How Intel’s CEO Set a New Standard For Conference Keynote Speeches


Skift Take

The Intel keynote at CES 2016 last week showed it's possible to keep audiences engaged for long periods of time by blending live experiences and virtual content with next generation technology.

BMX bikers wearing Intel's tiny Curie chips did backflips over Intel CEO Brian Krzanich's head during his keynote presentation at the Computer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week, but that wasn't the best part. Nor was the self-guided drone with collision-avoidance sensor technology that weaved itself through a forest of trees set up on stage, while following and filming a moving mountain biker. The most compelling technology during Krzanich's presentation at CES 2016 was shown in a new video called "Drone 100" filmed recently over a German airfield at night. Intel contracted Austrian-based Ars Electronica Futurelab to develop software to fly 100 illuminated drones in a tightly choreographed dance across a dark sky, with their lights synced to a live orchestra playing Beethoven's 5th symphony. Krzanich's presentation did two things. It set a new standard for experiential, tech-driven keynote speeches at conferences that every event organizer and C-suite execut