CES 2026: Editors’ Picks for the Best of the Booth Experiences

CES is a much-evolved show these days. Spread out across three official venues, with many other unofficial ones now in play, creating that punch of brand sizzle (a la the Google Assistant: The Ride) requires a combination of visibility efforts. It’s one of several insights we walked away with from the global trade show for consumer technology, which took place January 6-9 in Las Vegas, a key “pulse check” tentpole for the event and exhibit industry each year.

Speaking of Google, the brand traded in a footprint for a splashy takeover of Sphere. Intel, which famously traded in a booth at the Las Vegas Convention Center for a controlled environment at The Venetian, this year wove its Intel Panther Lake iconography from its keynote to a motion-interactive LED cube within its showcase to a wrap of the monorail. And Samsung traded its vast LVCC footprint for a public exhibition of sorts inspired by its usual visual spectacles.

In short, the booth experiences at CES 2026 were less about showstoppers and 4D thrill rides, and more about hidden gems and deep engagement. And, overall, the energy for the show was there—it’s just fewer brands actually served it back. The CTA reported more than 148,000 attendees, the largest show since the pandemic, with a four percent increase in global media and senior executives.

For this “best of” roundup, we focused on the true trade show experience—the convention center booths—where we discovered numerous year-over-year upgrades, transportive designs, and impactful, choreographed LEDs. Look out for even more coverage of the activations beyond the convention center and our top trends. (Share agency/fabricator credits with RachelBoucher, rboucher@accessintel.com.)

–Reported with Anna Huddleston, EM trade shows editor-at-large

MORE FROM CES 2026: Our team was busy on the ground in Las Vegas. Check out our CES 2026 channel for recaps, video tours and trends reports.

Abbott

Some booths are all style and no substance, but Abbott Laboratories for a second year in a row achieved both. The rich blue footprint had a clear objective, from the physical blueprint on the floor to the modular structures throughout that all pointed to the brand’s “Building Your Best Self” message.

Interactive quizzes with physical push buttons educated attendees on topics like glucose monitoring that tied back to the brand’s bio-wearable products and partnerships, but it was a mini-clinic that had attendees lined up for a skin-deep experience. Inside, a phlebotomist pricked our finger in order to affirm or inform our blood type on an antigen-detection test right before our eyes. It wrapped with a short consultation on our type, a personalized badge to display it (and remember it), and collateral on the brand’s blood donation initiatives. At a show where the brand energy felt a little low at times, it certainly pricked our interest. (Agency: Factory360; Build: Catalyst Exhibits).

AARP

Stepping into the AgeTech Collaborative experience, real voices and real stories transported attendees into the future where technology redefines aging for longer, healthier and more connected lives. We loved the entrance tunnel, the 360-degree experience where attendees could choose key topics to explore and eventually leave with a sense that they not alone in this chapter of their lives, and that aging is indeed not a decline, but an awakening.

The experience encompassed three “zones” of messaging to explore, before spilling out into a final moment with towering LEDs, push button surveying and a large translucent wall where you could see through to the live AARP broadcast stage. Between this immersion, the full programming on stage and the marketplace of smart aging solutions next door, the entire footprint begged us to linger. And the architecture, clear messaging and storytelling, simple dial knobs mixed with interactive digital walls—a personal journey for each attendee—all created a sense of hope and empowerment. (Agency/Build: MC²)

Brunswick

A reimagined, open-concept footprint with a full sensory experience turned our heads away from agriculture across the aisle to the world of high-tech watercraft. Brunswick typically delivers on the immersive demos, from boat navigation innovations, to this year, an appearance from the electric watersports device Fliteboard. But the added elements of a real working water fountain artfully dancing around its ‘B’ logo at the entrance, enormous LED screens combining the tech messaging with the appearance of flowing water, and related soundscape, and clever wave-like neon lighting spotlighting the floor, gave the space extra interest, movement and an escape feel. And a detail we noticed: sound-buffering panels above. A solid upgrade. (Build: Kubik)

Caterpillar

AI was ubiquitous on this show floor, but the best storytellers broke through with design choices and demos that offered ah-ha moments. In the case of Caterpillar, it began with that signature triangular Cat logo play for the entrance moment that incorporated streaks of light and the brand’s yellow intermixed with a blue hue that carried throughout the booth and showed how AI is weaving into the world of worksite technology. Overall, it offered the right balance of big innovations and accessible, informative demos—like the enormous, control-room-style live-feed of autonomous vehicle operations that delivered on both specs and spectacle, no matter the perspective of the attendee that interacted with it. Or the battery-powered prototype excavator that hero’d the booth with a demonstration on a feature built into the machine that allows operators to set a height ceiling to avoid power lines, which physically were built into the booth overhead. (Design and content strategy: Outerkind; Build: MC²) Check out our video tour here.

Ceragem

A recurring exhibitor and award-winner, the brand erected an “Alive Intelligence Wellness Home” experience showcasing health management integrated into daily living spaces. What immediately caught our attention was how it held our gaze—a full 180-degree view with two floors, a larger-than-life “My Wellness Portrait” AI photo activation that created a digital collage of our likeness and merged it into the “community,” and a quiet demo area for massage chairs behind translucent fabric that drove curiosity. Again, LEDs in sweeping shapes—including an LED disco ball overhead that powered the collages—and friendly booth staff all drove conversations around this space at The Venetian Expo.

Clarios

This sleek, architecture-led exhibit was like a glossy paint job on a beautiful car, framing the vehicle display within a glowing grid floor with bold structural portals and glowing hanging strands that gave it a sense of blueprint precision. Transparent, see-through screens (we saw a lot of use of this tech throughout the show) overlayed key information about specific components and systems so attendees could understand what was happening beneath the surface without breaking sight lines. The effect was equal parts showroom and systems diagram—turning complex automotive technology into a clean, stunning visual story that also rewarded closer inspection.

Dreame

This may not be a story of complex architecture or clever exhibit design, but the sheer scale of the Chinese consumer electronics brand’s presence at CES 2026 was hard to ignore. And yes, it was the brand’s largest-ever showcase. Sprawling footprints across the LVCC and The Venetian Expo were designed to showcase the evolution from a standalone smart device brand to a comprehensive provider of connected lifestyles with an ecosystem now covering the home, garden, outdoors and on the move. To showcase that, the brand employed tried-and-true scavenger hunt tactics across thoughtful product vignettes. From beauty stations (with glam-style, shimmering, multisensory facades) to celebrity meet-and-greets, it was all about building a cohesive story of “all dreams in one Dreame.” A real conversation-starter at the show this year.

John Deere

AI-powered automation and data-driven farming were in the spotlight in John Deere’s booth, where attendees could get up-close-and-personal with the new equipment and test out the innovative processes through simulations. From an experiential standpoint, we loved the physical-digital illusions, where physical elements, such as stalks of corn and the magnificent combine attendees love to climb on, were choreographed with video rolling on integrated LED screens, creating an effect that the combine is actually harvesting the corn. We’re seeing this type of scenic storytelling more and more, creating a transportive moment out of static elements. (Agency & Build: MC²)

Siemens

For its consistently strong presence at the show, Siemens this year created a storytelling journey centered around a circular structure that, inside, put the Siemens industrial AI innovation first—its Xcelerator innovation for businesses, and on the outside, real-life (in the flesh) customers whose diverse businesses it’s helping to change. From the movement generated by the LED content at scale around the ring and inside, to a quiet cinematic space to grab a seat, immerse yourself, and then, jot down notes and ideas on an analog note board, the experience this year felt intentional, informative and entertaining. (Agency/Build: Sparks and Freeman) Check out our video tour here.

Best of the Booths: The Hidden Gems

Eastman Kodak Company

Among the smaller-scale booths, a mainstay served up charm. This was a trade show exhibit that told an iconic story with unmistakable iconography, sharp architecture (we loved the larger-than-life camera) and thoughtful lighting to bring into focus new licensed products, such as a 10-inch Keepsake AI Photo Frame and Charmera keychain digital camera. A retro feel jammed with innovation. Splashy brand colors bringing the energy. A confident reminder that legacy brands can dial up the volume even on the busiest of floors when leaning into authenticity and key emotions with clear, on-brand builds.

Lava Tech Brands

Another one on the small-scale hidden gem list, this lifestyle tech company made waves at CES 2026 with its Lollipop Star musical lollipop that plays music directly in your head using bone conduction. Playfulness and a little quirkiness all shone through at this bright-orange exhibit, showcasing a lifestyle product lineup with all the disco-era vibes, minus the roller blades.

Shenchuan Packaging

SCP Packaging arrived with a sustainable booth made out of recyclable cardboard and wood materials. The tree, animals and countertop in the center of the exhibit were fashioned completely out of cardboard, in addition to other displays. Attendees could enter an enclosed hallway to explore its Package Museum that told the story of the company’s history and the evolution of packaging. The illuminated displays featured nature imagery to reinforce the company’s focus on sustainability. (Contributed by EM’s Juanita Chavarro Arias)

Photo credits: Rachel Boucher; Anna Huddleston; Juanita Chavarro Arias