• by Jonathan Blum , January 4, 2006

Las Vegas--Once strictly a retail buyer's event, the annual Consumer Electronics Show, which starts here this week, now promotes seemingly everything from computers, telecommunications, Internet services, and games to--finally--advertising.

Major executives like Microsoft Corporation's Bill Gates, Sony Electronics' Howard Stringer, and Google's Larry Page are expected to make significant marketing-oriented speeches. Yahoo!'s Terry Semel also is likely to announce the debut of "Wow House," a new reality show developed by the Internet company. Additionally, more than two dozen executives, including Starcom MediaVest Group Vice President Tim Hanlon, will be in town pitching their visions of advertising's future.

These developments are unusual because in the past, technology has been king at the Consumer Electronics Show. Fuzzy stuff like services and content are left to other players. Although no doubt there will be plenty of electronics news--expect significant announcements in cellular phones, flat-panel displays, and games--the real story here is content.

In pre-show announcements, Starz Entertainment Group rolled out its new Internet on-demand movie service, "Vongo," to much media applause and Intel Corp. announced a new TV-oriented media platform called "Viiv." Cisco Systems also went the content route with a new DP 600 DVD player with a direct Web connection for downloads. Microsoft also is looking at the content wave, pushing its media management software and online applications for its Xbox 360. And stalwarts like AT&T, Panasonic, and Samsung Electronics doubtless have new products to present.

The good news for marketers--at first blush at least--is that they may wield quite a bit of power in this strange new world of content-hungry gadgets, as shows, games, and software are sponsorship-friendly. In a telling example, one of the hottest inventions at the show is not really a gadget at all, but rather a poker simulation program for the Xbox and PSP and other platforms called "Stacked." The program uses slick artificial intelligence and nice graphics to simulate live play and it is red hot, at least from early reviews.

Sponsorship, anyone?