Thoughts from #CES2016 and a Conversation with Aaron Goldman, CMO of 4C

Excerpts from my interview with Aaron Goldman, CMO of 4C.

Bourque: Having attended the Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2016), what are some of the key takeaway principles, in your expert opinion, which businesses should more thoroughly prepare themselves to address?

Goldman: It’s all about connected devices. Smart cars, smart TVs, smart microwaves, even smart shoes! As more “things” get connected to the Internet of Things, there become infinite opportunities for businesses – whether it’s making your product “smart,” or finding a way to connect your product to other smart things. The best place to start is thinking about how you can add incremental value to the connected customer and then hire really smart people to code it.

Bourque: For advertisers, what do you believe is the most important issue, or further confirmation of what you already do, that individual sponsors or advertising agencies should embrace?

Goldman: While all this new technology makes our world more connected, it also makes our space more fragmented. There are so many channels, screens and things (oh my!) for marketers to reach consumers. It’s more important than ever to try and deliver a consistent message at all touch points. This is a trend we’re betting on at 4C. During CES, we launched a software-as-a-service (SaaS product) for TV Synced Ads to help make the dream of right person, right message, and right place, right time a reality.

Bourque: What additional points, with regard to CES, do you think media companies should recognize and adopt?

Goldman: We need to work together as an industry to define standards for media delivery and measurement in this brave new world. One group taking a step forward during CES was the TVB with its stab at guidelines for programmatic TV. At 4C, we’re working on establishing social media as the prime source for creating addressable audience segments and measuring advertising response.

Bourque: For content owners, what does CES make more important or worthy of greater attention among these individuals and their respective brands?

Goldman: Content owners have the daunting task of creating assets that can scale across all channels and formats. And they need to be able to track everywhere their stuff is running. The key here is comprehensive analytics – finding the right people, partners and platforms to get the job done. CES was a good place to scope all three. We had a number of meetings with companies that can help extend our Teletrax technology and capitalize on the notion of TV Everywhere.

Bourque: Finally, how does your presence at CES validate your recommendations – to advertisers, for example – about enhancing sales and customer engagement?

Goldman: Being part of the conversation at CES affirms that the market wants solutions rooted in technology. The only way to deliver personalization and performance at scale is through convergence and automation. And with that, my friends, I’ll call buzzword bingo!