For three hours on Wednesday, Fred Jacobs of Jacobs Media Strategies conducted a virtual tour of the all-online Consumer Electronics Show — CES 2021.
With presentations from Amazon Alexa Auto and Xperi ahead of those scheduled from LG, Ford, Triton Digital and Mercedes Benz, Jacobs recalled how, normally, some 180,000 people congregate in Las Vegas for one of the biggest events in the world.
In recent years, the radio industry’s leadership has been there. This year, they — and Jacobs — are among those connecting from home and “table hop.”
The three-hour tour saw some 350 industry members registered for participation, and more than 200 watching live as Jacobs began the event at 1pm Eastern.
Among those in attendance: Bud Walters of Cromwell Group, Nielsen Audio leader Brad Kelly, Brian Beasley of Beasley Media Group, programming veteran Dave Beasing, and Salem Media Group‘s Dave Santrella, among others.
The cool tech shared by Jacobs began with a Vuzix wearable smart/augmented eyeglass/earpiece hybrid.
This preceded a conversation with Shawn DuBravac — a global futurist and trendsetter — who noted that we are at an “interesting inflection point” in a year where digital was forced upon us, giving us an opportunity to decide what to keep when the pandemic ends, and what will fade.
This includes at-home gym and workout platforms. Will consumers go back to gyms in-person or continue to prefer a mirror-like device, or Peloton, or video-delivered instruction?
He says, “It is important to think not just how does this change radio, but also how does this effect the things that isn’t radio. Ultimately, radio is getting disrupted by these second-order effects of these new technologies and new services.”
Today, broadcasting from home is a “new normal.” This could very well continue past the end of the pandemic, given the technology put in place and the services that can continue to be deployed by radio broadcasting companies.
That said, DuBravac says, audio is overshadowed by video.
“The screen real estate continues to explode,” he believes.
That’s no understatement: Televisions including HDMI 2.1 and 8K technology are looking to capitalize on interest in the new generation of video game consoles that will support those technologies. Shipments of consoles exploded at the end of 2020, with imports of consoles increasing 123.2% year over year in the three months to Nov. 30, 2020.
Fred Jacobs quickly interjected that voice has become bigger than ever. DuBravac agrees, with AI technology fueling it to such things as a connected faucet. “We are getting into a much deeper integrated to where artificial intelligence in many ways is defining the product,” he says.
This is a key feature of the Mercedes Benz dashboard, in which they will deploy prediction-based suggestions based on consumer use, likes and dislikes, and other voice-recognized personalization, DuBravac adds.
AMAZON’S AUTO
Arianne Walker, the “Chief Evangelist” for Alexa Automotive, offered a presentation on how the voice activation platform largely known for its in-home use, can be additive to one’s car, too.
Integration of Alexa into OEM in-dash systems is focused on entertainment, voice communication to phone or online virtual meeting platforms, gasoline monitoring and filling station searches, and basic automotive functions including defrost and heating/cooling.
XPERI IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Joe D’Angelo, SVP/Broadcast at HD Radio parent Xperi, offered a review of what’s new for consumers that may have an HD-equipped in-car audio entertainment system.
It shared statistics on advertiser recall, and it’s current availability by automaker and trim.
The DTS Auto Stage, another Xperi offering, was also featured in a pre-recorded video.
