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The Internet of Things starts to blossom

into a genuine marketing channel

Brands can already start to promote their products via If the informative messages are tailored to the user,
smart-homes, smart-cars or wearables in the networked they are not perceived as advertising, but as a service.
customers' everyday lives. New devices, changing user
habits, and smaller displays require new formats, forc- That’s the hurdle retailers have to conquer, as advertis-
ing traditional advertising to take a back seat. ing formats must not only be adjusted, but completely
rethought. Because, whatever works on the desktop,
Wearables enable a quick and convenient interac- does not mean that it works on the smartwatch.
tion with the advertiser
Useful tips for your ‘wearable marketing’:
Still, 99% of our objects are not connected to the Inter-
net, a fact that is most probably changing quickly, as Nothing ventured, nothing gained: Be bold: The
around 350 million wearables are predicted to be in use most successful companies always prove to have a
worldwide by 2018. Most used will be smartwatches and certain courage of taking risks. Start projects first by
fitness trackers, but other devices such as networked using a preliminary analysis, according to the trial-and-
belts, washing machines or smart cutlery will change error principle, to find out which aspects of the project
our everyday lives. Anyway, experts are convinced that work well, which ones not, and which unnecessary pro-
people will soon look more often onto their smartwatch cesses can be left out.
than their smartphone, considering ‘smartwatches’ an
important growth factor and innovation driver in the digi- Be geared to pioneers: For smartwatches there are
tal industry. already concrete application scenarios that achieved
first successes. The parcel service DPD, for instance,
Concise information about a product or a discount cou- makes use of an information service on the Apple
pon can be quickly and easily placed in the visibility field Watch. That way, the customer has the option to re-
of the customer.
6 Asian eMarketing - April 2016: IoT, VR & AR in Marketing
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