Brandwatch Bulletin 01/15: Tech Gets Pandemic Ready

Brandwatch Bulletin #28: Tech Gets Pandemic Ready

We look at CES 2021.

15 January 2021

Today we’re looking at the busiest week in the tech calendar, CES 2021, as the trade show goes online.

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The (virtual) doors are open at CES 2021

Just in case you were blissfully unaware that we were in the midst of a raging pandemic, exhibitions at the virtual Consumer Electronics Show 2021 have ensured that you’re brought back down to earth.

The trade show has seen some incredible remote working advancements and smart product improvements, but what really grabbed people’s attention? And how has engagement with the online event been? We used Brandwatch Consumer Research to find out.

You had to be there

Mentions of the virtual CES event on social media were not as strong as those in 2020. We found that mentions spanning the four day event in 2021 decreased 53% compared to those in 2020, indicating that people did in fact miss that in-person interaction which often carries the exhibition wow factor.

That said, people talking about CES on social media this year were much happier about the event and products on offer. We found that in 2021, mentions classed as joyful were 7% higher when compared to the four day in-person event in 2020.

Conversation starters

While this year has bestowed some fantastic inventions, like VR 360 cinema experiences and transparent TV screens which double as coronavirus screens, people on social media have really taken a shine to the internet of things this year.

We found that both smart products created for remote working or life in a pandemic generated the most engagement on social media; a sign of the times. Smart facemasks also saw a lot of engagement this year. We found 4k mentions of facemasks in relation to the event, suggesting there’s some clamour to improve on your average cloth mask.

1k of these mentions homed in on Razer’s waterproof and clear smart facemask which promises an unobtrusive, padded fit, and comes with a UV lightbox charger which can sanitize and charge when needed.

While we’re on smart accessories, we also found 2k mentions of smart glasses. Products exhibited by Google, Lenovo, and Vuzix, while all different and fantastic in their own right, all included features which aim to make remote working an absolute pleasure, like built-in headphones and the ability to view several screens at once.

Computers are always the crescendo at CES, and this year that unwritten rule reigns supreme. We found 42% more mentions in 2021 of laptops on social media, compared to 2020, as more people focused on the need for better personal computers as remote work becomes the norm and more people rely on entertainment systems.

Intel received the most acclaim (9k mentions) for it’s new 11th generation Intel core processors, followed by Nvidia (3k) for it’s new and improved GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card.

Be sure to check out CES within your industry conversation on Brandwatch Consumer Research. While we’ve covered the hot topics, there is no shortage of fantastic concepts this year, from flying cars to warehouse robots, which could be coming to your industry faster than you think.

Thanks for reading

That’s it for today. There’s no bulletin on Monday due to Martin Luther King Day, so we’ll see you next Friday. Don’t miss it by subscribing here.

Stay safe,