Apple WAtch
Apple Watch
The Marketer’s Perspective By Matt Pigott
incitemc.com
apple watch: The Marketer’s Perspective
Part 1. Since Tim Cook’s announcement of the imminent launch of the Apple Watch (AW), every company that needs or has a social app has been looking for an angle—some way to begin or deepen discussions with their key audience. Adoption optimists are already working with developers to come up with meaningful ways to connect with users. And days after the announcement of the launch date, Apple shareholders have clubbed together to try and convince Cook to hook up with electric car manufacturer Tesla. What they have in mind can only be guessed at. But AW is causing a stir, of that there can be no question.
Impressive spec Zirconia back, four sapphire lenses, infrared and visible-light LEDs along with photo sensors that detect the wearer’s pulse rate. An inbuilt gyroscope and accelerometer, working in conjunction with the iPhone’s GPS and Wi-Fi to track your fitness and facilitate location-based services. A taptic engine and audio speaker for calls and alerts. Apps controlled by a ‘digital crown.’ Here’s a smartwatch that’s seriously spec’d out. And let’s not forget the most important thing–AW even tells the time! (Remember the halcyon days when cellphones were only used for calls?) Finally, the Watch’s battery lasts a full… 18-hour day! Well, there has to be some room for improvement…
Taptic tactics Whether the ability to send somebody your heartbeat is just a gimmick–an emotive way to show off AW’s new taptic device–or was simply a metaphor for personalization (Apple’s new buzzword) is open to debate. But this new form of sensory communication–far from just a miniaturized incarnation of silent ringtones–has genuine purpose. Apple’s VP of design, Jony Ive, says: “With digital touch, we’ve developed an entirely new way for you to connect intimately with others [...] Subtle ways to communicate that technology often inhibits, rather than enables.” But with innovation also comes consternation. Will AW open the door to a new digital Wonderland? Or will it open Pandora’s box instead? If the high level of adoption that optimists expect transpires, will we all end up sleepwalking–turn-by-taptic turn–into a tech-dependent, over-connected world? Or will AW facilitate the flow of our lives and present us with exciting new prospects and experiences? Moreover, how will brands locked in the orbit of all things Apple leverage the intimate power of the device, using its inherent capabilities to connect with users in meaningful ways?
Join the conversation at inciteMC.com and via @incitemc
2
apple watch: The Marketer’s Perspective
Part 2. Staying in with the ‘in’ crowd For companies already established in the smartphone space, the real fear will be that— when they try to transpose their existing apps to AW and other smartwatches—they’ll misfire in some way and alienate their followers. For brands reliant on reaching consumers through connected devices, discussions about how best to start new relationships (as well as enhance ongoing ones) will involve a great deal of qualitative and quantitative analysis. But quantitative assessment will be difficult for a year or two, mainly due to the lack of relevant data. Until there’s enough user activity and subsequent information to draw meaningful conclusions, marketers will be forced to work on the basis of suppositions and hypotheses inevitably based on prior smartphone-use data. And who’s to say smartwatches will catch on anyway? If people don’t adopt, buy, and upgrade, any discussions about how best to connect, engage, and monetize will be irrelevant. But let’s look at near-term probabilities: AW sales figures already look promising. Preorders for the watch eclipse the entirety of smartwatch sales for 2014 by a factor of nearly ten to one. If it’s true that the past informs the future, Apple sales will generate a pan-industry rising tide that not only lifts, but buoys the sales of other smartwatch brands. However, even if AW’s success is taken as given, marketers still need to ask some important questions about their role. Do our brand’s service/product/app dovetail with the AW smartwatch, and is it a platform we need to be on? Knee-jerk reactions to early consumer euphoria and jumping on the bandwagon may prove unprofitable in the long run. Especially if it turns out that marketing dollars would have been better spent elsewhere. However, if things appear to add up, then the key question for marketers should be: how do we go about creating a seamless cross-platform experience for users? Let’s not forget that current ‘wearable tech’ is an adjunct to other devices. Cross platform flexibility is the key challenge for brands who want to effectively reach consumers via AW.
Pushy wins It’s widely accepted that AW will need to be more intuitive than the iPhone, with push notifications assuming a more active role in brand-to-user communications. Why notifications? Because they present information in a quasi-predictive way that makes app selection less of an imperative. One of the main challenges for both native and third party developers in the smartwatch sector will be to create content that’s personally relevant to the user, and delivered in a non-intrusive manner. That’s a complicated exercise. And it gets more complicated, because these notifications coexist on the same platform as text messages. A notification on an Apple Watch is a personal, intimate grab for your customers’ attention, indecipherable from that of a trusted friend. When companies disseminate communications on a large-scale, the ‘tone of voice’ they use will be critical. Get the tone wrong, and brands could end up alienating the people they want to engage. Or, worse, the people they’re already engaged with. Timing is also critical; because AW is a ‘low friction’ user experience, it presents companies that are already in digital dialogue (with customers) the opportunity to reach them at times that might not have once been considered convenient—such as between locations, or while they’re waiting for the train. Choosing the right time to engage with the always-connected AW user will be as important as choosing the right tone in which to ‘speak’. If potluck hasn’t worked in the past, fresh data fed through the right algorithms could be the golden ticket for successful future engagement—but it’s a chicken and egg situation; first you need the data, and that will take time to gather.
Join the conversation at inciteMC.com and via @incitemc
3
apple watch: The Marketer’s Perspective
Part 3. Make yourself useful Rather than selecting apps on AW—though this is easy enough to do—users are more likely to respond to taptic notifications with a ‘glance’ that reveals relevant shorthand information. But, marketers beware. The marketing paradigm has shifted far away from the ‘show and sell’ to the ‘be useful’ model. Any company that thinks it can ambush phones with unwanted messages will realize that to continue to do so is, especially when dealing with so-called Millenials, tantamount to commercial suicide. The abiding mantra should therefore be: ‘always be useful.’ Make consumers choose you because you’re useful, and encourage them to allow push notifications from your apps because they’re useful. Here are a few examples of the sort of meaningful AW apps people will want to have: • Real-time retail offers and discounts at point of sale • Location-based tips and services • Apps that, quite literally, open doors (think connected cars / hotels) • Relevant, specific personalized news • Turn-by-turn, pedestrian navigation And these aren’t just flimsy notions. Within a few years, most of these service-oriented apps will figure in our lives, in our everyday routines and processes. Take Apple’s City Mapper as an example: it uses taptic turnby-turn navigation to guide users around towns and cities. How does the thought of never getting lost again appeal? And consider this: it’s 7pm, dinnertime, and you’re exploring an unfamiliar city in the US, and so you run your Pepsi-branded city guide with Zagat content delivering location-based notifications combined ratings of nearby restaurants. Then, with a single wrist tap, you reserve a table at your chosen venue before your Watch gently guides you to your destination. If AW catches on and the rising tide brings more developers and manufacturers to the market, it’s the sort of device that could easily change the way we perceive and interact with our immediate environment–one that could certainly change individual and social behavior in tandem. If that happens, new opportunities for marketers to connect, engage and monetize will blossom. And, while adding value through improved customer experience of ‘brand’ will be the short-term goal for marketers, it will be notifications providing real convenience for customers in the real world that will win them over. Director of Digital Products and Design at The Washington Post, Joey Marburger, in relation to wearable tech suggests that: “Singular bits of information that are very proximity-oriented is what will succeed in the wearable space.” With this in mind, a number of companies are already making inroads to take advantage of these possibilities.
Join the conversation at inciteMC.com and via @incitemc
4
apple watch: The Marketer’s Perspective
Shop until you drop–or your AW dies of exhaustion With over three million users, location-based platform, Retale, is poised to launch its AW app with its driveto-store emphasis and discount deals. But analysts believe that even this model will soon become yesterday’s news, with in-store technology such as iBeacon sensors and NFC readers layering and contextualizing consumer experiences even further. Pinpointing exactly where browsing customers are in-store, and the areas to which they gravitate, and then either notifying them of deals and discounts or providing them with useful information based on what they’re looking at, will undoubtedly become the most effective way of converting them into buyers. And if the queue to pay is too long, a cursory wave of AW over that NFC reader at the end of the aisle will be all it takes to complete the sale. With each turn of the digital screw, the retail marketing possibilities, when executed effectively, promise to bring brands closer to buyers and boost retailers’ profits as transactions become ever more streamlined.
Checking into an open door Beyond retail, American Airlines have plans to launch an app that enables frictionless check-in and fast-tracked baggage collection, made possible by AW infrared swipes. And Starwood Hotels has created an app that allows guests to check-in without going to reception, before unlocking their hotel room door with a single wave of their Watch. Meanwhile, BMW has also latched onto the new innovation: its app allows AW owners to, with a ‘glance’, view the level of charge on their electric car, and if they’ve forgotten where they’ve parked the app will lead them straight to their vehicle. Honeywell has an app allowing users to control their home temperature while Lutron allows remote access to lights at home–perfect for vacationers who want other people to think their house is occupied. As AW evolves alongside the Internet of Things, the possibilities brought about by increased connectivity are endless, and it remains to be seen what fascinating applications developers will dream up next for AW and other smartwatches.
Join the conversation at inciteMC.com and via @incitemc
5
How can we help you?
1 2 3 4 5
Discuss marketing innovation with CMOs and huge brands at our Incite Summits: Meet with 200+ peers to move your marketing approach forward over two interactive days of strategy, case studies and best practice.
www.incitemc.com/summits
In-depth, focused insight on new areas you need to be in: Specialized, strategic summits on key aspects of your marcomms strategy. Our first is on Programmatic Advertising in New York on May 4th and 5th.
www.incitemc.com/programmatic
Get up to speed without leaving your desk: Hundreds of hours of multimedia resources from some of the biggest brands around today. All available at your desk, or on the move.
on demand
center
www.incitemc.com/ondemand
Build your support network and engage with peers to crowd-source solutions: Incite’s innovative approach allows us to leverage the power of a 20,000-strong marketing community. Collaborate with us to find answers, build useful, focused products and generate insight.
www.incitemc.com/collaborate
Detailed analysis, industry benchmarks and revealing interviews: Our online hub features weekly interviews with industry-leading figures, white papers and briefings that go in-depth on critical marcomms issues, as well as statistics and trends derived from feedback from thousands of your peers.
www.incitemc.com
Start Learning:
incitemc.com
#incitesummit
collaborators
The Marketer’s Perspective By Matt Pigott
incitemc.com
apple watch: The Marketer’s Perspective
Part 1. Since Tim Cook’s announcement of the imminent launch of the Apple Watch (AW), every company that needs or has a social app has been looking for an angle—some way to begin or deepen discussions with their key audience. Adoption optimists are already working with developers to come up with meaningful ways to connect with users. And days after the announcement of the launch date, Apple shareholders have clubbed together to try and convince Cook to hook up with electric car manufacturer Tesla. What they have in mind can only be guessed at. But AW is causing a stir, of that there can be no question.
Impressive spec Zirconia back, four sapphire lenses, infrared and visible-light LEDs along with photo sensors that detect the wearer’s pulse rate. An inbuilt gyroscope and accelerometer, working in conjunction with the iPhone’s GPS and Wi-Fi to track your fitness and facilitate location-based services. A taptic engine and audio speaker for calls and alerts. Apps controlled by a ‘digital crown.’ Here’s a smartwatch that’s seriously spec’d out. And let’s not forget the most important thing–AW even tells the time! (Remember the halcyon days when cellphones were only used for calls?) Finally, the Watch’s battery lasts a full… 18-hour day! Well, there has to be some room for improvement…
Taptic tactics Whether the ability to send somebody your heartbeat is just a gimmick–an emotive way to show off AW’s new taptic device–or was simply a metaphor for personalization (Apple’s new buzzword) is open to debate. But this new form of sensory communication–far from just a miniaturized incarnation of silent ringtones–has genuine purpose. Apple’s VP of design, Jony Ive, says: “With digital touch, we’ve developed an entirely new way for you to connect intimately with others [...] Subtle ways to communicate that technology often inhibits, rather than enables.” But with innovation also comes consternation. Will AW open the door to a new digital Wonderland? Or will it open Pandora’s box instead? If the high level of adoption that optimists expect transpires, will we all end up sleepwalking–turn-by-taptic turn–into a tech-dependent, over-connected world? Or will AW facilitate the flow of our lives and present us with exciting new prospects and experiences? Moreover, how will brands locked in the orbit of all things Apple leverage the intimate power of the device, using its inherent capabilities to connect with users in meaningful ways?
Join the conversation at inciteMC.com and via @incitemc
2
apple watch: The Marketer’s Perspective
Part 2. Staying in with the ‘in’ crowd For companies already established in the smartphone space, the real fear will be that— when they try to transpose their existing apps to AW and other smartwatches—they’ll misfire in some way and alienate their followers. For brands reliant on reaching consumers through connected devices, discussions about how best to start new relationships (as well as enhance ongoing ones) will involve a great deal of qualitative and quantitative analysis. But quantitative assessment will be difficult for a year or two, mainly due to the lack of relevant data. Until there’s enough user activity and subsequent information to draw meaningful conclusions, marketers will be forced to work on the basis of suppositions and hypotheses inevitably based on prior smartphone-use data. And who’s to say smartwatches will catch on anyway? If people don’t adopt, buy, and upgrade, any discussions about how best to connect, engage, and monetize will be irrelevant. But let’s look at near-term probabilities: AW sales figures already look promising. Preorders for the watch eclipse the entirety of smartwatch sales for 2014 by a factor of nearly ten to one. If it’s true that the past informs the future, Apple sales will generate a pan-industry rising tide that not only lifts, but buoys the sales of other smartwatch brands. However, even if AW’s success is taken as given, marketers still need to ask some important questions about their role. Do our brand’s service/product/app dovetail with the AW smartwatch, and is it a platform we need to be on? Knee-jerk reactions to early consumer euphoria and jumping on the bandwagon may prove unprofitable in the long run. Especially if it turns out that marketing dollars would have been better spent elsewhere. However, if things appear to add up, then the key question for marketers should be: how do we go about creating a seamless cross-platform experience for users? Let’s not forget that current ‘wearable tech’ is an adjunct to other devices. Cross platform flexibility is the key challenge for brands who want to effectively reach consumers via AW.
Pushy wins It’s widely accepted that AW will need to be more intuitive than the iPhone, with push notifications assuming a more active role in brand-to-user communications. Why notifications? Because they present information in a quasi-predictive way that makes app selection less of an imperative. One of the main challenges for both native and third party developers in the smartwatch sector will be to create content that’s personally relevant to the user, and delivered in a non-intrusive manner. That’s a complicated exercise. And it gets more complicated, because these notifications coexist on the same platform as text messages. A notification on an Apple Watch is a personal, intimate grab for your customers’ attention, indecipherable from that of a trusted friend. When companies disseminate communications on a large-scale, the ‘tone of voice’ they use will be critical. Get the tone wrong, and brands could end up alienating the people they want to engage. Or, worse, the people they’re already engaged with. Timing is also critical; because AW is a ‘low friction’ user experience, it presents companies that are already in digital dialogue (with customers) the opportunity to reach them at times that might not have once been considered convenient—such as between locations, or while they’re waiting for the train. Choosing the right time to engage with the always-connected AW user will be as important as choosing the right tone in which to ‘speak’. If potluck hasn’t worked in the past, fresh data fed through the right algorithms could be the golden ticket for successful future engagement—but it’s a chicken and egg situation; first you need the data, and that will take time to gather.
Join the conversation at inciteMC.com and via @incitemc
3
apple watch: The Marketer’s Perspective
Part 3. Make yourself useful Rather than selecting apps on AW—though this is easy enough to do—users are more likely to respond to taptic notifications with a ‘glance’ that reveals relevant shorthand information. But, marketers beware. The marketing paradigm has shifted far away from the ‘show and sell’ to the ‘be useful’ model. Any company that thinks it can ambush phones with unwanted messages will realize that to continue to do so is, especially when dealing with so-called Millenials, tantamount to commercial suicide. The abiding mantra should therefore be: ‘always be useful.’ Make consumers choose you because you’re useful, and encourage them to allow push notifications from your apps because they’re useful. Here are a few examples of the sort of meaningful AW apps people will want to have: • Real-time retail offers and discounts at point of sale • Location-based tips and services • Apps that, quite literally, open doors (think connected cars / hotels) • Relevant, specific personalized news • Turn-by-turn, pedestrian navigation And these aren’t just flimsy notions. Within a few years, most of these service-oriented apps will figure in our lives, in our everyday routines and processes. Take Apple’s City Mapper as an example: it uses taptic turnby-turn navigation to guide users around towns and cities. How does the thought of never getting lost again appeal? And consider this: it’s 7pm, dinnertime, and you’re exploring an unfamiliar city in the US, and so you run your Pepsi-branded city guide with Zagat content delivering location-based notifications combined ratings of nearby restaurants. Then, with a single wrist tap, you reserve a table at your chosen venue before your Watch gently guides you to your destination. If AW catches on and the rising tide brings more developers and manufacturers to the market, it’s the sort of device that could easily change the way we perceive and interact with our immediate environment–one that could certainly change individual and social behavior in tandem. If that happens, new opportunities for marketers to connect, engage and monetize will blossom. And, while adding value through improved customer experience of ‘brand’ will be the short-term goal for marketers, it will be notifications providing real convenience for customers in the real world that will win them over. Director of Digital Products and Design at The Washington Post, Joey Marburger, in relation to wearable tech suggests that: “Singular bits of information that are very proximity-oriented is what will succeed in the wearable space.” With this in mind, a number of companies are already making inroads to take advantage of these possibilities.
Join the conversation at inciteMC.com and via @incitemc
4
apple watch: The Marketer’s Perspective
Shop until you drop–or your AW dies of exhaustion With over three million users, location-based platform, Retale, is poised to launch its AW app with its driveto-store emphasis and discount deals. But analysts believe that even this model will soon become yesterday’s news, with in-store technology such as iBeacon sensors and NFC readers layering and contextualizing consumer experiences even further. Pinpointing exactly where browsing customers are in-store, and the areas to which they gravitate, and then either notifying them of deals and discounts or providing them with useful information based on what they’re looking at, will undoubtedly become the most effective way of converting them into buyers. And if the queue to pay is too long, a cursory wave of AW over that NFC reader at the end of the aisle will be all it takes to complete the sale. With each turn of the digital screw, the retail marketing possibilities, when executed effectively, promise to bring brands closer to buyers and boost retailers’ profits as transactions become ever more streamlined.
Checking into an open door Beyond retail, American Airlines have plans to launch an app that enables frictionless check-in and fast-tracked baggage collection, made possible by AW infrared swipes. And Starwood Hotels has created an app that allows guests to check-in without going to reception, before unlocking their hotel room door with a single wave of their Watch. Meanwhile, BMW has also latched onto the new innovation: its app allows AW owners to, with a ‘glance’, view the level of charge on their electric car, and if they’ve forgotten where they’ve parked the app will lead them straight to their vehicle. Honeywell has an app allowing users to control their home temperature while Lutron allows remote access to lights at home–perfect for vacationers who want other people to think their house is occupied. As AW evolves alongside the Internet of Things, the possibilities brought about by increased connectivity are endless, and it remains to be seen what fascinating applications developers will dream up next for AW and other smartwatches.
Join the conversation at inciteMC.com and via @incitemc
5
How can we help you?
1 2 3 4 5
Discuss marketing innovation with CMOs and huge brands at our Incite Summits: Meet with 200+ peers to move your marketing approach forward over two interactive days of strategy, case studies and best practice.
www.incitemc.com/summits
In-depth, focused insight on new areas you need to be in: Specialized, strategic summits on key aspects of your marcomms strategy. Our first is on Programmatic Advertising in New York on May 4th and 5th.
www.incitemc.com/programmatic
Get up to speed without leaving your desk: Hundreds of hours of multimedia resources from some of the biggest brands around today. All available at your desk, or on the move.
on demand
center
www.incitemc.com/ondemand
Build your support network and engage with peers to crowd-source solutions: Incite’s innovative approach allows us to leverage the power of a 20,000-strong marketing community. Collaborate with us to find answers, build useful, focused products and generate insight.
www.incitemc.com/collaborate
Detailed analysis, industry benchmarks and revealing interviews: Our online hub features weekly interviews with industry-leading figures, white papers and briefings that go in-depth on critical marcomms issues, as well as statistics and trends derived from feedback from thousands of your peers.
www.incitemc.com
Start Learning:
incitemc.com
#incitesummit
collaborators
