Consumer Electronics Show 2021 (CES) will be held virtually due to COVID-19. Despite this change, the show will be available virtually and in seventeen different languages. On top of that, if you are registered, you get thirty days to view all of the content available. Karen Chupka, the Executive Vice President of CES will be joining us to discuss what to look forward to at CES 2021. 

Physical to Virtual

Transitioning from a physical show that’s been in Las Vegas since 1978 to a virtual show has been interesting, to say the least. The decision to go digital was made in July 2020 after the pandemic started to pick up. Over a year, there has been a ton of innovation going on, so CES 2021 had to go on. Everybody who is in the online collaboration space has seen such an explosion in usage due to COVID. These collaboration tools are now being used for things like doctor’s appointments, family visits, schooling, etc. A year ago, nobody would have thought this would be a reality. Consumers were able to adopt all of these virtual technologies a lot faster than they would have without the pandemic. 

CES 2021 Trends

The traditional technologies that are always at CES will still be there this year. As far as new trends, there have been a lot of digital health advancements in the area of wearable technologies that help people better monitor themselves. On top of that, there is a lot of new diagnostics equipment that will help doctors have more effective tele-visits. Advancements in driverless technologies and AI technologies have been popping up as well as desktops, laptops, television, and gaming technologies. In my organization Cable Labs, we went to working from home in March and recently announced that all of our staff will be doing so until May. With innovation being done virtually, the productivity and R&D has increased. That being said, there is a loss in the area of collaboration, and it is harder to fix certain problems virtually. Even with the increase in technology, there is a decrease in group creativity. Karen believes the trend of improving the work from home environment will continue, but we need to get back to working in-person to achieve the best results.

Features of the Virtual Show

With the show being held virtually this year, a lot of people that normally couldn’t make it now can. Over the years, CES has wanted to hold the show digitally and physically, so now they will be better prepared for that. As a new virtual feature, CES 2021 offers the ability to opt in to an attendee directory so people can communicate back and forth with others at the show. CES is partnering with Microsoft to power the show this year and create the best possible experience. They created product showcases for exhibitors to show off their products in various capacities. About 1,800 companies are attending the show and about 100 different conference sessions will be going on during the show and covering many different topics. This year, there will be a live anchor desk for two days broadcasting product announcements, hot topics, and interviews with different executives. On top of that, the digital platform will be available for thirty days to those who are registered, offering opportunities to see more content from the show. Closed captioning will also be available in seventeen different languages. 

About Our Guest: Karen Chupka

Karen Chupka is executive vice president, CES for the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). She oversees the sales, marketing, conferences, operations and management of CTA’s events including its annual tradeshow, CES. Under Chupka’s leadership, CES has been named as the largest annual North American tradeshow by Tradeshow Executive Magazine and Tradeshow Week since 2001. Chupka has been with CTA for 30 years and has held numerous roles within the organization including vice president of business development, director of industry relations and education, and director of marketing for CES.