i3 - January/February 2020 - 88

Business

By Gary Arlen

C S PAC E

C Space Escalates
Content and Tech
Connections

 A 

t the ARIA in Las Vegas, you see "activations" and
hear "storytellers," rather than "exhibits" and "speakers." You encounter "multi-modal engagements," not
mere "demonstrations." Ultimately, C Space - the brand
marketing and entertainment event at CES 2020 - reflects
the evolving alliances taking place between content and the
emerging delivery platforms, on display elsewhere at CES.

The confluence of tech and brands has
been growing each year since C Space
debuted in 2015. At C Space, advertisers, marketers, technologists and global
brands are converging to demonstrate
how technology innovation is driving
industries forward. The C Space programs examines how brands are leveraging big tech trends such as artificial
intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR)
into their strategies.
More than 33,000 marketing and
advertising executives are expected to
take part in the C Space program, and
upwards of 60 companies (including
first-timers Target and iHeartRadio)
are exhibiting. Many of the exhibitors
will hold court in "activations," a new
approach to presentations that aren't
quite demonstration booths nor are
they private meeting rooms.
As for "storytelling," that's the dozens
of targeted presentations from top media
and marketing executives, such as WPP
CEO Mark Read, Procter & Gamble
Chief Brand Officer Mark Pritchard
and Condé Nast Senior VP-Marketing
Teal Newland. (See sidebar for more
C Space Storytellers.)
C Space also encompasses more
conventional keynote speeches, open
to all CES attendees, such as insights
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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020

from Linda Yaccarino, chairman, advertising sales and client partnerships at
NBCUniversal. Although Yaccarino's
portfolio includes the company's entire
television portfolio (two broadcast and
17 cable networks plus more than 50 digital properties), her remarks are expected
to focus on Peacock, NBCU's new streaming service due to debut this spring.
Quibi, a new mobile-oriented
streaming service, will also be in the
spotlight, when CEO Meg Whitman
and Chairman and Founder Jeffrey
Katzenberg describe their vision for
the media/tech venture.
Unilever CEO Alan Jope and
Chairman, Co-CEO and Founder of
Salesforce Marc Benioff, will be interviewed by MediaLink Chairman and
Founder Michael Kassan who will ask
the consumer product giant's top
executive about his outlook for the
evolving ecosystem.

Envisioning Consumer
Experiences

Karen Chupka, CTA's executive vice
president, CES, focuses on the increasing presence of non-tech companies at
CES as evidence of their increasing recognition that they must embrace new
platforms to reach their customers. She

says that 87% of Fortune 100 companies
now attend CES.
"C Space is where leaders from
entertainment brands and the ad community come to build the future of
consumer experiences," Chupka says.
She also points to growing attention to
special market segments - some of
them massive - that are part of the C
Space initiative.
For example, The Female Quotient, a
consulting firm focused on women in
business, will sponsor the FQ Lounge,
described as a "Home of Equality," as
well as programming sessions. Shelley
Zalis, CEO and founder, says, "Study
after study shows women who support
women are more successful in business."
Chupka says the FQ Equity Partner role
- focused at C Space - is emblematic of
CTA's goal to "bring underrepresented
communities" into CES and "to integrate
more voices from all communities."
I T I S I N N O VAT I O N
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