CES 2024: Top trends from this year’s show that advertisers need to know

CES is back in stride! Attendance numbers scaled back closer to pre-pandemic numbers and our experts were navigating the masses to bring you gems from the show floor, including a tour of 230 women walking the floor in our partnership with The Female Quotient! Drafting off a historical technology year flooded with artificial intelligence announcements, AI permeated the halls of CES across all industries. The excitement around AI was palpable as companies were touting the latest in their AI features. This was showcased alongside the ongoing importance for companies to improve the quality of life for all humankind, maintain sustainable practices for a healthier planet, and make inroads to weave assistive technology into the fabric of our lives.

1. A sign of intelligence

Companies clamored to showcase their AI-powered products and services. Samsung and LG battled to showcase each of their smart connected home appliances and devices, including AI-powered home assistants like Samsung’s Ballie and LG’s small robot Smart Home AI Agent. Digital health companies like Nuvilab developed AI food scanners that can equip us with better nutritional data to track our diets, as well as prevent food waste. Walmart showcased technologies like their AI Shopping Assistant in a future of retail immersive exhibit. Perhaps the biggest surprise, however, was the Rabbit R1 selling out 20,000 devices in a single day, utilizing a “Large Action Model” with voice-control to remove the app-hopping hurdles of your smartphone to get things done much faster.

Key takeaways for advertisers and where Yahoo can help: As we enter into an era where more manual tasks can be reduced both at home and at work through AI-powered devices and services, the promise is to give consumers more of their time back, along with a more frictionless lifestyle. With these changes come a shift in consumer behavior as they adopt these technologies, prompting advertisers to rethink when and how to reach consumers, as well as how their own products and services could be reimagined in the lifestyles of the future. At Yahoo, we’ve harnessed the power of AI into our own products, from Yahoo Mail and Yahoo Sports to our Yahoo DSP with the launch of Yahoo Blueprint, our DSP’s AI engine that also optimizes the user-experience for our advertisers.

In addition, as generative AI advances to yield game-changing results, brands must also be aware of the risks that come with this new wave of technology.  Hard-to-discern fake news, content, websites and experiences can scale quickly now more than ever. At Yahoo, we are committed to quality content and MFA-free supply.

2. Technology’s disappearing act

Has camouflage finally reached mainstream tech? In a world where technology surrounds us, the most interesting might be that which disappears. Samsung took a crack in 2017 with the Frame TV and we all swooned. They were back this year with the Music Frame, a framed wireless speaker, and a MicroLED Transparent TV which was edgeless and impressive. Down the hall, LG stole the show with a grand wall of its OLED-T, an equally transparent OLED TV also touting wireless capabilities. Baracoda introduced BMind, a smart mirror that actively helps you manage stress, Nobi Ceiling announced a ceiling mounted lamp that doubles as fall detection for seniors and Withings Beamo upgraded a typical temperature thermometer to simultaneously capture heart and lung vitals in one simple device. If those don’t whet your appetite, we turn to a different disappearing act from GE’s Profile Smart Indoor Smoker which certainly won’t hide behind a frame on your wall, but will offer you the ability to smoke amazing meals without actually expending any smoke. Voila!

‍Key takeaways for advertisers and where Yahoo can help: Status symbols have often been connected to the latest tech gadgets or trends, but as tech-fatigue moves mainstream, the search for simpler alternatives, more integrated, multi-purpose experiences is growing. It's a lesson in the power of outcomes: less devices, more seamlessness; less complexity, more value.  At Yahoo, we aim to deliver seamless experiences that work across multiple devices, for both our business partners and consumers alike.  In addition, as the internet becomes cookie-less this year, we enter into an era where brands must excel on all fronts in protecting consumer privacy while driving value that consumers are most interested in as they engage in these new, seamless tech touchpoints. Tech solutions like Yahoo Identity Solutions, including Yahoo ConnectID and Next-Gen Solutions  help support brands in this endeavor. They connect them to their desired audiences in this new digital ecosystem in a responsible, performance-driven manner that can yield value for brands and consumers to help them stand out in a relevant way.  

3. The next phase of storytelling

The metaverse, now in its 3rd year as an official category situated in the main hall of CES, showcased advancements in each facet of the immersive experience. From XREAL’s new Air 2 Ultra AR glasses, set to compete head-to-head with Meta’s Quest 3 and Apple’s Vision Pro, giving consumers options with a wider price range. Netflix made their show-floor debut with a long line of eager attendees waiting to experience the immersive “3 Body Problem” - a new prestige sci-fi show from the creators of ‘Game of Thrones’. Canon also showcased all of their next-generation camera-vision and storytelling technology through the multi-part immersive “Journey Beyond the Destination” travel experience, from the creators of Yellowstone. 

Key takeaways for advertisers and where Yahoo can help: The technology needed to make the metaverse reach its full potential and scale continues to advance, as device makers and content creators alike are embracing the next-generation of movies & entertainment. These technologies enrich our entertainment and play, while the industrial metaverse represents a whole new way of working. Brands should lean in with these new dimensions of creativity, discovering ways to push the envelope on how their own stories can be told and reimagined, while still remaining authentic. At Yahoo, we value the art of creative storytelling, and Yahoo Creative Studios is committed to working with brands to embrace all forms of technology to create the most optimal brand creative, experiences, and stories in this new digital era. 

4. Furthering humanity and our planet 

The continuation of CES’s “Human Security For All” theme into 2024 reinforces the greater vision and importance that what’s good for humankind and our planet is good for business and economy. Mobility companies like Hyundai showcased this through the latest in their hydrogen fuel cell technologies, placing their bet on hydrogen as the most equitable and abundant energy source on our planet. Hydrogen energy was abundant with PACCAR displaying hydrogen powered big rigs for more sustainable shipping and SK Group teasing our fantasies with a model hydrogen-powered train in its carbon-cutting wonderland display. With the official recognition by the UN that the right to access technology is a goal in and of itself, we witnessed companies striving to make accessible offerings that not only improve the quality-of-life for many, but to do so in a responsible and sustainable way for our planet.

Key takeaways for advertisers and where Yahoo can help: Now more than ever, it's crucial for brands to be authentic, responsible and purpose-driven. The future of our shared human experience and our environment depend on companies, governments, organizations and individuals alike to become active participants in creating a better world for us and future generations. At Yahoo, we are committed to bringing out the best in your brands through our own, and committed to more sustainable practices in our products, including more direct-to-publisher opportunities through Yahoo Backstage, as well as helping our partners meet their own sustainability goals when working with Yahoo DSP through the availability of Green Media Products powered by Scope3 and Good-Loop. 

Partnering towards what’s next. 

As evidenced throughout CES 2024, the road to an innovative tomorrow involves trusted partnerships that create the space and freedom to share ideas and creatively solve problems together. We welcome this opportunity with you.  

Connect with your Yahoo team so we can partner on what’s next today.