was designed by Streetsense.
Photo: Courtesy of Logitech
Bell Nexus Booth
Bell Nexus Booth
Innovative vehicle reveals from automotive companies were a highlight of C.E.S. this year, and Bell Helicopter’s reveal of a full-scale design of the Bell Nexus air taxi was one of the buzziest. The futuristic vehicle is powered by a hybrid-electric propulsion system and includes six tilting ducted fans. The booth was produced and fabricated by GES.
Photo: Courtesy of Bell
Bell Nexus Booth
Bell Nexus Booth
After viewing the air taxi, guests could participate in Bell’s Future Flight Controls simulator. Data collected from the simulators will be used to determine the actions that come most naturally to the average prospective operator of the futuristic flying vehicle.
Photo: Courtesy of Bell
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