Power outage at one of the world's largest technology and electronics shows triggers flurry of brand engagement via Twitter
Technology brands including Intel and IBM have been quick to jump into the social conversation with a tongue-in-cheek brand approach after a blackout struck the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
The blackout in the Las Vegas Convention Centre’s Central and South Hall bridge meeting rooms occurred at approximately 11.13am local (Pacific) time on the second day of the show. While power within the South Hall was restored minutes later, it took two hours to fully restore power in the Central Hall, with conference organisers confirming on Twitter at 1.09pm that power was slowly being rolled out in the Central Hall.
In a statement, CES organiser, the Consumer Technology Association, blamed the outage on recent heavy rainfall which caused condensation on the venue’s roof to short circuit one of the facility’s transformers.
“A preliminary assessment indicates that condensation from heavy rainfall caused a flashover on one of the facility's transformers,” the statement read. “We are grateful to NV Energy for their swift assistance, to our customers and their clients for their patience and to the staff for ensuring the safety and security of all attendees and exhibitors.”
Many attendees and technology journalists were quick to point out the irony of one of the world’s largest technology electronics showcases without power. One attendee, Bert Kaufman, head of corporate affairs and regulatory at robotics company Zoox, summed it up on Twitter:
“The power has gone out in the central hall at CES… sending thousands of attendees out of the LVCC, shutting down hundreds of expensive marketing activations and reminding us that none of this stuff works without electricity,” he tweeted.
Another attendee, Derek Kerton, asked which brands were going to make the most of the blackout opportunity on their stands, and compared the situation to the blackout during the US Super Bowl. Oreo’s quick and clever response on Twitter, ‘Power out? No Problem. You can still dunk in the dark’, continues to be heralded by many as a great example of real-time social media engagement.
Technology brands including Intel, IBM, ISPN and Texas Instruments were quick to jump onto the #CESblackout hashtag, with many taking a cheeky communications approach to the situation. Here are some of the highlights
Intel, for example, suggested the blackout was the biggest thing to hit the CES show since 5G:
Introducing Blackout™: The biggest thing to hit #CES2018 since #5G. #CESblackout pic.twitter.com/xObxxxHvQe
— Intel (@intel) January 10, 2018
IBM took the opportunity to highlight its artificial intelligence offering, IBM Watson:
Worry about outages? We don't.
— IBM Watson Marketing (@IBMforMarketing) January 10, 2018
Smarter marketing automation that works. Every time. See Watson Campaign Automation in action: https://t.co/1y8Kcq2cbs #CES2018 #WatsonMarketing pic.twitter.com/3IxZIS1ZXg
ISPN was arguably, however, the funniest:
Hottest gadget at #CES2018 right now! #CESBLACKOUT pic.twitter.com/74JD77D59C
— ISPNtweets (@ISPNtweets) January 10, 2018
And there were plenty more:
Our booth looks a little bit different this year... #CESblackout #CES2018 pic.twitter.com/W7Wtjy3Pqy
— Texas Instruments (@TXInstruments) January 10, 2018
Need to navigate through a dark convention hall? #FLIR thermal has you covered. #CESblackout #CES2018 #FLIRCES pic.twitter.com/NTJSAlkkwZ
— FLIR (@flir) January 10, 2018
Can't argue with a classic! Glad to hear the #CES2018 power has returned! Even in a #CESBLACKOUT we still had #FOMO. #ConferenceEnvy https://t.co/YzVvu7ZGO4
— SlickSpaces (@SlickSpaces) January 10, 2018
This year’s CES is expected to attract more than 180,000 visitors, has 4000 exhibitors and runs from 9 to 12 January 2018.
Follow CMO on Twitter: @CMOAustralia, take part in the CMO conversation on LinkedIn: CMO ANZ, join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CMOAustralia, or check us out on Google+:google.com/+CmoAu
Our latest CMO 2022 readiness episode on the great resignation and staff motivation and leadership is now live!
Creating meaningful brands should be a holistic and considered process. However, all too frequently it’s one that is disparate and reactive, where one objective is prioritized at the expense of all others. So, what are the key pieces to the ‘good’ brand puzzle?
Companies encounter a variety of challenges when it comes to marketing overseas. Marketing departments often don’t know much about the business and cultural context of the international audiences they are trying to reach. Sometimes they are also unsure about what kind of marketing they should be doing.
Using data is a hot topic right now. Leaders are realising data can no longer just be the responsibility of dedicated analysts or staff with ‘data’ in their title or role description.
Anyone can become a victim of the sophisticated schemes set up by these scam websites. It's not about being smart; I don't consider mysel...
Mathieu Lecompte
ACCC takes Meta to court over scam cryptocurrency advertising
Nice blog!Blog is really informative , valuable.keep updating us with such amazing blogs.influencer agency in Melbourne
Rajat Kumar
Why flipping Status Quo Bias is the key to B2B marketing success
good this information are very helpful for millions of peoples customer loyalty Consultant is an important part of every business.
Tom Devid
Report: 4 ways to generate customer loyalty
Great post, thanks for sharing such a informative content.
CodeWare Limited
APAC software company brings on first VP of growth
This article highlights Gartner’s latest digital experience platforms report and how they are influencing content operations ecosystems. ...
vikram Roy
Gartner 2022 Digital Experience Platforms reveals leading vendor players