By Holland Cooke
Consultant

BLOCK ISLAND, RI — One year ago this week…and two…and 10…and 20 years ago this week, I’ve reported here and on radio and TV from the massive, mind-boggling Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Pre-pandemic, it was the biggest event of the year there, and after a week of what’s-new-and-what’s-next, I always left info-overloaded and jazzed and wishing the CES mojo on fellow broadcasters.

The show must go on, minus the open bar.

Lately everyone but rioters is avoiding crowds, so CES too has gone-virtual. It’s minus the ‘Vegas vibe and killer catering, but if you’ve always wanted to attend, and travel wasn’t an option, you (the media) can take-in this week’s big-name keynotes and sessions, and you can peruse exhibitors’ wares. Register at CES.tech.

See also the exhibitors at Pepcom.com. Several that caught my eye demonstrate the opportunity of relevance in this awkward New Normal:

• “In order to move forward, we must adapt to our surroundings.” So MASKFONE is just that, a facemask with built-in earbuds and microphone. Its “environmental noise cancellation feature suppresses background noise” and – because the mic is in the mask – what you’re saying is easier-understood than if you’re talking-through a mask. “When life feels louder than ever, it helps to cancel out the noise.”
• With a video asking work-at-homes “What’s your agenda?” Shure is showing-off the MOTIV MV5C Home Office Microphone, “designed and optimized for conferencing.” It too will “enhance the audio quality of your voice;” and features “quick assembly, simple setup;” and it “automatically defaults to” your computer’s audio input.
• “Targus is reimagining the way we work;” with a UVC LED disinfectant light that “sits on the desktop to automatically disinfect your work station device accessories from harmful microorganisms.” And you can “turn your mobile phone into a desktop experience with the UniversalUSB-C phone dock. Your phone can be connected to monitors and other accessories.”

Hear what’s happening?

It’s called adaptation. Relevance.  Usefulness. As-opposed-to Cumulus having to threaten swift termination for talkers beating-to-death the election fraud canard as terrorists desecrated the U.S. Capitol and the USA suffered our first-ever 4,000 COVID deaths day.

Smart stations will earn ears and advertising dollars by delivering, in effect, a “2021 user manual.” Example? Yesterday here, I urged stations to “Own The Vaccine.” ICYMI: http://www.talkers.com/2021/01/11/monday-memo-own-the-vaccine/

Stay safe.

Holland Cooke is the author of the E-book “Multiply Your Podcast Subscribers, Without Buying Clicks,” available from Talkers books (click the banner on this page). He is a consultant working at the intersection of broadcasting and the Internet.  And HC hosts “The Big Picture” TV show Friday nights at 7ET on RT America.  Follow HC on Twitter @HollandCooke

Tags: broadcasters, consultant, Consumer Electronics Show, Holland Cooke, virtual

Category: Advice