The few days at CES 2013 featured keynotes from Samsung and the Brand Matters Keynote, plus SuperSessions focused on the future of technology innovation and award winner announcements.
The Brand Matters SuperSession focused on how consumers are really engaging with digital media. It is easier than ever for brands to communicate to the consumer, but it is increasingly more difficult to have engagement from the consumer. Gen Y tends to care more about their own personal brand than a company’s brand, so to engage with the individual, the brand must promote the individual’s brand. Six Gen Y consumers discussed their use for social media and their outlooks on issues such as privacy, company response on complaints and advertising on social platforms.
Representatives from Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, YouTube and Amazon discussed how they thought brands could engage with consumers on their platforms. The shift from desktops to mobile has forced the platforms to adapt to their consumers’ needs and expectations. The representatives from the multiple platforms agreed that to have successful brand engagement, the brand must have a strong and consistent voice and personality. They must also utilize multiple platforms and individualize their engagement to the individual as much as possible.
During Wednesday's SuperSession One-on-One with Federal Communications Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski and Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CEA, Genachowski announced that the FCC will kick off a government-wide effort to increase Wi-Fi speeds and alleviate Wi-Fi congestion at major hubs, such as airports, convention centers and larger conference gatherings, like the Las Vegas Convention and World Trade Center (LVCC). He predicted that their efforts to free-up spectrum in the 5 gigahertz band would increase Wi-Fi capabilities by 35 percent from current levels. Prior to the announcement, Shapiro dubbed Genachowski “the spectrum chairman” and thanked him on behalf of the industry for all that he had done to unleash valuable spectrum resources.
