There are more than a few industry folks who believe wearable tech is the future of mobile marketing. True, others see it as a kind of sci-fi folly.
Just how much should brand marketers really care about it? That was the question Marketing Interactive asked when it recently interviewed Tuomas Peltoniemi, head of digital at TBWA/Digital Arts Network.
Should brands care about wearables?
“I think wearables are like any other marketing tactic or channel – not everything is for every brand,” says Peltoniemi. “Sports, entertainment, and car brands are likely to be big. The example I always think of is the ‘connected car’, where consumers could, in the future, control their car from their phone. For example, if you live in a cold country, you could start up your car’s heating from your phone as soon as you wake up in the morning – things like that.”
People do these things on smartphone or tablet. But what about new devices?
“A lot of devices such as the Google Glass just aren’t there yet, so they’re not worth promoting yourself on,” suggests Peltoniemi. “I think the next wave of wearables is in creating devices for people. The smart-watch space may be interesting to brands. But even here, there aren’t a lot of advertising opportunities. There are, however, opportunities to create applications that are of value to people. Really, for brands to look at marketing on mobile devices that don’t include smartphones and tablets is a little premature.”
But it’s coming, Peltoniemi believes.
“I think it will only be a couple of years before they start to become more accessible to people. The devices aren’t mainstream yet just because they’re built for ‘technology first’. Could you have, for example, a chip in your suit button that allows you to make payments? You could. But right now initiatives like those will be led by startups, not brands.”
To read the whole interview, click here.