50 Creative Ideas
to Make Virtual CES® Your Best Show YetVirtual CES requires a whole new game plan.
Inspired by decades of CES experience, Gregory FCA has put together the following 50 ideas to make virtual CES your best show yet.
No Vegas, no problem. Read on, take our best ideas from our internal brainstorm, and use them for your CES playbook. Don’t let the new format stress you out – Gregory FCA has you covered!
Top 50 Creative CES Ideas
No. 1
Shhh…listen to what your fans want
Crowdsource your virtual event: Challenge your customers to tell you what they would like to see. How do they want the message delivered? Give them options, have them vote, then provide the experience they want.
No. 2
Ready…Set…ACTION!
Hire familiar actors to perform a virtual dramatic read-through of your product launch or major CES announcement. Extra credit if the actors are all part of the same show or film – that could generate additional media attention.
No. 3
Get in the game
Throw a virtual concert or other in-game experience via Fortnite or Animal Crossing. Wrap it up by including press announcements, topic discussions, and more.
No. 4
Make a cameo
Have stars and celebrities record personal messages to top prospects and buyers.
Imagine Kevin from “The Office” saying, “Sorry we won’t see you this year, but you probably didn’t want to see me anyway. But we will be talking. Look for Dave’s email.
No. 5
Create a covid super hero
Commission a comic book to laugh away our 2020 tears. Have him or her overcome the challenges your industry faced this year. Serialize it on social media or send printed copies to prospects.
No. 6
Share the news
Partner with other brands to create a showcase of best-in-class news releases. Combine the collective news and present to the media as a one-stop shop for ideas to cover in your industry.
No. 7
A Look Behind the Curtain
What went into creating that new game, service, or product? Document your grit and persistence in bringing your product to market and then offer that story to the media.
No. 8
A big gamble
Hold an online Casino night with a Vegas flair. Play table games with prospective customers and buyers. Offer big prizes. Send invites with clips from famous Vegas movies.
No. 9
Key in on a keynote
Produce a video keynote address. Post it on social channels and websites, and use it in email campaigns. Tie it to a hot button issue inside your business or industry. The best part: You don’t have to pony up the in-person CES keynote cost for your virtual address.
No. 10
Do Good
Partner with UNCF or another worthy charity and announce a diversity and inclusion initiative. Make the donation live during virtual CES with representatives and graduates of HBCUs. Pay a legendary HBCU marching band to perform virtually during the event.
To view a specific Top 10 list, click on a topic below
No. 11
Think big screen
Host an exclusive live product unveiling for media and journalists at a socially distanced drive-in event with a big screen. To get the most from this event, consider having your product available at every parking space so the media can demo it for themselves.
No. 12
Snackable Content
Create a series of easily consumable videos highlighting your products/services that you can share with the media, customers, and more.
No. 13
Think out of the box
Work with a celebrity or influencer to do a surprise unboxing and demo. Consider donating to a charity of the celebrity’s choice.
No. 14
Cocktails and consumer tech
Livestream your product demo on YouTube and/or Twitch, featuring a mixologist sharing signature drink recipes. Bonus points for mailing the recipes and ingredients to participating media.
No. 15
Virtualized deskside media briefings
Set up virtual one-on-one media interviews about industry trends. Make sure to emphasize how your product fits in and contributes to industry themes and trends.
No. 16
Virtually virtualized
Enhance traditional content through video press releases, VR/AR product experiences, or video product demos.
No. 17
Demo donations
For every person who attends your product demo/announcement livestream, donate $10 to a worthy cause that matters to your audience and reflects brand values.
No. 18
Why wait?
Hold a pre-CES virtual party to tease major launches for the upcoming year.
No. 19
The power of media partnerships
Partner with a media organization to co-host a virtual meet & greet around your products and services.
No. 20
Two heads (or more) are better than one
Join forces with like-minded companies and partners and then have your PR team pitch trend stories that all of you can speak to.
To view a specific Top 10 list, click on a topic below
No. 21
Third-party credibility
Secure a well-known guest speaker to present an issue of interest and importance to your audience and brand. Once the stage is set, have them headline a virtual product launch.
No. 22
Super swag
With no face time, put more of your budget into big-ticket swag and giveaways. A few PS5s might just double the number of virtual attendees.
No. 23
Recreate your CES booth in the office
Assemble your booth at company HQ and livestream a day or two of live panel discussions, product demos, and one-on-ones with your executive team.
No. 24
Find and use those big weepy stories
The media loves inspiring stories. Find them among your customers and create a series of videos to preview those stories to the media and customers in advance of a virtualized CES.
No. 25
This or that
Play This or That on social media with your customers, pitting a virtual CES against an in-person CES. Would you rather be at home in front of your fireplace or rolling into Vegas at 2 am? Have fun with it.
No. 26
Hybrid happy hour
Send top buyers and prospects their favorite liquor along with an invitation for the date and time of a virtual cocktail party.
No. 27
Hybrid happy hour 2.0
Create a signature drink and send ingredients, the recipe, and a bottle of alcohol to top buyers and prospects with an invitation for the date and time of a virtual cocktail party.
No. 28
Make it exclusive
Exclusives sell! What can you offer to a limited audience in advance of a virtual CES? Think premiums and giveaways, as well as an opportunity for select media to get a first stab at news.
No. 29
Just the facts
Create insightful facts about your product and use them to interest the media. How many hours did it take to develop your product? How many countries did you source products from? If laid end to end, how far would your first run of product stretch?
No. 30
Merchandise your expertise
No new product to introduce during this year’s virtual CES? No problem. What trends, market forces, or other insight could your executive management offer? Package it and present it to the media.
To view a specific Top 10 list, click on a topic below
No. 31
Game on
Create an internet scavenger hunt involving your product. Plant clues hidden in online properties and social channels. Winner gets a lifetime supply of N95 masks!
No. 32
Endurance challenge
2020 was an endurance game. Create a last-man-standing competition for your fans and customers. Whoever engages in the longest text thread (or similar feat of endurance) wins a month of GrubHub deliveries.
No. 33
Endurance challenge redo
Hold an endurance event for the three days that would have been CES 2021. Team up and raise money for charity. A three-day marathon on treadmills among a number of employees. A Peloton or SoulCycle relay.
No. 34
Dinner with a Kardashian (virtually)
Contract with a celebrity, influencer, or sports star for a virtual dinner awarded to a customer, buyer, or prospect who wins an online contest.
No. 35
Create an exclusive Slack channel or Facebook group.
Open it up to exhibitors in your space, investors, and the media. Lead panel discussions on trending topics, organize AMAs, and distribute exclusive content to members.
No. 36
Have fun and make a parody song sung to Sheryl Crow’s “Leaving Las Vegas”
Email it to your prospects and media along with insights about your product and announcements.
No. 37
Faded glory
Team up with a forgotten celebrity that appeals to your customers. Steve Urkel for SaaS developers. Brett Favre for dads. Jimmy Buffet for the over-55 crowd. Make it light-hearted.
No. 38
Riding the wave of current news
Think covid, lockdowns, work from home, delivered food, the economy. How does your product play into breaking news? Some unexpected consequence? Validate it and share it with the media.
No. 39
Dump Trump
Get edgy. Pay a Trump impersonator to produce personalized messages to top prospects. Make it fun and targeted. “Why didn’t you vote for me, you loser?” “Not so fast, I’m back!”
No. 40
The more touchpoints, the better.
Create an omnichannel campaign that plays up the Vegas theme. Individuals will receive direct mail, emails, paid ads, and more.
To view a specific Top 10 list, click on a topic below
No. 41
Buzzword drinking game
Host a live drinking game during virtual CES keynotes. For every “innovative” solution, take a drink. Send a free bottle of booze to prospects and customers to get them in the game.
No. 42
School daze
Contract and partner with noted academics to speak to broad themes about technology, social media, digital communications, health and fitness, cyber security, or other issues impacting your industry or product.
No. 43
Give back
Develop a nonprofit initiative and team with other CES virtual exhibitors to supply low-income families with technology to help children thrive in virtual learning environments.
No. 44
Virtual road trip!!!
Create a virtual experience as your team travels to Vegas only to discover CES is virtual. Let them unveil their new product at the doors of Caesar’s anyway.
No. 45
Everybody loves a good puzzle
Build some buzz by hiding messages in a series of videos leading up to your CES event. Whoever finds the clues and figures out the hidden message first wins a product or main prize.
No. 46
Take your top prospects to dinner (virtually)
Send your top prospects dinner for two at home from an upscale steak house. All they have to do is attend a webinar, sales call, or online presentation.
No. 47
Singing the blues
Contract a blues singer/songwriter to pen and perform a blues song about missing CES. Make it witty and fun. Send it to your email lists, post on social. Hope it goes virtual.
No. 48
Make it intimate
Contract with a known band (or tribute band) for an exclusive, live, unplugged performance online. Let your prospects and buyers request songs and ask questions.
No. 49
Butter is better
Contract with a sculptor to carve your product in butter, chocolate, wood, or stone. Film the process. Send it out to prospects and potential buyers. Weird and wonderful.
No. 50
Brand your virtual CES experience when it’s over
You were there, so let everyone know it. “As seen at CES” still applies, even in this new format. Make sure you collect and distribute a treasure trove of content to share with prospects and press who may or may not have participated in the experience.
To view a specific Top 10 list, click on a topic below