The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is one of the most influential tech events in the world, showcasing how groundbreaking technologies can impact our world from the sustainability perspective to the workplace to well-being and many other aspects of our lives.
With announcements involving new emerging tech across the board, from car tech to health and wellness, which brands owned the online conversation, and what kind of tech captured consumers’ attention?
From January 5-8, 2023, there were 290.5k mentions relating to CES shared across public social media channels, with more than 70k people discussing the topic. What were the most notable moments for those in and outside the walls of CES?
Let’s get to it.
CES 2023: The biggest moments
Not surprisingly, the event's first day registered the highest conversation volume in a single day – 105.7k mentions. Towards the end of CES 2023, the conversation really slowed down: the last day of CES 2023 saw close to 44k mentions.
Top stories from the CES conference
Story #1: “No, you're not seeing double. 👀”
Lenovo introduced the first-of-its-kind full-sized dual-screen laptop designed for next-level efficiency and multitasking. The Tweet announcing the launch spiked a lot of conversation, generating close to 1.8k likes.
Story #2: “Just ran over a (fake) kid in a Tesla [...], how's your day going?”
Luminar’s CEO, Austin Russell, and the tech editor for Market Watch climbed into the back seat of a Tesla car to test the automatic emergency brakes.
Story #3: Free Wi-Fi in the sky
Who doesn’t like Wi-Fi, let alone free Wi-Fi on the plane? On January 5, The Points Guy reporter, Zach Griff, shared the news that Delta is investing $1b to enable free Wi-Fi on 80% of domestic flights.
Consumers and CES 2023: Are all ideas welcomed?
Sentiment and emotions
Less than 4% of the entire conversation over the four days of the conference was negative, which is impressive in itself. But they’re still more interesting, so let’s start there.
One of the topics consumers reacted negatively to was the idea of having computer chips in all kitchen appliances that would allow controlling kitchen gadgets with a mobile device via Wi-Fi.
Not all consumers seemed to be on board with this idea, arguing that a smart house could be compromised if the wrong person gets their hands on our phones.
And several consumers openly expressed that they are against connecting their home appliances to Wi-Fi.
In negative mentions, consumers debated and questioned some of the benefits of the smart wireless TV tech presented at the Consumer Electronics Show.
In positive mentions, Lenovo’s dual-screen design got a lot of attention and praise from consumers, with one tech enthusiast sharing that this is a device he’d actually like to use.
Overall, computer screens and monitors are popular topics in positive discussions, with many consumers complimenting CORSAIR’s curved, adjustable monitor.
As work becomes more flexible, it makes sense for consumers to seek more flexibility and agility from their devices, whether the objective is to multitask or have more versatility at hand.
A futuristic car design by Waymo, showcasing a prototype of a fully electric autonomous vehicle, was also cheered by consumers.
Work and play
By mention volume, joy was the most prominent emotion in social media conversations relating to the CES between January 5-8, 2023, and workplace – or rather, its setup – was one of the topics discussed.
With working from home, comes a lack of mobility and longer hours spent “on the job”. Now, imagine yourself sitting in the chair of the future; a fully adjustable and reclining working and gaming station.
Consumers reacted to a Tweet featuring a gadget from Imperatorworks, with some exclaiming, “Just take my money, I’d use it all day long,” and others adding that sitting at a desk for many hours is the problem on itself.
In other news, Snoop Dog and Martha Stewart’s appearances were also discussed with joy.
“No one needs this”
Some tech innovations, people were less than enthusiastic about. Among those was a urine-analyzing add-on for smart toilets that generated many mentions of disgust, with one consumer stating that “NO ONE NEEDS THIS.”
Consumers also mentioned the price point of products, arguing that it didn’t match the benefits or wasn’t innovative enough.
Hashtags at the CES show
While the two official conference hashtags #ces2023 and #ces ranked first and second among the most mentioned event hashtags, #ai landed the third-most mentioned hashtag place, potentially defining the course of the conversation in the future.
The CES 2023 exhibitors: Who won consumers’ attention?
Overall, the CES exhibitors generated 60.5k mentions between January 5-8 2023. And the biggest spike in conversation belonged to Sony who played a song by a South Korean boy band, Ateez, at the end of their press conference, sending the hashtag #ateez trending on Twitter.
On the first day of the conference, Sony and Honda (not on the exhibitors list and therefore not included in the table below) also unveiled a prototype of the new ‘Afeela’ electric vehicle, generating a lot of conversation on social.
Share of conversation
Sony and Samsung saw the highest share of the online conversation relating to the conference, accounting for 22% and 15% of the all exhibitor mentions, respectively. Amazon and LG ranked third and fourth, respectively, each accumulating 13% of brand mentions.
Sentiment
We checked the sentiment in brand-related conversations, and LG, Sony, and Samsung accumulated the highest percentages of positive mentions by volume.
People praised LG for the wow effect of their massive display made of 260 55-inch OLED screens.
Sony received high volumes of positive mentions relating to PSVR 2, an upcoming virtual reality headset for the PlayStation 5 home video game console. And the news of Samsung’s Knox Matrix, built using a private blockchain to protect the device from malware, drove some positive virtual nods.
Some exhibitors received higher percentages of negative mentions than others. Among those was Stellantis, who was criticized for their design, price point, and (lack of) innovative thinking.
Turns out, not everyone enjoyed LG’s display. Some consumers shared less than enthusiastic comments when discussing the experience with the screen at the CES event.
Looking ahead to the next CES
What can brands take away from all the social media chatter besides consumer reactions to all the products and innovations?
Here are some practical tips.
1. Promote and amplify your brand
While also self-promotional, this Tweet highlights vendors’ marketing shortcomings when it comes to presenting and promoting their products at the conference.
2. Know your product (and share your notes with the sales reps)
The importance of knowing your product can never be overstated. That will help tell a compelling story consumers can relate to, which in turn can help increase sales.
3. Incorporate your mission and vision in your messaging
Because if you lack confidence, or your brand story isn't convincing, consumers will notice and call you out on this. More and more consumers become concerned with climate change, and some people are even willing to pay more for sustainable products. So consumers don’t want to simply hear you make promises of sustainability; actions speak louder than words.
And it’s a wrap.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to shoot me an email at [email protected].
