CES Media Day: Press Conferences, Panels, And More New Stuff

Media Day

By PERRY MICHAEL SIMON in LAS VEGAS: WEDNESDAY is Media Day at CES in LAS VEGAS, and the day will be occupied by both corporate press conferences at MANDALAY BAY and panels at the LAS VEGAS CONVENTION CENTER and ARIA.  The press conferences are aimed at showing off companies' innovations and top new products in the pipeline, although, as is the case with many new product announcements at CES, some of the announced products may never reach the marketplace, and some, as with last night's awkward demonstration of the long-awaited FARADAY FUTURE electric vehicle, may be met with a measure of derision by a skeptical press. 

Nevertheless, the press conferences by larger companies have become elaborate productions, occasionally including musical numbers and practically always featuring slickly-produced video and images on massive backdrops.

Among the day's press conferences are those from SAMSUNG, PANASONIC, and TOYOTA as well as INTEL, CASIO, TCL, ZTE, BOSCH, LG, and MONSTER; SPOTIFY and NIELSEN will be at the "C-Space" at the ARIA; and panels on a variety of topics from smart homes to HOLLYWOOD's use of new platforms will be occupying the convention center.  This year, as has been the case in recent years, CES is spread over several venues in the city, with the LVCC housing the primary exhibit spaces and panels, the SANDS/VENETIAN convention complex housing the smart home and health/wearables exhibits, sports conference track, and, on two floors of the VENETIAN hotel itself, high-resolution audio, and the ARIA's convention space being used for the content-focused "C-Space" presentations. 

Panasonic: B2B

PANASONIC stressed its evolution towards business-to-business in the lion's share of its press conference, announcing the start of operations of its production line at TESLA's "Gigafactory" in RENO TODAY, producing batteries for TESLA's energy modules and, later, for the Model 3 car as well as announcing (with the help of a celebrity cameo from MICKEY MOUSE) a deal with DISNEY to bring its augmented reality technology to DISNEY theme parks and resorts.  But the key for radio was the unveiling of the "Skip Generation" Android IVI system for automotive implementation, a new OS for the connected car, and its implementation in the FIAT CHRYSLER Milennial concept car, the Portal, including authentication of the driver using a driver monitoring camera and voice control to operate the system and even order and pay for drive-thru orders.  PANASONIC remains in the consumer electronics business, though, and showed off new products in three categories: a new premium line of TECHNICS turntables, speakers, and amplifiers, a "countertop induction oven" to cook one-pan meals fast, and a new LUMIX mirrorless DSLR camera.

Monster: Marketing, Marketing, Marketing, And, Oh, Yeah, Earbuds

MONSTER spent most of its press conference focusing on sales and marketing rather than product, with the announcement by company head NOEL LEE (perched on a Segway) of a new distribution deal with BRIGHTSTAR GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION and a parade of "celebrity" endorser appearances including "celebrity fisherman" PETER MILLER, injured NBA guard LANCE STEPHENSON, and NICOLE CHAPLIN, "the Fitness Rockstar," plus a rundown of the company's deals with individual sports franchises ("the official sound of the MIAMI MARLINS").  Eventually, the company showed its big product announcement, new wireless earphones, calling APPLE's AirPods "an awful design" and claiming that MONSTER's new AirLink Wireless earbuds are better. The new headphones come in sports and "elegant" versions.

Toyota Shows Off New Concept Car, Hyundai Tries A Concept Scooter

TOYOTA's big reveal was its concept car, the Concept-i, with a new user interface, Yui (pronounced "You-E").  The presentation focused on safety issues and the intent of creasing a "warm, friendly, engaging, immersive" environment, a "home on wheels."  HYUNDAI showed off several concepts, including a folding electric scooter and a budget autonomous car.  And SAMSUNG, stung by the embarrassment of its exploding phones and washing machines, promised that it would soon release a report on why the Galaxy Note 7 phone mishaps occurred, while announcing several notebook PC and Chromebook offerings.

Panel: Audio's Great (If It Overcomes Radio's Image)

At C-SPACE, SPOTIFY's ALEX UNDERWOOD led a panel on audio in the new digital landscape, and while the panelists universally praised audio as an important element (including becoming the primary user interface for many devices -- GROUP M's CARY TILDS pointed out that "audio itself transcends screens"), radio took a shot from WORDSWORTH AND BOOTH's TONY MENNUTO, who blamed radio for audio's bad image -- he said that people think of audio as old-school radio with disc jockeys, but "audio is much more than that," and he pointed to examples like the use of signature sounds (the TACO BELL bell) drawing increased consumer recall.  He also praised audio for storytelling ("part of our DNA") as a "great way of communicating" and "a personal experience."  Following the panel, NIELSEN's LOUISE KEELY gave a presentation on her company's efforts to track and measure the various influences on consumer purchases.

WEDNESDAY evening will also feature the unofficial but usually well-attended PEPCOM "Digital Experience" preview at the MIRAGE, which, like STEVE LEON's THURSDAY "Showstoppers" event, showcases some key vendors, some of whom do not exhibit at CES itself.

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