Microsoft to Bow Out of CES 2013, Will Pursue Own Marketing Timeline
By Rob Scott
December 22, 2011
December 22, 2011
- This year may be Microsoft’s final appearance at CES. The company announced on Monday that it is bowing out of CES 2013 with no current plans to return any time soon.
- The company’s involvement has traditionally included a major keynote address, significant booth presence on the showroom floor and outdoor tents.
- “In looking at all the ways that Microsoft is now reaching its customers today (its owned events, marketing campaigns, retail stores, etc.) this felt like a natural time to make this transition,” explained a Microsoft PR representative.
- As CES has shifted from a PC-centric show to an event focused on a wide array of accessories, cameras, PC components, and mobile devices, TechCrunch notes that Microsoft likely considers itself better served showcasing at the likes of MWC, CTIA and E3.
- Los Angeles Times adds that CES, “once a marquee launchpad for some of the biggest new technologies, has struggled to stay in the headlines as big companies increasingly announce new products on their own timeline. In 2011, no eye-openingly new products were announced at the Las Vegas show, and most companies chose to introduce televisions, tablets and smartphones that largely resembled existing products.”
- Microsoft has made it a long-standing tradition to kick off CES with its own news, but no longer feels it is necessary due to its product announcements not lining up with the conference’s dates. Much of Steve Ballmer’s talks at past CES shows have been rehashings of previously released products, and the company seems to be leaning toward investing in its own events to prevent this, suggests All Things D.
- Ballmer will, possibly for the last time, kick off CES 2012 with his keynote on January 9.
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