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CES 2015
A Recap For Marketers
Andy Maskin
SpecialConsultant to StoryTech
January 13, 2015

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Executive Summary
This year at CES we saw an explosion of technologies aligned with what we call a
meta-trend, "The Internet of Me."Within this idea are rapidly developing technology
trends that will change the way we live our lives in the years to come.
There are trends directly related to content consumption and mindshare, which has
an obvious and direct impact on the way marketers reach and influence consumers.
There are also trends that will ignite fascinating lifestyle changes for consumers,
powered by new technologies.These trends challenge marketers to get creative
about how to reach consumers, perhaps influencing them by becoming part of their
lives and enabling real utility.
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KeyTrends
• Content Gets DownTo Business
• Touched By A Sensor
• VirtuallyYours
• The Modern Millennial Factor
• ATransactional Life
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The Internet of Me

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Content Gets DownTo Business
The ways in which consumers consume content are rapidly changing.Traditional
models are decaying as a growing portion of audiences want their content unbundled
and on-demand. A generation raised onYouTube expects the content they want
when they want it for modest sums of money.Traditional models will never capture
this cohort, and their purchasing power is only growing.
At CES this year we saw a number of important developments that signal the
continued acceleration of this trend.The evidence is clear: cords are being cut and
there's no turning back.What follows are examples of some breakthroughs we saw
this year.
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SlingTelevision
Dish Networks announced a new streaming service called
SlingTelevision. For $20/month users can access the live
feeds of over a dozen of the most popular cable channels,
including ESPN and CNN. Add-on channel packages will
each be available for $5 more.The service will be available
on several mainstream OTT platforms including Roku and
Xbox.
This offering is a major breakthrough in the evolution of
television away from expensive bundled subscriptions. Dish
is already ramping up ad inventory sales for the service and
is looking at the ability to deliver personalized ads
programmatically.
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Content Gets DownTo Business

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SmartTV OS Consolidation
The wild west of SmartTV operating systems got less wild
this year. Samsung standardized aroundTizen, Sharp &
Sony embraced AndroidTV, while Haier and Insignia (aka
Best Buy) adopted Roku. Panasonic embraced FirefoxOS.
On many of these platforms, traditionalTV lives alongside
OTT apps with equal prominence in the user interface.
Fewer ecosystems means less consumer confusion,
increased adoption, and increased opportunities for
publishers and brands to launch apps for the SmartTV
space at scale. Also, media buys for these platforms will
become more manageable.
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Content Gets DownTo Business

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Evolution ofTV Ads
There’s also news for advertisers.The platform will support
an exciting variety of interactive inventory types, including:
• Banners in the UI with click-to-video capabilities
• Interactive overlays over programming that can launch
full-screen video
• Pre-rolls and post-rolls for various apps in the ecosystem
LG announced and upgraded 2.0 version of its SmartTV platform WebOS.The new OS is faster and
allows easier switching between inputs & apps. In addition, GoPro announced a branded action
sports app for the platform.
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Content Gets DownTo Business

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TiVo One Pass
Since its inception, one of the most beloved features of
TiVo DVRs has been the “Season Pass” which allows users
to easily auto-record all their favorite shows. As theTiVo
Roamio product has evolved to include moreOTT services,
the company is replacing this feature with “One Pass”.
One Pass will still allow users to auto-record episodes of
their favorite shows, but it will do so across a variety of
streaming platforms as needed. In a world where “TV” is
just one of many content sources,TiVo is as big a threat to
the 30-second spot as ever.
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Content Gets DownTo Business

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Touched By A Sensor
Two of the hottest areas this year at CES were "wearables" and "smart devices".The
former could be generally thought of as encompassing devices worn by users, such as
smart watches and fitness trackers.The latter encompasses objects ranging from
simple to complex that are being connected to Internet-based platforms.
The commonality of these categories is the sensing of previously ungathered
information, the transmission of this information, and the practical use of it to
improve the quality of our lives.What follows are some examples of how this year's
products demonstrated that the only limits to where sensor technology can take us
are our imaginations.
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Smart Home
This year saw an abundance of Smart Home platforms from
companies as diverse as Whirlpool and D-Link.The
common threads were devices (from dryers to door locks)
sensing information from the environment, communicating
this information to the user and other devices, and then
acting on information received.
What does this mean for brands? Imagine a CPG brand
launching an app for a smart-fridge with recipe
recommendations, or a travel brand sponsoring a
thermostat app. Marketers can engage with consumers
with utility attached to these devices, and in exchange
provide cross-sell and up-sell opportunities.
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Touched By A Sensor

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Activité Pop
This year’s CES saw a dramatic increase in the variety of
Smartwatches with digital screens, all trying to head off the
2015 launch of the Apple Watch. The Activité Pop from
Withings takes an interesting counter-approach. It has an
analog interface – all the computing and digital UI happens
on a paired smartphone.This makes the watch both less
expensive ($149) and allows it to last 8 months on a
standard watch battery. These two factors could combine
to launch the category beyond early adopters.
Brands could potentially partner with Withings and create
apps that also read data from the watch, or even push
vibration notifications to it.
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Touched By A Sensor

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BeWellConnect
Fitness tracking devices abounded this year, but BeWell
Connect from the French companyVisiomed takes things a
step further.Their line of connected products monitor vitals
such as glucose levels and blood pressure.This allows these
critical metrics to be monitored over time by patients, their
doctor or concerned family members.
They promise an API for 3rd parties to build on their dataset,
which could be a great opportunity for health brands. A
drug company, for example, could sponsor an app that
analyzes this data and provides wellness tips.
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Touched By A Sensor

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GNCWearables
Vitamin and supplement retailer GNC is a good example of
how brands can play in the wearable technology space. By
licensing their name for fitness devices at various price-
points, they are able to reinforce their brand perception of
fostering a healthy lifestyle.
Within the app that pairs with a smart device, brands could
also promote their other products, or even open up ad
space within the app and in effect become publishers
themselves.
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Touched By A Sensor

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Lots of Smart Stuff
On display this year were many products that wouldn’t be obvious candidates to be “smart devices”
SmartMat yoga mat, built with
pressure sensors and iPad dock.
Roost 9V battery
connects toWi-Fi
and alerts you
when it is running
low or your smoke
alarm is going off.
Neo Smart Jar contains sensors that
measure how much of a given item
is in the jar. Connect remotely to
determine how much of a given
item you have left.
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Touched By A Sensor

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VirtuallyYours
For years, the idea of creating immersive user-driven interfaces, virtual worlds, and
the real objects from digital models was the stuff of science fiction.
At CES this year we saw the possibilities in these areas explode more year-over-year
than most other categories.We also saw exciting creative ideas on how brands can
apply some of these technologies to drive purchase and loyalty.
What follows are our favorite examples from this year's CES of virtual reality, new
user interfaces, and turning virtual objects into real ones.
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3D Printing
The presence of 3D printing technology at this years’ CES
was exponentially larger than just a few years ago. Dozens
of companies big and small occupied a large dedicated
section of the floor.
Aside from the increased variety, faster print speeds, higher
quality and lower prices, a particular advancement stood
out: the ability to print using new materials. Mixtures of
plastic with limestone or wood yielded objects that felt like
stone or wood respectively.
3D Systems showed off the CocoaJet, a 3D printer
developed in partnership with Hershey’s that printed
objects in chocolate.
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VirtuallyYours

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Virtual Reality
While several companies showed off their takes on virtual
reality headsets, the biggest bang came fromOculus Rift
which let the public try its Crescent Bay prototype. The
experience included high visual fidelity and 3D positional
audio that changed the L-R balance in your headphones as
you moved your head.
Meanwhile, Samsung announced “MilkVR,” a content
service meant to distribute virtual reality experiences. As
the hardware becomes consumer-ready, and the content
funnel begins to fill, brands should take note.The travel,
automotive, entertainment and real estate industries are
just some examples of those that could all make rich use of
this technology.
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VirtuallyYours

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Lego Fusion
Qualcomm showed off Lego Fusion, a toy line based on its
Vuforia augmented reality platform.
When you buy a Lego Fusion set, you assemble the desired
structure and then download a free app. When you point
your mobile device at the Lego structure, it comes to life in
the app and you can interact with it.
This serves as a good example of how a brand can use
augmented reality to bring their products to life, either
after purchase or even in a retail setting.
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VirtuallyYours

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Tobii-powered Sentry
Tobii has made waves in recent years at CES with its eye-
tracking demos, though the products themselves have
been geared toward controlled environments such as focus
group testing.
This year they launched Sentry in partnership with
SteelSeries. Sentry is a PC peripheral meant for consumers.
It allows people to experience eye-controlled content on
their own computers.The demos at the show were simple
games, but one could imagine the possibilities of more
advanced and perhaps branded games in the future.
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VirtuallyYours

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The Modern Millennial Factor
The Millennial generation is entering adulthood and their purchasing power
is growing substantially.As marketers try to reach these consumers and form
lasting relationships, they need to understand how their perspective differs
from other generations.Two key differentiators are their having grown up in
the midst of the digital age, and their interest in social good.
They take ubiquitous technology for granted, having missed what came
before. And it seems natural to them that using technology to better the
world makes perfect sense.What follows are the technologies we saw at CES
that best embody the spirit of this critical demographic.
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Sustainability
A major growing category seen at this year’s show was
sustainable products, particular those that are solar
powered. Mainstays such as Eton showed off their latest
models of rugged, powerful and clean-energy electronics.
GoalZero proved their point about the water-resistance of
their solar battery packs by making it rain on them
throughout the week.
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Modern Millennial Factor

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eSports
In the wake of the sale ofTwitch to Amazon for almost $1
billion, older folks are finally starting to realize that people
watching other people play video games really is a thing –
and a big one at that.
The gaming area of CES featured accessories tailored to
Twitch broadcasters such as microphones and webcams.The
Tobii booth featured a well-known gamer streaming his
gameplay with an overlay of where he was looking on the
screen to a live audience of thousands.
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Modern Millennial Factor

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Edwin
One of the demographics most rapidly gaining marketers’
attention is “Millennial Moms”.These tech-savvy parents
are quick to embrace connected toys that educate while
entertaining.
Edwin the duck is a smart rubber ducky. He is waterproof
and can measure the temperature of the water. He syncs to
a tablet app that is populated with educational games.
Since the platform can routinely be populated with new
content, the potential could exist for brand partnerships
and sponsored games.
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Modern Millennial Factor

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Triby
Triby, from the French company Invoxia, is a communication
device designed for digitally-savvy kids and their parents.
The speaker-box can magnetically stick to the fridge, and
has simple buttons for children to make voice calls to their
parents.
Via the companion mobile app, parents can speak to their
children remotely, send black and white drawings to the e-
ink screen, and control the music being streamed to the
speaker.The device supports FM and Internet radio.
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Modern Millennial Factor

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ATransactional Life
Brand perception, consumer lifestyle and media consumption habits
notwithstanding, for many marketers retail and shopping experiences are where the
rubber meets the road.The end of the purchase funnel is (and has always been)
critical in driving desired sales results. Meanwhile, purchasing mechanisms and store
experiences are being transformed by technology.
New digitally-enabled platforms are driving sales by providing useful information
easily and reducing the friction of purchase.These mechanisms are utilitarian at their
core and meant to drive the transformation of a prospect into a customer.What
follows are examples we saw at this year's CES of the potential for technology to
change retail as we know it.
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Lowe’s Holoroom & Osh
Lowe’s Innovation Labs showed off two exciting prototype
experiences that could change the way consumers
experience retail.The Holoroom allows users to equip a
virtual simulation of a room in their house with Lowe’s
product and explore it using augmented or virtual reality.
OSHbot is a robot on wheels that you can ask for help. Say
the name of a product, or show the robot a similar product,
and the robot will guide you to the right aisle. As a bonus
(for retailers), the back of the robot features a large screen
with context-aware ads.
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ATransactional Life

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Plastc
Plastc is a device meant to replace all the plastic cards in
your wallet. It is the same shape and thinness of a regular
credit card or loyalty card and has a magnetic stripe on the
back.
What sets it apart is the e-ink touchscreen on the front. It
allows the user to swipe between different credit, debit,
gift and loyalty cards, changing the magnetic strip on the
back of the card as it goes.The technology represents an
interesting interim step for retail customers on their way to
a mobile payments future.
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ATransactional Life

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Cars
The automotive industry has steadily increased its role in
CES in recent years. In-car infotainment systems have
increasingly begun to resemble mobile platforms.This in
turn has caught the attention of marketers.
This year Chevy, Pioneer and others had demos of Android
Auto, an in-car OS tied into the Google ecosystem. It has
the capacity to run approved apps, personalized and
controlled by your voice and touch.
Ford showed off its upgraded Sync 3 platform, now with an
expanded array of compatible apps.There is even a
Domino’s app that lets you order a pizza with your voice
while driving.
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ATransactional Life

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Honorable Mention
If you've made it this far, you deserve the most unexpected idea we saw
at this year's CES. Behold, the Raticator. Early generations of this pest
trap were designed to detect the presence of a rodent using infrared
sensors, and then humanely dispose of the critter with a strong electric
shock.
At CES this year, the company unveiled an upgraded model equipped
withWi-Fi. When a rodent has been captured, the trap alerts you on
your smartphone, no matter where you are in the world.
Also, there was this other booth: http://youtu.be/nQyx-V0d_nw
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FiveThings to Look For in 2015
• Continued decline in cable/satellite subscriptions in favor of OTT services
• Accelerating consumer adoption of wearables and home automation
• Mainstream awareness and enthusiasm for eSports
• Bold experiments with the digital enhancement of physical retail locations
• Brands taking initial steps in figuring out how to approach in-car platforms
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StoryTech is a strategic consulting and packaging firm dedicated to informed collaboration
between storytellers, including brands, and technology companies resulting in profitable
business and content ventures.
http://www.story-tech.com info@story-tech.com @StoryTech storytech1 storytech
Andy Maskin spends the better part of his waking life investigating startups, new technologies
and media trends to help agencies and brands launch bold & innovative projects.
He is also a notary public, if you need him for that too.
maskin.tech@gmail.com @aspersions
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