C Space – Captivating Conversations and Collaborators

By Lena Petersen, Chief Brand Officer and Managing Director, MediaLink

For the first time in a while, it felt like a normal CES. After making a post-pandemic comeback last year, this year’s event operated at full force – which should be a promising sign for the year to come. Of course, for a show that blends self-driving cars with robots and marketing cloud activations – normal is a relative term – and it certainly doesn’t imply “static.” As always, CES evolves and expands to represent the current state of the advertising, media, and marketing universe. As the number of players in the advertising space grew, so did the C Space itself – growing so large it expanded into the Cosmopolitan. Buyers and sellers came in droves – not just to ink deals and be inspired by technology, but to dig deep into business strategies and set the agenda for the next 12 months. Following are some of the highlights from CES 2024 that made waves for marketers – from MediaLink’s “Marketing Reinvented” stage to the halls of the Aria across the C Space:

The Ad Business Is Having a Renaissance – With Many New Players

After a year of what felt like constant uncertainty, the economy appears to be on solid ground, which was reflected in the armies of ad executives roaming the halls of the Aria, as well as the sheer size of “lollipop row” – where a slew of staffers (some dressed as Elvis or even Prince) held circular signs on sticks directing executives to suites for high-powered meetings. The makeup of CES this year reflected the reality that a wide range of non-traditional advertising companies are now knee-deep in the advertising business. That, of course, included ad-supported streaming services like Netflix, Disney, and Amazon Prime Video, which are trying to figure out the best way to weave innovative advertising into the binge era. “[When it comes to streaming], everything in the industry should be anchored in what is the best experience for the consumer,” said Luke Kigel, VP, Advanced Marketing Capabilities, Kimberly-Clark, during a “Marketing Reinvented” session aptly titled “Streaming Wars: The Current & Future State of the Industry.” This year also featured a noticeable presence from relative advertising newbies ranging from Uber to CVS and Snowflake.

Bottom line: The good news is that most experts predict solid ad spending growth in 2024. The bad news is that competition is set to be fiercer than ever, given the growing number of players. The winners will likely be the companies that can master ad experience, targeting, ideally both, and that can get their offerings into the hands of brands early in the year. For that reason, many of these companies treated CES as an upfronts precursor.

Shoppable Everything

In the lower floors of the Aria, TikTok streamed several live shopping events. Instacart featured a makeshift mini supermarket, while Amazon showed off an entire space worth of shoppable advertising case studies. And the retail media networks were out in full force. The growth in ad spending on “commerce media” has been staggering and happens to coincide with an industry-wide pullback on third-party data. Given that brands are looking for partners with deep pools of first-party data, as well as a proven ability to drive and track transactions, the timing is excellent. In fact, many of these retailers are looking to broaden their businesses beyond their owned and operated properties. "The year is all about retail-powered media and activating it in the broader market,” said Chris Rogers, Chief Business Officer, Instacart. In some cases, that may mean simply moving retail ads to the open web. But other retailers, such as Walmart, are looking to dial up in-store advertising. “We need to think of all facets that go into commerce – media, content, tech and in-store experience – from a broader perspective,” said Amie Owen, US Head of Commerce, UM. Additionally, executives like Albertsons Media Collective SVP, Retail Media Kristi Argyilan emphasized the importance of standardization as retail media networks reach a new stage of maturity and increasingly collaborate with the rest of the industry.

Bottom line: Retail media shows no signs of slowing down – in fact, shoppable ad units continued to bleed into other media. However, it’s getting awfully crowded for brands, known for seeking out simplicity and standards in their media execution. We expect more collaborations to emerge in the year to come, following in the footsteps of those like Albertsons Media Collective’s deal with Criteo and Instacart’s pact with Google – both of which were unveiled at CES.

AI Everywhere

At last year’s CES, the world was still processing the rollout of ChatGPT – a time that felt like a different era. “Looking back just nine months ago, it feels like dial-up,” said Kristen O’Hara, VP, Agency, Platforms & Client Solutions at Google. Indeed, artificial intelligence dominated the conversation this year on a level that few other tech trends have approached in such a short period of time. That’s because the consensus is that AI will impact – well – everything. As Diana Haussling, SVP, General Manager, Consumer Experience & Growth, Colgate-Palmolive put it, “How we work and live will be dictated by AI.” Michael Kassan, CEO of MediaLink, told a story about how an industry leader once spoke about 5G as being the technology of yes, as in “yes, it will impact just about everything.” AI promises the same, effectively, only it will be ratcheted up tenfold. Whether it's media, sports, marketing, or Hollywood, “every one of those sectors is going to feel a massive impact from AI,” said Kassan. One aspect of work that has long produced anxiety – getting creative ideas off the ground – has yielded a lot of excitement around the vast possibilities. “The fear of the blank page is over,” said Eric Hall, CMO, Digital Experience Business at Adobe. That exuberance extends to media planning and optimization, as well as the more flashy aspects of AI. During the C Space Keynote with Kassan and CNBC Senior Media and Tech Correspondent Julia Boorstin, Snap Co-Founder and CEO Evan Spiegel noted that Snap has already seen great success with its products aimed at helping users send AI generated messages and visuals. In a session I moderated on immersive experiences, the technology also took center stage. Nickole Tara, Chief Growth Officer at Cirque du Soleil, explained how “AI will deepen the need for in-person experiences.” And Meta Chief Operating Officer, Reality Labs Dan Reed showed us first-hand, demonstrating the company’s new Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses powered by Meta AI. Getting the pipes in order will be critical. As Vinny Rinaldi, Senior Director of Media & Analytics at The Hershey Company emphasized, “Proper data architecture is going to be critical to unlocking the power of AI for all marketers.”

Bottom line: It won’t be easy for brands to sniff out what’s hype and what's not, considering that nearly every company in the industry is touting its AI bona fides – but as IAB CEO David Cohen put it, “AI is not a fad.” It will be crucial for marketers to get out in front of this technology, both by following consumer behavior while also getting educated on how AI is reshaping media buying, creativity, and even how organizations are run (according to UTA Partner & Chief People Officer Jean-Rene Zetrenne, “AI is a tool, it’s a technology and it’s a co-worker.”) Setting up a framework for readiness is step number one.

AI for Avenging

A staggering $10.3 billion was lost to online crime last year, according to the FBI – and that number is up a whopping 50% year over year. Yet most Americans are barely doing enough to protect themselves – if they are even aware of the potential threats posed. “What’s happened over the last decade is that it’s gotten very mainstream,” said Hari Ravichandran, Founder and CEO at Aura, a cybersecurity firm, in a special “Marketing Reinvented” session on the subject. Ravichandran noted that such financial crime has increased both in frequency and sophistication, and most existing protections aren’t keeping up. Enter media legend Jeffrey Katzenberg, and actor Robert Downey Jr., who have both taken on the cause of raising awareness and action regarding cyber-crime. “We spend millions protecting physical goods,” said Katzenberg, Founding Partner of WndrCo. “But our lives are actually more on these devices.” That’s something that we all need to take more seriously – before it’s too late, he warned. For Downey Jr., the mission is close to home, as he relayed a story of a close family member recently getting hacked – an experience that left her rattled. “You can barely keep up with [this], it’s so insidious. And the conversations are so personal and passionate. So, if we can use this AI revolution for good, that is the blank space we want to fill.”

Bottom line: Marketers should play a bigger role in elevating the issue of digital financial crime. There is a major opportunity for solutions providers like Aura to not only address the issue, but change how people think about going online.

Creator Endeavors

Besides the increased appearance of streamers and retailers, CES this year was crashed by more and more digital creators. As marketers continue to ratchet up their interest in the creator economy, as part of their efforts to reach Gen Z and even younger consumers, many creator-centric firms used CES to prove they belong alongside the biggest companies in media. Of course, simply buying creator ads is rarely the right strategy. “Creators are stewards and masters of their communities,” said Adam Bauer, SVP Partnerships at FaZe Clan, in a conversation with UTA Head of Gaming and Esports Damon Lau and other leaders in the space. “Treat them like your creative partners.” That’s easier said than done for some marketers, as it requires relinquishing control. “One of the big things that we try to do is be authentic as much as we can to the creator and make sure it’s the right fit for the brand,” said Vince Lim, Chief Creative Officer at Barbarian.

Bottom line: Clearly, the growing class of professional or semi-professional creators and the like are attracting massive audiences – and, in many cases, are trusted more than legacy media by younger consumers. Brands have a huge opportunity to participate and even help steer the creative process. As Han Wen, Chief Digital & Marketing officer at L’Oréal USA, put it, “Every single act of our daily lives can become a moment of culture creation.”

Get Paid Twice

As much as we’re seeing formerly ad-free services embrace ad-tiers, platforms like Snap are pushing into subscription products. Spiegel noted that Snapchat+ now boasts 7 million subscribers – an eye-opening figure for a free platform that skews toward teens. Users have taken to the premium service to customize their Snap experience and use new AI-powered communications tools. “In many ways, it gives us an excuse to build new features for our power users,” said Spiegel. “I hope that we can just continue to deliver innovative features people love.” Much like newspapers, magazines, and cable TV before them, media and platforms are learning once again “that loyalty that gets created with a subscription is a very valuable asset,” said Kassan, and “the dual income stream…we’re going to see that is the way we go forward.”

Bottom line: For some media companies, relying on advertising won’t be enough to make their economics work. Look for more experimentation with “special” exclusive products, tools, and offerings – both as a way to expand revenue opportunities and as a way to bring in more direct customer data.

Brand Safety Is Back

Marketers have been taking steps to keep their ads away from unsavory or unethical content for many years, and most have implemented numerous safeguards to protect their reputation. But given the rise of AI-fueled misinformation, made-for-advertising sites, and the fact that we’re entering what promises to be a hotly contested election year, the issue is once again at the forefront. In terms of what marketers are worried about in 2024, “the thing that we’ve seen in the last five to six months is that brand safety has shot right back up to the top of the chart,” said Kassan. During the C Space Keynote, Spiegel noted that Snap’s closed environment helps make it less susceptible to bad actors. Still, investment in human moderation is everything, he emphasized. “Increasingly, when I talk to business leaders, they don’t want to be complicit in funding the distribution of this content,” Spiegel said.

Bottom line: This issue looms to be a major challenge for brands for the foreseeable future. The entire industry will need to collaborate, and marketers in particular should lean on their agency partners for guidance. At the same time, media outlets and ad tech companies will need to move at a faster pace to handle these issues as they arrive and prioritize transparency – much as they did when they swiftly re-earned the trust of brands in 2020, brand safety’s original spotlight moment.

No Longer Accepting Cookies

Marketers have spent the past several years racing to prepare for a non-cookie based world, and at long last it has finally arrived, as Google began its year-long deprecation of the technology on January 4. Naturally, how the industry is adjusting was a hot topic at CES. Many marketers like McDonald’s have spent the past few years looking to amass more data from customers. “The way in which we actually develop a loyalty program to really be able to deliver the right experience to customers – [that demonstrates] the increasing importance of first-party data,” said Allegra Krishnan, Vice President and Chief Loyalty & Engagement Officer at McDonald's on the C Space Keynote stage with Lynn Teo, Chief Marketing Officer, Northwestern Mutual and Dara Treseder, Chief Marketing Officer, Autodesk. The MyMcDonald's Rewards program barely existed a few years ago, explained Krishnan, and now it’s a huge priority. In today’s privacy-focused environment, “How do we actually bring loyalty to life, in a meaningful and engaging way?” Delta Air Lines CMO Alicia Tillman underscored the importance of bringing engagement to life, saying that modern consumers “are not only expecting perfection from a product perspective, but they’re expecting to have an experience with that product.” Of course, consumers are increasingly being cautious about sharing, which adds to the challenge for brands – and may require many to shift their way of approaching customer interactions online. “You can’t lie yourself away around trust,” said Teo. “The bottom line of loyalty is trust and reliability. Brands that think of themselves as being of service will tend to win.” “There is so much uncertainty in the world,” added Treseder. “Customers are asking, ‘who is that partner who is going to help me navigate that uncertainty?’”

Bottom line: Marketers that have been out in front of this much-extended deadline should be far better set up to thrive this year. But the loss of cookies brings with it lots of unknowns. Clearly, consumer trust is highly valuable and highly fragile. Marketers will need to test as many cookie alternatives as possible, even as conditions on the ground keep changing. Whichever path they choose – they’ll need to think consumer-first. If the start of this year is telling, the excitement generated by CES bodes well for the rest of the year for the ad industry. Not only is growth on the table, but a wider array of contenders are likely to benefit. That is, as long as they are able to deliver strong data, software, and audience to brands. At the same time, it’s so far from business as usual in the ad world. The innovation that promises to emerge this year from AI and other technologies is bound to transform an untold number of practices in this business. The marketers who are able to stay on the cusp of this change and ensure their customers are beneficiaries are the ones most likely to succeed.