The high-profile cancellations of in-person expo hall booths at next week’s CES 2022 by some of the world’s biggest companies hit a new crescendo on Tuesday. One of the biggest advocates of radio advertising is cancelling its full-scale conference and expo plans as the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus continues to cause air transportation headaches alongside case surges in key locales — including Clark County, Nev.
According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Procter & Gamble Co. has withdrawn from all live events at the 2022 event, staged by the Consumer Electronics Association.
P&G, which has been a vocal advocate of the power of radio and its ROI for brand managers and media buyers and planners, joins such heavyweights as Google and Microsoft in nixing their full-scale CES plans within the last several days. Those actions follow the decision of companies ranging from Nvidia to iHeartMedia, Facebook parent Meta, TikTok and Amazon in eschewing live appearances at the show.
Instead of a physical presence at CES 2022, the largest conference and expo to be held in Las Vegas since the 2019 affair, P&G now plans to host a virtual event at http://pglifelab.com.
“Since our planning began for CES 2022, the health and well-being of P&G people and partners has remained our top priority,” the company, based in Cincinnati, said in a statement provided to the Gannett-owned Enquirer. “While we recognize the significant safety protocols implemented by the Consumer Technology Association, given rapidly shifting developments with COVID-19, we’re shifting to an all-virtual experience out of an abundance of caution.”
CES 2022 begins on January 5 and is billed as “the most influential tech event in the world.”
Whether or not that remains the case in 2022 will likely be on everyone’s lips. As RBR+TVBR reached its 1pm PT deadline Tuesday, it became known that, “after careful deliberation,” computer processor maker AMD also moved forward in canceling its in-person presence at CES 2022 and will instead transition to a virtual experience.
“While the AMD 2022 Product Premiere was always planned as a digital-only livestream, our in-person engagements will now transition to virtual in the best interest of the health and safety of our employees, partners and communities,” the company said in a statement shared by a tech industry blog, Tom’s Hardware.
CES attendees must be fully vaccinated in order to obtain a badge for entry into all venues. Pre-events begin as early as Monday afternoon, with a press conference and “Unveiled Las Vegas” event at the Mandalay Bay resort. On January 4, LG is scheduled to deliver an 8am PT press conference. That’s followed by Hisense, Panasonic, Intel, Qualcomm, and Canon — all before 1pm PT.
P&G was scheduled for 2pm PT on January 4.
With digital-only registration option as “the next best thing” to being there, the staging of CES 2022 is becoming ever-more critical to the Las Vegas economy. With teens and young adults driving a surge in Clark County, home to the city of Las Vegas, Omicron fears are intensifying. Then, there are the airline disruptions that have plagued service for days at McCarran International Airport. To add to the frustration is the postponement of New Year’s Eve 2022 performances by The Go-Go’s at the Venetian Theatre to Valentine’s Day Weekend — also now Super Bowl weekend.
Like many artists in recent weeks, a member of the Go-Go’s team recently tested positive for COVID. “Although we are, of course, very disappointed, we will be following proper protocols and postponing our upcoming West Coast dates.”
Meanwhile, the Las Vegas Raiders NFL team has placed six players on the COVID-19 list.
Hotel rates have already been hammered at lower-tier properties including Harrah’s, the Excalibur and the Luxor, the Las Vegas Review-Journal notes, suggesting a much smaller attendance for CES 2022. On Twitter, photos of largely empty planes on important travel dates to Las Vegas, from various cities, were shared.
Even so, CES2022 organizers at the Consumer Electronics Association are marching on, ensuring that all attendees are kept safe and given strong opportunities to learn and grow their respective businesses.
“CES will and must go on,” CES President Gary Shapiro told the Las Vegas Review-Journal early Tuesday, noting that even with the high-profile participation nixes, the conference remains an opportunity for smaller companies. “CES 2022 will kick off 2022 in messy fashion, but it will be chock full of innovation and full of entrepreneurs and businesses.”
