At the show, Schick, the Energizer Holdings brand, is introducing a battery-operated razor, the Hydro 5 Power Select. While vibrating razors, which some men think give closer shaves, are nothing new, Schick’s entry has what the brand says is a first: three speeds.
“Guys expect high levels of customization,” said Patrick Kane, the senior brand manager for Schick Hydro. “If you haven’t shaved all weekend, you may on Monday morning want the highest speed, but on the sensitive spots want the low speed.”
Still, songs cannot be downloaded to the razor, and it does not double as a flash drive, so its appearance at a tech show may strike some as a stretch.
“Razors at C.E.S. sounds kind of kooky,” conceded Mr. Kane. “We’re aware that we’re not Samsung or another big tech company bringing in the next wide-screen TV or iPad.”
Going to the show was the idea of Schick’s public relations agency, Edelman, and the brand hopes to get attention from tech outlets that do not typically cover grooming.
The 18- to 34-year-old men at whom Schick is primarily aiming the new razor also are apt to be drawn to the tech coverage.
“Our target also has a high incidence of flat-screen television ownership, they spend a lot of time online, and a lot own smartphones,” Mr. Kane said.
Schick is among a number of brands in recent years that have been drawn to the electronics show not in spite of the fact that they will stick out but because of it.
Serta, the mattress brand, will appear at the show this year for the first time to highlight its iComfort line, which includes memory foam mattresses that it claims are more breathable and supportive than those of its competitors. The mattresses will be atop new frames that, using a wireless remote, can be raised at the head or foot or be put in massage mode.
“This is a breakthrough in memory foam and sleep technology,” said Kelly Ellis, director of integrated marketing at Serta.
Another reason to display beds at an electronics show: consumers are apt to use high-tech devices while tucked in.
“A lot of these products being shown at C.E.S. are going to be used in the bed,” said Ms. Ellis, citing a 2011 National Sleep Foundation study that found that 95 percent of Americans engage with electronics like televisions, laptops or smartphones within an hour before bedtime.
Jason Oxman, the senior vice president for industry affairs at the Consumer Electronics Association, which hosts the show, said the event has evolved considerably since first being held in 1967.
“It does have the well-deserved reputation for being the launching pad for new technology, but it also does provide an attractive launching pad for innovation of any kind,” Mr. Oxman said.
Increasingly flying the technology flag in recent years are car companies, which have stepped up their presence at the show. Last year, Ford introduced the Focus Electric there, the first time an automaker chose to unveil a model at the electronics show before an auto show.
Craftsman, the Sears tool and home-improvement brand, is making its first appearance at the show this year, with innovations on old standbys. Its new Assurelink garage door openers, for example, connect openers to the Internet, enabling homeowners to raise or lower doors with smartphones or computers from anywhere.
In past years, brands whose appearance at the show was unexpected received plenty of exposure.
Last year, Reese’s, the Hershey Company brand, appeared at the show to introduce Reese’s Minis, dime-size peanut butter cups that are unique for not being individually wrapped in foil. Not needing to be unwrapped, representatives emphasized at the show, means the candy can be consumed without having to put down a videogame joystick.
“As technology gets smaller and smaller, so does your candy,” said Anna Lingeris, a spokeswoman for Reese’s.
Within 24 hours of the prodcut’s introduction at the show, it was mentioned on more than 400 Web sites, including Forbes, the Huffington Post and CrunchGear, according to Ms. Lingeris, who said the idea to appear at the show came from M. Booth, the public relations firm.
“The big thing we learned from the launch is do something unpredictable,” Ms. Lingeris said.
Trojan, the Church Dwight brand, made its first appearance at the show last year to spotlight products including a new ultrathin condom, BareSkin, and a vibrator that can assume four different positions, the Vibrating Twister.
The brand, like Schick, is represented by Edelman, and was encouraged by the agency to attend the show, where it made the chief scientist and condom developer for Trojan, Michael Harrison, available for interviews.
Trojan’s unexpected appearance was covered by outlets that included Fast Company, Forbes, MSNBC and The Los Angeles Times.
Trojan entered the vibrator market, which it estimates at $1 billion in sales annually, in 2010, and has done much to make the category more visible, including placing ads for the products on daytime and prime-time television, and selling them in stores including Walmart.
Bruce Weiss, the vice president for marketing for Trojan, said that along with playing up the technological aspects of the products, appearing at the show also improved its image.
“By unveiling our vibrators at such a public forum as C.E.S., we felt this was a great way of further mainstreaming the category,” Mr. Weiss said.
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