CES 2025: Unveiling the Future of Technology and Advertising

A few days post-CES 2025, the PadSquad team is still buzzing with excitement about the transformative innovations we witnessed firsthand. The conference brought together some of the brightest minds and most groundbreaking advancements in technology and advertising, covering everything from AI and dynamic creative to new measurement tools and industry-defining partnerships. Here are the standout themes and trends shaping the future of our industry.

Artificial Intelligence: Revolutionizing Innovation and Data
AI continues to drive innovation across consumer products, business solutions, and advertising. While in years past the conversations have all been around the concept of AI, this year the conversations shifted to real products and solutions powered by AI. 

At CES, tech giants like Sony, Samsung, and Hisense showcased AI-enabled tools designed to streamline daily life and redefine convenience, emphasizing practical applications and functionalities once thought impossible.

In advertising, brands highlighted AI-driven solutions, from bespoke tools to sharper targeting decisions powered by retail data, transforming engagement strategies with precision and insight. For example, Alembic unveiled an AI platform that connects marketing activity to revenue, providing real-time insights that help marketers drive growth and demonstrate value with precision and impact.

Dynamic, High-Impact Creative: Engaging Audiences Like Never Before
Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO) was a major topic at CES, emphasizing the shift toward personalized, impactful advertising experiences. Innovations in out-of-home (OOH) advertising showcased this potential with LG Ads debuting camera-enabled digital out-of-home (DOOH) screens that personalize ads based on age and gender. They also provide advanced measurement capabilities like attention, reach, and movement—perfect for large-scale venues like airports.

High-impact creative formats are evolving rapidly across digital platforms, reflecting a growing emphasis on capturing and sustaining consumer attention. Measurement tools are keeping pace, with attention metrics and performance emerging as critical benchmarks. This shift marks a broader industry focus on quality interactions rather than sheer volume.

The Power of Brand Experiences
With CES being a place to physically experience products and interact with brands, the concept of brand experiences took center stage. Delta’s keynote exemplified how brands can show up in new and unique ways to engage audiences. Similarly, Sony created a booth experience that imagined the future of content and content creation, where creators collaboratively produced studio-quality assets remotely. 

Transformative Technologies
This year, companies demonstrated how AR technology has made significant strides. Innovations range from streaming video directly to your eye, creating more meaningful UX/UI overlays, and even making glasses that are lightweight enough to wear all day. The Meta Ray Ban glasses are just one example here, and the advertising industry will be paying close attention to how these technologies get incorporated into daily advertising. 

Lastly, as video continues to dominate the advertising space, new technologies are emerging that will make video content consumption even bigger. VLC Player introduced AI-driven tools for real-time video captioning, transcription, and translation, that will improve accessibility and inclusivity of video across digital platforms.

Breaking News from CES: Transforming the Advertising Landscape

• X introduced “Trend Genius,” a tool that helps advertisers align campaigns with trending topics in real time, ensuring relevance and impact. X’s impressive 36 billion impressions for NFL content in 2024 solidified its position as a leader in real-time audience engagement.

• Comcast launched “Universal Ads,” a platform that simplifies ad buying for small and medium-sized businesses across premium video content. Partnerships with NBCUniversal, Paramount, and Roku make high-quality video advertising more accessible than ever.

• Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed major updates to the company’s moderation policies, including a shift to a community-driven system similar to X’s Community Notes. These changes aim to simplify content moderation while focusing on free expression.
  
  

The Road Ahead: Opportunities and Challenges
CES 2025 painted a vivid picture of what’s next for technology and advertising. AI’s transformative potential, combined with advancements in dynamic creative and measurement, is reshaping the industry. However, the challenge for brands lies in thoughtfully harnessing these advancements, striking the right balance between technological precision and human creativity to build genuine, lasting connections.

Lance Wolder, PadSquad’s Head of Strategy & Marketing, echoed this sentiment in a recent article with eMarketer: “AI will continue to revolutionize workflows, but the real transformation will come from how it amplifies the creativity and expertise of skilled professionals, ensuring that marketing remains authentic and human.”

Contact PadSquad today to discuss how we can help you leverage the latest innovations to create impactful, memorable campaigns for your brand.