As 2016 roars through the 4th quarter, a small group of broadcasters is already beginning to look ahead at the first week in January. That’s when the Consumer Electronics Show – or CES – takes place. It’s like a bucket of ice water strategically placed just after New Year’s Day – a test of commitment, endurance, planning, and patience for attendees eager to experience the latest and greatest in media and tech innovation.
For Paul and me, CES has become something of a ritual. Along with weary radio guys like Holland Cooke, Buzz Knight, Perry Michael Simon, and a few others, we make the annual trek to Las Vegas to battle our way through the vast Convention Center, as well as several other hotel and conference centers to witness how our worlds will be rocked in 2017 – and beyond. Of course, the list of radio attendees would not be complete without radio’s Patron Saint of CES, Jerry Lee, who has attended 48 of these conventions in a row. I am eagerly awaiting our annual breakfast together with Jerry at Lucky’s in the North Hall.
Aside from 50 football fields worth of exhibits, the real appeal of CES is the spirit of innovation in the air. More than 165,000 people from all over the world come together for a few days in January to take a whiff of what’s next and imagining how our industries will be changed. Whether it’s drones, virtual reality, the “connected car,” or the Internet of Things, CES never fails to awe, amaze, and yes, sometimes frustrate because it’s just not possible to see and experience it all.
We’ve hosted post-CES webinars the past couple years, as well as summing up what we see, hear, and experience for various radio trades, as well as right here in this blog. And we’ve exhorted radio’s CEOs to join us at CES so they can be a part of this event. Sadly, we have not been successful in connecting radio’s leadership to this event.
Until now.
At the behest of Cox Media Group’s Bill Hendrich, we’re starting 2017 on a very different note with an innovation of our own. On a call a couple months back, Bill indicated a strong interest in attending CES but told me he wasn’t going to dive in because of the enormity and difficulty of navigating the event. And then he asked me this:
“Why don’t you guys put together a tour of CES, covering the best things that radio CEOs need to see in an efficient, easy to navigate tour?”
And so we have. We reached out to Consumer Technology Association CEO Gary Shapiro who put us in touch with the team that organizes custom tours. And we were off to the races. Over the next couple of months, we’ll be working with the folks at CTA, including our Sherpa, Steven Koenig, CTA’s senior director/market research, craft a great tour that’s a combination of “oh wow” and “what’s next” for the radio broadcasting industry.
In many ways, the Jacobs CES CEO Tour very much embodies much of what Shapiro preaches about the need for legacy industries like radio to innovate or…well, you know what. In an interview in Inc., he talked to reporter John Brandon about the importance of companies stretching themselves and being adaptable:
“Be flexible and try something new. This is a core principle of ninja innovation. Whether you’re building your team, devising a strategy, or mentoring your colleagues, keeping the status quo is a doomed strategy.”
As the author of “Ninja Innovation,” this is Shapiro’s mantra. As a company that tries hard to walk the walk, Jacobs Media has taken on that challenge. And happily, so have several forward-thinking radio CEOs. They’re taking the plunge with us this January. We’re excited to be spending time with them at CES, and we’re very much looking forward to seeing what’s new and what’s around the corner at this year’s show.
You might be interested in the response this concept received when we reached out to many radio CEOs last week. In a word, it was robust. And enthusiastic. I know many criticize 
the powers that be in the industry for not being progressive or forward-thinking enough. But I can tell you that to a person, everyone who has signed on with the tour is excited, jazzed, and ready to take on CES and the Las Vegas Convention Center 90 days from now.
We have long believed that for radio to succeed in a newly defined, fluid competitive environment, broadcasters will need to expand their horizons and explore innovations that you cannot experience at typical industry gatherings. That was the thinking behind DASH, and our Jacobs CES CEO Tour is similarly aligned.
Over the years, radio has been M.I.A. from CES for the most part. Aside from iBiquity’s long presence (and now DTS) with its commitment to HD Radio, radio broadcaster sightings at CES have been few and far between. Yet, other platforms and brands challenging radio are typically visible at this event, especially in the rapidly expanding automotive area located in the North Hall. We’re also hopeful that many of the technology professionals at this event will have the chance to meet and connect with our growing group of radio broadcasters.
We have a handful of slots left, and we’re gratified to see just how much interest there is in attending CES. That says a lot about the changing point of view of many in radio who love the tradition of the business but are attuned in to the change – and opportunity – that’s all around us.
Aside from this tour, we have big plans around CES, including keeping you up to this date in this blog, as well as creating podcasts from the event. Both Paul and Seth Resler will be in Las Vegas with me, covering events, keynotes, exhibits, and the atmosphere that is uniquely CES.
And while there will be a lot to see and experience at this mega-event in January, it all starts with the first rule of CES:
Wear comfortable shoes!
Connect with me or Paul and we’ll give you the details of the Jacobs CES CEO Tour.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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