CES 2025 Puts Creators
Center Stage

This year’s CES® rolled out the red carpet for creators. 

And spoiler alert: creators took full advantage.

CES® 2025 marked the debut of the CES Creator Space, presented by Sony. Event organizers designed the zone as a dedicated hub for creators to connect, amplify, and learn about the latest breakthroughs in tech.

“I believe that all major conferences moving forward must move in this direction, learning ways to support the content creators on the ground that are pumping out content amplifying news and trends around the topics at hand.” said Chelsea Bear, a creator who shares her experiences of living with cerebral palsy, in a LinkedIn post. 

Held January 7-10 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, CES affirmed its commitment to creators by providing them with unprecedented access and resources. This year’s event served as a welcoming space for creators from a variety of niches, including mobility and digital health to AI and business.

Tailored for Creators

Not only was the CES Creator Space a venue for ideas, it was also a place for action. Organizers outfitted the space with workstations, recording pods, and dedicated lounges for creators to recharge, network, and create content in real time.

Seeing these perks from afar inspired some creators to make last minute plans to attend CES. Liz Espinoza, a creator with close to 900,000 subscribers on YouTube, decided to fly to Las Vegas after seeing this post from fellow creator Tayllor Lloyd.

“I didn’t really know what it was at first,” Espinoza said of choosing to stop by the CES Creator Space in a reel she posted. “But it ended up being the greatest decision I made all day. I ended up meeting new friends here and seeing cool talks with really cool people…”

Creators were also given exclusive access to major CES highlights, such as Delta Airlines’ highly anticipated keynote at Sphere. With help from football legend Tom Brady and award-winning actress Viola Davis, the air carrier revealed major updates to their in-flight experience, including new partnerships with Uber and YouTube.

Reframing Creators’ Value

One of the most buzzed about panels from the CES Creator Space centered around the state of the creator economy.

Among the key takeaways? Creators have evolved beyond serving solely as outlets for promotion and storytelling.

“The creator does not just live in the world with the CMO,” said Kenny Gold, Managing Director of Deloitte Digital, during the panel. “The creator lives in the world with the C-suite. And if your CEO or CFO are not talking about the impact of creators on your business, they are woefully behind where they need to be based on the modern business.”

Jules Terpak, a digital culture analyst and creator who served as another panelist in the discussion, echoed a similar sentiment. Aside from educating audiences, creators also can play crucial roles as advisors on platforms’ growth and development.

“A lot of creators want to be integrated into the platforms that they’re utilizing every day and to help those be better for the future,” said Terpak. “Social media platforms started to ramp up advisory boards this past year, and so much insight has come out of that.”

Looking Back and Looking Ahead

According to CreatorIQ, about 1,500 creators generated close to 182.5 million impressions and 6.5 million engagements about CES 2025. These figures underscore the influential role they play in shaping the narrative and conversation around tech.

As CES looks toward 2026 and beyond, one thing is clear: partnerships with creators matter today and they’ll matter tomorrow. Going forward, this year’s CES will serve as a blueprint for the evolution of events to come.

“Out of all the tech events, it’s the one where you get the most relevant brands in one room,” said tech creator Jacklyn Dallas to the Publish Press. “From a business perspective, a lot of the partners we work with throughout the year go to CES, and it’s a good time to meet in person.”