Carl Panczak on Wearable Tech

The biggest thing in tech right now is wearables. Everyone’s talking about Google Glass [below], Jawbone UP, Nike FuelBand and Samsung Gear. But how is advertising going to come into play on these new wearable devices?

It’s pretty clear that traditional advertising methods just aren’t going to work for wearables. Imagine if a Google AdWord displayed every time a Glass wearer interacted with the device, it would look like the below;

Ridiculous, right? In fact, Google has already vetoed advertising on Glass in its developer guidelines.

Wearables are intimate devices. Their key features combine context, location and personalisation. For advertising to work, it needs to harness these elements. As with mobile, the real potential for brands in wearables is through apps and digital services.

Here are some possibilities:

- If you’re wearing Glass and you walk into Starbucks, your Starbucks Glassware app could display your reward points at checkout and remind you to redeem a voucher.

- At home when you look in the fridge, the New York Times Glassware app suggests a recipe based on what it sees on your shelves, or puts together a shopping list based on what’s detected as missing.

- Arriving at the supermarket, the Glassware app displays your list, navigates the aisles and compares prices to help you make smart buying decisions.

- The built in step tracker for Samsung Gear knows when you’ve done enough miles to wear out your runners and the Asics app offers you a discount off your next purchase. Even now, Jawbone UP [below] ensures your steps are synced with MyFitnessPal to ensure your daily calorie intake is on target.

Advertising for wearables needs to be smart and intuitive. Google Now, integrated into Google Glass and Android Wear smartwatches, uses predictive computing to offer timely information like weather forecasts, transit information, or sports updates. Google Now provides an opportunity for brands to create their own cards, as we are seeing with Zillow property listings or FedEx package tracking.

Brands wanting to take advantage of these new devices need to figure out a way to integrate themselves as services, become an indispensible part of the wearable experience and thereby build a valuable relationship with the wearer.

Carl Panczak is the CEO of Reactive New York