Running into 2019 with CES – It’s going to be a Fast Start

“Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up, it knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn't matter whether you're the lion or a gazelle-when the sun comes up, you'd better be running.” Christopher McDougall, Born to Run

Anyone that knows me well knows that I live by the quote above, and given the Christmas break that we have just had is on point for a number of the attendees to CES 2019, whose first day at work involved (either) a flight to Vegas or Day one of one of the most intense and rewarding conferences in the technology industry.

CES has grown and grown over the years and has really become synonymous in media and marketing circles as a place to explore and identify the future trends and where deals and business are increasingly getting done. Marketers, agencies and media businesses come together with a clean slate and the whole year in front of them, in a unique environment that fosters learning and building of partnerships.

So, what’s in store at CES in 2019? Is this the year of blockchain? Surely, we aren’t going down that route again like with the “Year of Mobile”?

Just to be clear and deal with this first - Blockchain still has a way to go. Its only 10 years old and experts are in short supply, there are question marks over scalability, privacy, security and performance not to mention the ICO bubble bursting and Crypto Crash in 2017.

That said, unlike the 1999/2000 boom/bust of the internet, the rails exist for blockchain to become the future business model. However, more education is needed, and projects need to focus on providing more context on the value Blockchain will add to their solution.

The content at CES is a mind-blowing experience – leading experts discussing the key technology innovations that will shape the next 12-18 months of our lives – From Blockchain and advertising/content to IoT and increasingly health tech and Esports – it’s an eclectic mix with something for everyone.

IoT is an area that has really developed at CES over the last couple of years and has moved beyond the consumer and connected home into solving significant challenges in global infrastructure. The United Nations and the World Bank have a focus on using IoT technology to develop resilience in our cities – the number of ‘Smart City’ projects have increased by 72% in the last three years globally – the exposure to innovative IoT solutions at CES is helping solve the global problems of population growth, natural disasters and congestion.

In addition to IoT, another key area that’s really come to the forefront of the lives we lead as consumers is digital health – gone are the days of ‘Diagnosis by Google,’ There are now innovative new solutions focused on the diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of illnesses as well as the delivery & management of healthcare and managing our wellbeing. Major brands including Under Armour and J&J, as well as the more traditional Pharma companies like Novartis and Pfizer are investing heavily, in developing and incubating the next generation of health & wellness start-ups.

Technology is all around us but developments in IoT and health tech will make a material difference to the world we live in over the next 12 months.

Another area which is driving significant consumer and brand interest is VR/AR – and is a big focus of CES in 2019 – there are a lot of sectors of the market using this technology.

VR/AR in Healthcare (which is predicted to be a $3.8bn global market by 2020) where its being used to treat phobias, autism, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety.  Also, in sport the technology is being used to improve training and the changing future of how we consume live sport are key examples of the technology in action.

All in all, CES 2019 promises a fast start for all attendees and will challenge the ‘dry January’ and health kick resolutions that many have, but needless to say those that come with a “wake up running” attitude will benefit the most and will be best placed to leverage these innovations in 2019 and beyond.