The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is one of the largest and most influential showcases in the United States for introducing innovative products from around the globe. At this year’s show in Las Vegas, CES included more than 20,000 new products from 4,400 companies. A diverse group of companies included manufacturing, transportation, entertainment, robotics, automotive, consumer goods, and more. (The show is produced by the Consumer Technology Association which represents the $401 billion U.S. consumer technology industry.)
CES was held in January and hosted 175 thousand attendees who viewed products from 4,400 different exhibitors in categories such as 3D printing, gaming, robotics, sports, drones, fitness, health and wellness, retailing, wearables, and a variety of other product groupings. CES regularly announces thousands of new products, including many that we all know and use today.
This year’s show provided looks at products in the marketplace as well as products-yet-to-be-launched in categories including:
- Artificial intelligence
- 5G and mobile connectivity
- Food and CPG companies
- Health care technology
- Smart cities
- Home sensors and technology
- Travel and tourism
- Transportation and vehicle technology
- And lots of robots!
It’s hard to pick a favorite product from the show. What’s your favorite innovation from CES?
Group Activities and Discussion Questions:
- Discuss the purpose of CES show and how innovation fits into it.
- Also discuss the use of trade shows and exhibits as part of a marketing plan.
- Show a summary video about CES from the Wall Street Journal: https://graphics.wsj.com/image-grid/ces-2020/?mod=djem10point
- Additional summary videos can be found on YouTube: https://youtu.be/YvRP_Y1WDxw
- View the CES Web site: https://www.ces.tech/
- Divide students into teams. Have each team select a product featured at CES.
- Instruct students to research the products online, and define a target market for the product.
- Which ones do they think will be winners in the marketplace?
Source: C/NET; TechRadar.com; Wall Street Journal; other news sources
