Healthcare continues to hold attention for attendees at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2024, with innovations blurring the lines between consumer tech and medical advancement. Here’s a snapshot for agency stakeholders, focusing on marketing implications:

1. Personalization & Precision Medicine Triumph: AI-Powered Diagnostics and Wearables: Analyze individual data for personalized preventive care and treatment pathways. Think home-based genetic testing, smart patches for real-time vitals monitoring, and AI-driven home mirrors giving us a peak at our health with each glance
2. Gamification for Behavior Change: Apps and wearables using game mechanics to incentivize healthy habits and medication adherence. Imagine earning rewards for reaching exercise goals or completing your prescriptions. Wearable health ring Evie shows how data and reward mechanisms are intermingled
3. Virtual Care & Remote Monitoring Explode—Immersive VR Experiences: Enhance patient education and therapy, from virtual pain management to surgery simulations. Imagine patients with PTSD facing fear triggers in a controlled VR environment
4. Telehealth Advancements: AI-powered triage tools, virtual consultations with augmented reality displays, and even robotic companions for remote patient monitoring. Prepare for campaigns showcasing convenience and accessibility of virtual healthcare
5. Pharma Marketing Revolves Around Patient Empowerment: Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Marketing Tools: Leverage wearables and personalized data insights to educate patients about their health and potential treatment options. Remember, focus on educational value and avoid misleading claims 
6. Patient Advocacy and Community Building: Partner with patient advocacy groups to leverage social media and online communities for authentic disease awareness campaigns

CES 2024 highlighted a healthcare landscape increasingly driven by personalization, technology, and patient empowerment. Although consumers are still adopting emerging consumer platforms—especially in the healthcare category—marketers should plan to adapt marketing strategies to embrace these trends, prioritize data privacy and ethics, and create campaigns that resonate with tech-savvy, informed patients.

Keep an eye on the “Future of Care” track at CES 2025 for insights into how other industries, like AR/VR and robotics, will further shape healthcare marketing.