CES 2025—8 CMOs share their favorite tech takeaways from the conference

Marketers turned out at this year’s CES to meet with agencies and clients, hear from other industry experts and check out the bevy of technology on display. Eight CMOs shared with Ad Age their most interesting CES tech experience, including moments shared with plucky ad tech startups, takeaways from brand keynotes and observations from the Las Vegas Convention Center showroom floor. These highlights provide a sense of what stood out to marketers at CES 2025 and indicate where CMOs are paying the most attention as they embark on a new year. Six out of the eight executives who spoke with Ad Age cited a takeaway related to AI, showing just how ubiquitous the technology has become and where it might be heading next. Here is a look at what had the marketing industry buzzing at CES. Ad Age Tech Power List 2025 We’re looking for top digital innovators from agencies, brands, platforms, ad tech companies and tech startups Enter here Alicia Tillman, CMO, Delta Alembic’s AI measurement platform “Alembic’s innovative use of AI to provide real-time insights and directly connect marketing activity to revenue highlights how new applications of AI are transforming how marketers drive growth and demonstrate value with a game-changing, future-focused approach,” said Tillman, who joined Tomas Puig, the marketing analytics company’s CEO, for a panel discussion on the revolution AI is driving in marketing measurement. Drew Panayiotou, CMO, Keurig Dr Pepper The Swippitt “Getting to experience the Swippitt, which charges your phone in two seconds, was both practical and a technical wonder,” Panayiotou said. “With everything we have going on across the 125-plus brands at Keurig Dr Pepper, from hosting retailers at college football games to traveling across the country for Voice of the Customer meetings, it’s a dream come true to recharge in two seconds.” 5⃣ “Swippitt”: A toaster-like device that charges your phone in seconds! from @SultanAlFardan 👉 #CES2025 pic.twitter.com/JKB7cu6HrL— Dev Khanna (@CurieuxExplorer) January 9, 2025 Gülen Bengi, CMO, Mars Agentic AI “The conversation that stuck with me the most was one with our partners from Nvidia, who spoke about the speed at which capability and accessibility of AI is developing and the possibilities that agentic AI opens up,” Bengi said. “I left CES convinced that 2025 will be the year of scale, the inflection point where we evolve the way we build brands creating personalized relationships with our fans and communities, co-creating our brands’ worlds together, responsibly.” Read Ad Age’s 2025 predictions stories here Diego Lomanto, CMO, AI platform Writer No more new AI “My biggest takeaway—[Marketers are] not struggling with a lack of technology,” Lomanto said. “The advancements in AI over the past two years have been staggering. The real challenge lies in putting that technology into meaningful production. Most of the ideas and wish lists I heard didn’t require ‘new’ AI; they required new ways to operationalize it. This means rethinking workflows and processes within marketing organizations to be AI-first. I expect we’ll see a lot more focus on this in 2025.” Jill Kramer, chief marketing and communications officer, Accenture Duality of AI “I was struck by the almost polarizing two sides of the conversations around AI,” Kramer said. “One side was almost overwhelmed by ‘AI overload,’ while the other side, with whom I’m more aligned, sees their minds continually opening to the possibilities with every example, sighting and story fueling their ideation. It’s less about the technology itself and more about what AI can accomplish.” Mark Weinstein, CMO, Hilton Delta’s keynote on AI Delta CEO Ed Bastian “framed AI not as the centerpiece but an enabler—a tool to create contextually relevant customer experiences that serve a clear purpose.” Weinstein said of the executive’s address at the Sphere. “Too often, discussions begin with AI itself rather than focusing on the desired brand experience and determining the innovation needed to achieve it. Delta’s approach stuck with me because that’s how we’re leveraging AI and tech to elevate our stays at Hilton. Plus, it reinforced that tech innovations still very much depend on great content, storytelling, and partnerships—perhaps even more than ever.” Don McGuire, senior VP and CMO, Qualcomm BMW’s digital windshield “One of the most exciting things I saw was BMW’s Panoramic iDrive experience,” McGuire said. “BMW has embedded screens in the dashboard that reflect onto the windshield, completely revolutionizing the user interface in the car, while still prioritizing safety and security.” Introducing the first-ever BMW Panoramic iDrive.We are reinventing driver orientation with the first-ever BMW Panoramic iDrive.#BMW #BMWCES #BMWiDriveExpected to be available from the end of 2025, depending on market availability. pic.twitter.com/Aop9pnTQVI— BMW (@BMW) January 7, 2025 Emily Ketchen, VP and CMO, Lenovo’s Intelligent Devices Group Gen Beta and AI-first generations “At CES this week, I’ve had so many conversations about the impact AI will have not just on Gen Z, but on Gen Alpha and now Gen Beta, the first generation in which they will only know a world with AI in it,” Ketchen said. “Imagine what a partner AI will be in creativity, learning, and problem-solving. These generations will experience an unprecedented fusion of technology and humanity, empowering them to innovate and thrive in ways we can only begin to dream about.”

CES 2025—8 CMOs share their favorite tech takeaways from the conference

Featured Stories