The CES 2017 has reached its last two days. Most of the external events at the Show have now ended. And all remainder energy will now be focused on just the show floors at the Las Vegas Convention Centre and at the Sands Expo, which are still going on in full force, showcasing technologies of the future.

Omnicom Media Group’s OMD had two days of its knowledge initiative, OMD Oasis, at the event this year too. At the conclusion of the two days of deliberations, discussions and takeaways from the Show, OMD Worldwide’s CEO Mainardo de Nardis reflected on the role that CES plays for marketing and advertising professionals.

“CES sets the tone for the year in urging agency and marketing professionals to keep innovating and keep thinking outside the box. Essentially it all begins here, and the continues for the rest of the year. We get to take timely stock in other such platforms like Cannes Lions but this sets the tone,” said Mr de Nardis.

His key message also highlighted working together to make things happen, and building new relationships while moving forward – an approach that the likes of CES help in fostering.

OMD also summed up the key takeaways from the forum in 2017, articulated by Doug Frozen, the Chief Digital and Innovation Officer, for the agency.

Beginning with the famous Alan Kay quote, the best way to predict the future is to invent it, Mr Frozen’s first keyword or takeaway from CES 2017 was acceleration. CES can either be about disruptive technology or the progress made on technologies that have been disrupting the consumer landscape. “As was expected, this year was more about acceleration than disruption and that is fine. Because few years ago we were exposed to IOT (internet of things) and VR (virtual reality). Disruption cannot keep happening all the time. This year has been more about evolution than revolution,” he said.

The second keyword for OMD was progression. If the 1990s were the information age, and 2000s were the interactive age, the 2010s are leading into a new decade which would be about the immersive age. All technologies of today are combining and collaborating to create the immersive experience. VR and AR (augmented reality), AI (artificial intelligence) and Bots added with the Live quotient has created a powerful mix to set the perfect stage for the immersive age.

The third word is trust – where are consumers placing their trust, and where are marketing and advertising professionals placing their trust while navigating an ecosystem that includes machine, data and people.

Integration was the fourth key takeaway. Quoting the example of IFTTT (If This Then That) tech, Mr Frozen explained that the fact that new ways have emerged for bringing connecting things together, creating recipes unique to the user, will open a whole new way of connecting and engaging people.

The final point was to innovate. Innovation at times required firing before aiming instead of aiming and firing. The former has merit because those who dare to follow it stand to gain insights and data that would otherwise be impossible to achieve.