• CES 2026: Insights & Strategies to Stand Out

    CES 2026: Insights & Strategies to Stand Out

    CES 2025 brought together more than 140,000 attendees and 4,500 exhibitors. It’s known as the most powerful tech event in the world, and the perfect opportunity to shape the future of tech while capturing the attention of a massive global audience.

    The show has proven successful for many of our B2C and B2B clients over the years. And at last year’s show, we saw the floors packed with everything from self-driving (and flying) cars, to sustainable power solutions, smart home tech, micromobility vehicles, mobility aids, AI avatars, fitness devices, beauty and fashion tech, and just about every form of robot you could think of – robotic emotional support dogs, a robotic vending machine that can dispense cotton candy, a robotic vacuum that can also pick up your socks, robots that shake your hand and hand out coffee, and robotic lawnmowers that take the stress out of home care.

    In such a competitive space, how can you make sure your brand stands out? Here are our key insights from last year’s show to help you boost your presence and ensure your brand leaves a lasting impression this year at CES 2026!

    Elevate Your On-Site Experience

    CES 2025 brought more than 6,000 media, content creators and industry analysts. To impress this year’s crowd, don’t just think about showcasing products, try to create an immersive experience to remember. Product displays, brochures and branded swag are essential, but taking things a step further to entice engagement and organic social sharing can help create an unforgettable and energetic atmosphere.

    Some of last year’s hottest booth displays that caught our eyes featured live product demos and test rides (seeing is believing!), themed throwback and futuristic experiences, live music including DJs, eye-catching video displays, life-size installations, giveaways/prizes, robots greeting guests, movie-theatre style setups, virtual reality activations, digital gaming activities and much more.

    Looking for other ways to capture attention while on-site? Consider hosting an after party during CES week. When done right, these parties can serve as a wildly successful hub for networking and relationship building with key media, influencers, prospects and partners. Plus, they bring the opportunity to help shift desired brand perceptions and elevate the overall story you’re looking to tell.

    Many brands may think the investment is far too large, or that the turnout won’t be as strong unless a big-name celebrity is in the room, but that’s far from the case. Sure, it would be amazing to have a star like Snoop Dogg or Meghan Trainor at the after party, but these activations can be just as successful otherwise with the right strategy in place. And we’ve witnessed that first-hand at Matter! The key? Start the planning process and guest outreach as early as possible, provide value and excitement to those you’re inviting, and do your homework to avoid overlapping your party with another from a brand that many may have pre-existing plans to attend.

    Maximize Your Time Beyond the CES Show Floor

    We often get asked from clients and prospects: what’s the most important thing to keep in mind for CES? And our answer is simple: having ample time to strategize, plan and execute to maximize exposure, attendance and impact. After all, the CES experience starts well before the exhibitor hall doors open in January!

    To maximize your time beyond the booth, and to set yourself up for a successful drumbeat of media coverage, here are a few recommendations to consider:

    • Set up as many pre-CES briefings as possible with top media in November and December prior to CES 2026. Tip: consider group sessions to meet with dozens of media at once, and have your press kits ready so that reporters can easily get their stories filed and ready to go in advance.
    • Consider putting your leaders at the forefront of the conversation by amplifying thought leadership exposure through speaking engagement opportunities. Last year yielded an impressive speaker line-up, with keynotes from the founder of NVIDIA and CEOs of Delta and X Corp.
    • Actively seek out award opportunities, including those that are given to brands at booths on-site. Not only do these awards help garner positive brand recognition and credibility, but they also help fuel great content that can be amplified across various PR, social and marketing channels.
    • Look for ways to network with others beyond your confirmed booth appointments. Take advantage of those spontaneous interactions on-site, whether it’s a quick intro to anyone walking by, chatting in the halls or meeting at a local coffee spot.
    • Coordinate personalized follow-ups post-CES that reference specific conversations had on-site, offering additional follow up materials or product samples to increase the chances of coverage. We typically see post-CES media coverage continue to run for our clients into the spring, so it’s important to keep that dialogue open in the weeks and months to follow.

    Embrace the Power of Influencers

    Partnering with influencers at CES in both an organic and paid capacity can help bolster overall awareness, social chatter and purchase intent amongst key consumer audiences, including those who are keeping up with the latest CES trends from the comfort of their home. The show typically drives a diverse mix of tech and lifestyle creators each year, from long-time tech-fluencers with macro followings, to micro and mid-size influencers who are just starting to build out their brand, to larger public figures who were seen browsing the show room halls last year like Martha Stewart, Will-I-Am and Sophia Bush.

    Influencers can create a sense of relatability, making your brand stand out in a sea of cutting-edge technologies. By collaborating with the right partners that are an authentic fit for your product or offering, you can effectively capture the attention of key audiences and leave a lasting impact.

    CES 2025 was a showcase of the world’s most exciting technological innovations. But with so many groundbreaking products and bold new ideas, it takes more than just a killer product to stand out. By creating memorable experiences, you can ensure your brand doesn’t just get noticed—but remembered after CES 2026.

    Interested in learning more about how we can help differentiate and elevate your brand at key events like these through PR, social, influencers, digital marketing or creative services? We’d love to connect!

    Rachel Almas

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  • 5 Tips for a Successful CES

    The Consumer Electronics Show – the preeminent event for anyone interested in leading-edge consumer technologies – is officially underway in Vegas. Having attended the show a seemingly countless number of times, I feel qualified to provide some practical tips on how to best experience it. (And, truthfully, I just provided these tips to my friend Hugh and thought they would be of interest to the wider group!)

    Here is some advice for positively experiencing CES:

    First, there are lots of parties at CES – and you should pay attention to the invitation. That is, rather than blow off an invite to the SONY (or other big CE brand) soiree, you should consider it, because some of the bashes that happen at CES are surreal. Years ago I saw B.B. King in a small venue on the strip, merely because I decided against skipping the party. We’ve all been to good parties in Vegas, but the gigs at CES are better than what happens in the same city the rest of the year.

    Second, and far less exciting than party counsel, I strongly suggest you plan to get a morning coffee and/or eat lunch at the show early or late because the lines – all of them – are ridiculously long. If you are like me – and you require your caffeine strength in the morning – I suggest you plan ahead. Otherwise, you’ll be talking about nothing with another show-goer while waiting in an endless line at the Starbucks cart.

    Third, I strongly suggest dedicating a significant amount of time in each hall of the show, before walking from hall to hall, in the spirit of saving time and energy. Going anywhere in Vegas is a hike, so it’s smart to stay in one area until you are “done” with it. (This sounds like a rudimentary recommendation until you are asked to pop-by a meeting room at the Hilton which is adjacent to the convention center.)

    Fourth, bring mints – and don’t hesitate to share them with the guy or gal demonstrating a new gadget on the show floor who forgot to bring their own. Don’t be stingy, and help the crowd out by sharing your stash.

    Fifth, if you get overwhelmed by the masses, you should consider retreating to the back-half of each hall as they are rather empty. The best “stuff” in the front of every hall will be packed – or, it should be! – but you’ll always find elbow room to the rear.

    Finally – and here’s the best tip – be sure to eat it up! The CES show has a long tradition of unveiling technologies that will change our lives, and this year’s show will likely be no different. Savor the show, and marvel at the power of technology to improve our lives.

    Have fun,

    Scott

    Scott Signore

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  • What should your PR team do at CES?

    With the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) about to begin, I’m sharing a few ideas for successful PR execution at this highly unique event.  Beyond all of the necessary and appropriate actions that should take place in advance of the show – and they are many! – below are a few basic, but fundamental, expectations a company should have for its PR agency team at CES:

    1. From the moment they arrive, the PR team should be well-versed in priority topics so they can speak intelligently while helping to guide discussions. They should be knowledgeable enough to smartly represent an organization when basic or timely inquiries are made. (I’ve found that many interactions related to a show like CES begin before the show officially kicks off, at events the evening before CES launches or en route to the show itself.) In addition, the PR team should be aware of booth protocol for referring individuals who may require a greater depth of response. Not knowing how to properly handle an inquiry means botching a business opportunity.

    2. The PR team should be active and constantly searching for ways to best leverage its client’s presence at the event. In addition to keeping eyes and ears peeled for timely opportunities for exposure – for example, that neighboring booth with the 2nd hottest topic trending the show might be leveraged in a variety of ways – the PR team should be looking to capitalize on ad hoc discussions, unscheduled interactions and random occurrences. (While it’s not always convenient for the client spokesperson, peppering the week’s agenda with unscheduled activities is exciting and positive, and a good way to maximize the investment in having a presence at the show.)

    3. On top of arranging a comprehensive set of press briefings with any/all interested media – again, that’s pre-work – the PR team should be present during all of the scheduled press appointments, ensuring that conversations stay on track and go as planned. Perhaps even more important, the PR team should take copious notes that allow for thorough follow-up after the show. Immediate gratification from press briefings is fabulous, rewarding and exciting, but, alas, not typical. To that end, it falls on the PR team’s shoulders to be certain that all media opportunities are seen to fruition. That process begins by staffing the briefing and taking solid notes.

    4. Independent of a detailed post-mortem that includes next steps related to every press interaction, the PR team should provide timely in-show progress updates throughout the week, so clients know how press activities are trending. For example, are social media channels being leveraged at the show as expected? Are planned activities being successfully complimented with the appropriate volume of ad hoc interactions? Are the press briefings being executed to maximum effect? Are the spokespeople on message? It’s smart to assess how things are going during the event in hopes that any necessary changes can be made during the show itself, rather than waiting until after the event is over and the momentum is lost.

    5. Finally, the PR team should “get,” and be on board with, the overall initiative of the client, and do whatever they can to help.  Though it was several years ago, I clearly remember unexpectedly surrendering two tables within Matter’s own tradeshow booth so that a client could have a meeting with a key retailer – putting PR on the backburner for a sales relationship.  PR activities occur concurrently to sales, marketing, product development and so many other priorities within the client organization.  The PR team should fully comprehend that and do whatever is necessary to help you succeed above and beyond PR.

    Is there anything you’d add to this list? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below. 

    Scott Signore

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