Do you remember the days when the annual Apple conference recordings were THE thing for everyone to discuss conference dramaturgy and set-up? Steve Jobs was one of the first and
best to impress a direct audience and thousands of business conference designers around the world with his unique cool stance, speaking on a huge stage like he was in his living room with a few
friends, wearing the signature outfit of blue jeans and a black turtleneck pullover.
A similar personality cult today emerges around Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who also sticks consistently to his all-black look with a leather jacket and t-shirt, on the big stage of
the annual GTC 2025 in front of a huge audience
(> 20.000 in-person and >300.000 online!) or in one of the countless podcasts and interview sessions he's currently invited to.
But this seems to be a US thing - or can you imagine one of our German bank CEOs without their suits? Christian Klein from SAP is at least coming closer with his t-shirts underneath the business
suit jacket.
Let's have a closer look on how Big Tech has shifted from large-scale keynote showmanship to intimate, digitally-native formats — and what this reveals about communication in the AI era.
Big Tech Conference Style 2025
This year's annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2025 did not bring the big AI news everybody - and especially the Apple investors - were waiting for, but held on to a signature dramaturgy.
Having created this kind of video-to-action-on-stage-transition myself for a few events I truly love the opening movie, as a transition into the opening keynote of Tim Cook.
Like the video narrative, most of the WWDC presentations featured the corporate headquarters in Cupertino, California which was only possible since the conference was primarily an online event, only allowing in-person audience for select programme elements.
This was different in other major tech conferences in the last months, Google I/O even celebrated the live character by streaming the pre-show DJ-Set in full-length, showcasing nice animations and musician Toro y Moi performing with Google's Lyria RealTime.
Also, the Microsoft Build 2025 took place with in-person audience, but this may change in coming years, as keynote speeches were interrupted two days in a row by political protesters, similar to an action earlier this year during the 50-year speech of Satya Nadella.
One can only imagine what happens behind the scenes around those events. With model novelties and feature highlights being announced at high pace globally it is harder than ever for communication strategists to decide about the right moment to get maximum reach and awareness.
The Information, As Martin Peers writes in 'The Information/The Briefing' (19 May 2025): "These big tech companies are spending tens of billions on AI development every year... Microsoft, OpenAI and Google are racing to release nearly identical features within days of each other.”
This increases the pressure on event planning — and the stakes for communication strategists choosing the right moment to break the news. One can only hope that last-minute event preparations and changes are easier to handly with their powerful AI tools...
The Rise of Cozy Studio Chats
But next to those huge stage settings quietly over the last years a new format for launches emerged, I call them the 'cozy studio chats'.
I had Google's Gemini Deep Research analyze dozens of AI launch videos from the past three years, and the pattern is unmistakable. While European and Asian execs still favor polished keynotes with branded backdrops, AI companies have stripped everything down to basics: three to four people, decent lighting, maybe a plant in the corner or some fancy living room background.
The magic is in making breakthrough technology feel like a conversation you're hearing between smart friends. No corporate theater, no carefully orchestrated applause breaks. Just 'Hey, we built something cool, want to see it work?' This strategic intimacy works because AI feels threatening to many people. Cozy chats make cutting-edge tech feel approachable. When you're announcing technology that could reshape civilization, the last thing you want is the polished distance of a traditional corporate presentation. You want people thinking 'These seem like reasonable humans' rather than 'These people are plotting world domination from their million dollar headquarters'.
Key Takeaway Aspects from the Gemini Research:
- Minimalist aesthetics and simple sets
- Problem-solution narrative structure
- CEO presence with casual-professional tone
- Focus on empowerment and responsibility
- Motivated by speed, cost-efficiency, and control
If you are interested in the full 29 pages report with an analysis per AI company and video history read it HERE
Behind the Curtain: Strategic Communication in AI Times
A benchmark of this format, and also a great communication concept, was OpenAI 'shipmas' (12 Days of OpenAI), delivering a major feature, model, or other relevant news and creating a maximum buzz in the pre-Christmas weeks. If you are working in the field of marketing or PR you will know what kind of effort was invested into this campaign.
My Gemini Research lists a few key markers of those videos, but one thing that stands out to me is that content is key. Those videos mostly do not have extensive brand animations or typical broadcasting elements.
As everything happens so fast in the AI bubble, you can't imagine internal teams and external agencies iterating storyboards, visuals, and ideas for weeks, as it is common in Europe when talking about event and campaign branding. Three or more people sitting around a table, a generic background, two or three camera positions, that's it.
On a channel with 1.57million subscribers, you would probably expect more visual design for core presentations, like this very simplistic
o3/o4mini launch with OpenAI board member Greg Brockman, it looks like they did it more or less spontaneously on a Friday afternoon before sending everyone into the
weekend. But of course, this won't be true. It probably has the same scripted perfection, but with a casual style, conveying the
message "We let you sneak into our rooms - we are one community".
This deliberate subtle message is probably one reason, but also the
production agility, following the volatility in product development timing. Maybe it is also based on the assumption that users value relatability and transparency over showmanship. And of
course, videos allow for a global reach that is hard to reach with physical events. Not to forget that a huge AI influencer base exponentially multiplies the video bits in their own YouTube
channels, blogs, and newsletters.
However, the users, tech influencers, and developers community accept it, and so do obviously enterprise customers. I have no clue how major B2B deals are closed, do they take place in
well-designed showrooms or glamour-less in random hotel meeting rooms? I'm super curious, if anyone has insights, let me know!!
does Europe Keep Wearing Power Suits?
I would like to close this blog post with a question into the broader community of business event experts:
Is this shift primarily a US-big-tech one or does it tell us about how we communicate and connect in the age of AI?
So far I don't see it affecting the way European companies communicate their news, but maybe I overlooked proof of this democratization of communication — less “power suit,” more “shared screen” - as it is rather happening in internal or industry-specific channels.
What does this say about how we connect in the age of AI?
“f storytelling and accessibility are the new power suits, who will be the first to embrace them outside Silicon Valley? Will the Future of Business Communication Looks Like a Podcast and who finds out first?
Curious how these trends may impact your own communication strategy or event design?
Let’s talk about ways to make your message resonate in the AI era!
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