With Nielsen reporting that 15% of consumers are presently wearing technology, advertisers have taken notice. It remains likely that the new iterations of technological wrist-wear won’t feature ads, but as they become more of a cultural staple Madison Avenue will be thinking about how to get ahead of the curve, and here are a few examples of what that might look like. Hypertargeting, a concept already known to advertisers as a way to target people based on time, location, and other factors to serve the ad at the perfect moment, would become easier and more readily accessible on the watch. Helpful notifications or ads that provide value could be thought up via fitness trackers integrated into watches; for instance, if your pulse is high, a green tea company might ping you with an ad to help you calm down. It’s important to note that the smartwatch isn’t just another screen where traditional, interruptive advertising will work: the line between the body and the device is narrowing, and if marketers are seen as intruding what is an increasingly personal space, consumers will baulk.
Category: Percolate
Google Announces Photowall for Chromecast
After officially debuting Chromecast outside of the US, Google today announced a new app for the device that allows users to create a collaborative photo montage on their TV screens. The idea is that anybody takes a picture and sends it to a shared “photowall,” creating an instant collage of photos on a big screen which, in turn, can be shared with everybody, across social networks. So although Chromecast has thus far been mostly about streaming video from mobile devices, Google looks to be making a turn to the social in a bid to be more than just a streaming stick – the goal is social control of the living room.
LG Smart Bulb Syncs With Smartphones
LG today announced a Smart Bulb that connects with Android and iOS devices. In a move that firmly couches LG within the consumer-facing connected home market, the 10W LED light bulb allows users to control the lighting in their homes with their phones. The light also has several nifty features: it can flash alerts when you get a phone call; it has a security mode that can make your home appear inhabited while you’re away; it can pulse to the tune of music from Android device. Most importantly, LG says that the bulb can last for more than 10 years at a five-hour-per-day use rate. For now, the device is only available in Korea for the equivalent of $32, but as the connected home becomes more and more consumer facing, expect new devices to continue cropping up more and more quickly.
IAB Releases Primer On In-Image Ads
With every site looking more and more like Pinterest, brands are getting savvy about making their ads more visual, or going a step further to incorporate branding within existing images themselves. Referred to as in-image ads, a number of providers from Stipple to GumGum are allowing advertisers incorporate overlays and interactivity across set imagery on publishers sites. While this works by enabling a defined set of images, recognition technology will let brands correctly identify brand imagery on user generated photos at scale. They don’t have rights for those images of course…at least not yet.
Check out the IAB’s recently released Primer for more information.
Sony Announces Virtual Reality Headset
The PlayStation 4 will have its own virtual reality headset. Dubbed Project Morpheus for PlayStation 4, the headset is in the prototype stages and is intended to bring VR gaming – and non-gaming – elements to the PS4. Sony is investing heavily in the project, and has already experimented with multiple prototypes. Sony is looking to integrate the device with PlayStation Camera and PlayStation Move, so that it goes beyond the capabilities of the Rift (and other headsets) that are specifically gaming focused; Sony wants to immerse viewers in a virtual reality experience beyond gaming. The device will be prototyped at GDC, so expect to hear more about this in the future. Virtual Reality, though it’s been around for some time now, just got a huge boost towards mass adoption.
MillerCoors Digital Ads Are Coming
MillerCoors is working towards significantly increasing its digital ad spending, and hopes to turn the Internet into a barroom – of sorts. The digital deals include data-triggered ads and customized content as part of a broad, 50% increase in digital video spending for the company. It’s a big sign that alcohol companies, who tend to stick to traditional mediums like TV, are starting to recognize the value of unique, digital advertising. The ultimate goal, of course, is to reach a younger audience that is increasingly having its conversations online – much like in the past when they attempted to inject themselves into bar-stool conversation via TV or radio ads. Having partnered with the likes of Spotify, AOL, Weather Company, Complex Media, and others, MillerCoors is putting a particular emphasis on experiential marketing, with ads that engage users in a new way. It’s a different tactic for the big alcohol company, but it’s a sign of the times: digital, experiential advertising is important, and is here to stay in the Internet age.
Amazon’s Set Top Box Will Be A Dongle
The rumormill has been churning for months now about Amazon’s set top box, and today TechCrunch is reporting that it might not be a box after all, but a Chromecast-style stick that plugs into the TV. As well, the stick will have support for streaming full PC game titles, and would, in this way, be able to compete not only with boxes like Apple TV, but consoles like Playstation and Xbox. It also makes sense from Amazon’s perspective, as Amazon’s store also sells PC and Mac gaming titles. It seems as though the remote gaming service will be akin to that of OnLive, the local streaming service offered by Nvidia. It would be a big, bold play by Amazon to attempt to offer a genuine, living room-dominating device that can truly do it all. We’ll have to see if it’s as good in real life as it is in rumors.
Motorola & LG Announce Android Wear Smartwatches
Fresh off of Google’s announcement that it’s developing an Android smartwatch OS called “Wear,” Motorola and LG have announced new pieces for the operating system. LG’s G Watch, due to arrive next quarter, looks to be a simplistic plastic touch screen much like other devices already available on the market. Motorola’s Moto 360, however, could likely become the creme of the smartwatch crop. With real leather and machined metal, it’s a sleek-looking device that brings the form factor of the smart watch to a level likely deemed more than acceptable by most regular watch owners, who want a device fashionable enough to actually sport on their wrists. Both prominently feature Google’s Android Wear, and represent concrete, physical steps to compliment Google’s earlier announcement to break into the smartwatch space.
PlayStation Vita Gets Suite Of Video Apps
PlayStation Vita isn’t exactly known for its multimedia apps or streaming capacities – it’s more of an on-the-go gaming system. Sony, however, takes a different view: the Vita is a portable multimedia console that should be utilized as effectively as possible. It’s showing faith in this assessment by adding a suite of video apps, including NHL GameCenter Live, CrunchyRoll, Qello, Hulu Plus, and Redbox Instant. The latter two services will be available sometime later this spring, and as such signals Sony’s intent to make a vested investment in the mobile streaming community. As cordcutters continue to increase their potential viewing options, major brands appear to be keeping pace, trying to rope younger generations of content viewers onto different, non-traditional hardware platforms. It’s a trend to keep a close eye on.
Big Brands Embrace the Maker Movement
The Maker Movement is a group of tech-forward DIY enthusiasts who have taken to engineering anything from electronics and 3D printing to more traditional arts and crafts. Not surprisingly, brands have begun to activate this growing community with programs that empower makers and earn goodwill in the process. Consider Levi’s, which produces a video series showcasing unique designers, or GE, which created shared workspaces and makers competitions in partnership with the online makers network, Quirky.
