By Holland Cooke|
Consultant
At my very first “Consumer Electronics Show” they were showing-off VCRs. Back to the future. What we have witnessed this week is less about things than experiences.
No better example: The keynote by Delta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian, in the spectacular Las Vegas Sphere, a bucket-list venue. Google it. Like the Consumer Technology Association, Delta Airlines is celebrating its 100th anniversary; and neither are in business-as-usual mode.
Two days after her Golden Globes Lifetime Achievement Award, Viola Davis co-hosted Bastian’s remarkable multimedia presentation, which ended with a Lenny Kravitz set. Tom Brady was there too. He’s a Delta “strategic advisor,” and will host a new show on the airline’s inflight entertainment system; which will also feature exclusive commercial-free YouTube video.
Delta is using Artificial Intelligence to personalize passengers’ travel door-to-door; including Sky Miles points for Uber rides and Uber Eats, coming soon. Here’s more on his extraordinary presentation, and the airline’s strategy for forging relationships with – rather than merely transporting – their customers: https://news.delta.com/delta-soars-centennial-year-game-changing-innovations-ces-2025
What this means to broadcasters and podcasters? Be more than one of listeners’ – and advertisers’ – MANY choices. Engage them. Entertain them. Know them better and they’ll use you more.
For more on CES2025, hit HollandCooke.com, where I have archived my weeklong radio coverage, and this week’s TALKERS columns.
Holland Cooke is a consultant working the intersection of broadcasting and the Internet. Follow HC on X @HollandCooke and connect on LinkedIn