CES Learnings from Sean McCaffrey, President & CEO | GSTV

Sean McCaffrey | President & CEO, GSTV |

In one word, how would you describe your experience at CES this year? 

Knackered (soon to be a GSTV Word of the Day)

What’s the one learning that surprised you the most?

Pragmatism and vulnerability. The editorial cycle and twitter feeds seem to polarize the best or worst opinions of our industry and pursuit of shiny objects. The technology this year felt like the right iterations of established themes . . how voice, 5G, AI and so on can actually improve things for consumer and brands.  And in most of my group and private conversations, senior leaders admitted what they knew, weren’t sure about and how collaboration and new partnerships are critical to shape this evolution. But for all the transformative tech that will change life decades from now, all were honest and absolute about driving results today, this month, quarter and year.  And to the editorial cycle, I do love that one billboard from a company not even at CES led the headlines for a few days.

Is there anything you learned this year that you’ll be implementing within your business in 2019?

Consumer behavior and adoption rules above all else. Devices and connectivity don’t matter if we’re not giving value to consumers . . saving time, saving money, building community, entertaining, inspiring and more.  And consumer expectations move faster than at times, the media plan can anticipate. GSTV sits squarely at the intersection of the consumer journey with technology driving disruption that is disintermediating brands from consumers (CPG for example). We’re focused on using our scale and consumer engagement to help those brands and agency partners find the idea, the innovation and the repeatable strategy to keep following the consumer, engage with real value and drive a quantifiable business outcome. Follow the consumer, not the tech.