The Mobile & Wearable Web (Part 2) - People's Insights | April 2015
Transcript
- 1. Part 2: The Mobile & Wearable Web PEOPLE’S INSIGHTS MONTHLY BRIEF: APRIL
- 2. Wearable tech is the buzz word of 2015, and rightly so. The fairly new landscape of wearable technology is already dotted with promising prospects. Emerging trends and innovations are paving the way for a more connected, seamless and integrated world. Smartwatches, fitness trackers and wristbands that monitor overall health are quite commonplace today, and are increasingly becoming a part of people’s everyday lives. One of the reasons wearables are rising in popularity and preference is their association with mobile phones and the Internet of Things (IoT). Most wearables, for optimal functionality, require a corresponding mobile app. This close relationship with mobiles makes wearable tech much more accessible and desirable to people. Wearables allow people to know themselves better – by providing insights into their daily habits and activities. In Part 2 of this two-part series on the rising mobile and wearable space, we explore eight interesting initiatives - wearables and mobile applications that are changing the lives of consumers as well as modern business. Click here to view Part 1: The Mobile & Wearable Web. Introduction
- 3. Photo: Studio Roosegaarde on Flickr Why do we as communications professionals need to be abreast of the latest developments in Wearables? Adrian Rosenthal (@neurosenthal), Head of Digital & Social - MSL Germany explains how we can leverage wearable tech to offer value to our clients. His article is filled with key takeaways and insights from the recent Mobile World Conference (MWC) and South by Southwest (SXSW).
- 4. Wearables – Enhancing the Quality of Life While wearables are still - to a large extent - looked at as personal style statements, they’re evolving to offer more features and value. We’re noticing a gradual but definite shift to improve how people live, work and socialise, especially as the wearable industry expands beyond fitness trackers and smartwatches. 1. Making Events Shareable: Insider Band The Insider Band uses NFC technology in an innovative way to make social events (like music festivals) more shareable. The wristband enables festival-goers to perform mobile activities like sharing photos and checking in to events with a tap of the wrist - without the need for cell phone reception from service providers. 2. Making Travel Seamless: Sesame Ring The Sesame Ring could change how people use public transport. The ring tackles the challenge of having to spend time fishing for travel cards in bags and wallets at subway stations. This invention embeds the RFID technology of subway cards within the rings – making getting access to stations as easy as flashing the ring. 3. Bridging the Gap between Virtual & Reality: Oculus Rift Virtual Reality headset Oculus Rift is turning the world of virtual reality around with applications that go beyond gaming - for use in healthcare, military training and more.
- 5. Wearables – Pushing the boundaries of Healthcare Health and fitness-related wearables dominate the market today, and they’re predicted to grow. The data collected by health-oriented wearables presents a huge opportunity for doctors and the healthcare community, and enables them to glean better insights about their patients’ health. The healthcare industry is already using data obtained from wearables to a certain extent: research firm IDC says that by 2020, 70% of healthcare organisations will be using wearables for improved patient care. 4. Predicting Epilepsy Attacks: Embrace Wristband The Embrace wristband by Empatica could significantly improve the quality of life for those suffering from epilepsy. Combining motion data with stress levels detected from the wearer’s skin, Embrace alerts the wearers as well as their friends, family members and doctor about a possible epilepsy attack. 5. Making Healthcare Safer: Smart Bandaid Joining the fight against Ebola is the Smart Bandaid – a wearable that lets doctors and caregivers monitor patients’ health without having to be present next to them. This can bring down the risk of contracting Ebola for those attending to the patients, leading to better quality of treatment and care. 6. Monitoring Health from Day 1: Smart Diapers Pixie Scientific, a company that studies biological human data for insights, has created a range of diapers that unobtrusively track urine from used diapers to detect potential irregularities that could point to the infant’s risk of developing illnesses (like type 1 diabetes) and kidney ailments.
- 6. Mobiles – Seamless Integration & Impactful Storytelling With more and more of the world turning to mobile phones to do everything from placing a call to tracking heart beats, it make sense for businesses and brands to integrate mobiles into the communications strategy and the product development process to become more relevant to people. 7. Catering to the Mobile Generation: IKEA’S Wireless Charging Furniture IKEA’s new range of furniture that charges mobile phones without the use of wires is a revolution in the furniture industry. With its aesthetically designed furniture that caters to the mobile era, it almost treats mobiles as extensions of our bodies. 8. Using Constraints to Create a Story: Nat Geo Wild on Snapchat Content on Snapchat self-destructs after 24 hours, making the channel a perfect fit for Nat Geo Wild’s campaign to raise awareness about the declining population of big cats in the wild. Nat Geo Wild chose the Snapchat Story feature to show its followers images of big cats – images which slowly faded away as users scrolled through them, never to be seen again. We hope you enjoy this issue. Let us know what you think at @PeoplesLab. Nidhi Makhija-Chimnani Director – Research and Insights, MSLGROUP @NidhiMakhija Melanie Joe Consultant – Research and Insights, MSLGROUP @melanie_joe
- 7. Wearables Galore – But How Can We Leverage Them in Our Daily PR Work? Adrian Rosenthal Head of Digital & Social Media, MSL Germany @neurosenthal Based in Berlin, Adrian is a self- tracking enthusiast and owns a Nike FuelBand as well as a Pebble smartwatch.
- 8. Google Glass, Nike Fuelband or smart watches like Pebble – smart wearable technologies are not just on everyone’s lips, but can also be found more and more on wrists (or tips of noses for that matter). Although Marty McFly already sported a smart jacket, we can’t go back to the future and are seemingly still some light years away from wearables becoming a mass phenomenon. However, they are already more than just a trend or passing fad being hyped by some tech geeks. New products and innovations are regularly being discussed not only in specialized blogs or dedicated tech websites, but also everywhere from the NYT to CNN. Wearables and other new connected technologies are more than just gadgets and an extension of mobile communication: they are the epitomes of a megatrend towards a smarter and connected lifestyle – smart mobile health, smart mobility, etc. – via IoT (Internet of Things) technologies. Thus, even though a majority of people still regard wearables as useless gadgets for self-tracking geeks, there’s no denying that wearables technologies and smart IoT devices are becoming more and more deeply entrenched in our lives. We as communications experts naturally have to be on top of the developments - we have to follow and analyze new trends to see how to incorporate them into our work. That is why we attend MWC, SXSW or the IFA in Berlin - that is why we have to be curious about new products and mingle with experts and developers alike. Top: Nike Bottom: Pebble
- 9. Under the impression of both MWC and SXSW 2015, I have also pondered the question on how we can already use wearable technologies – understood as both the trend and actual products - in our daily work for clients. Here is my top ten list: 1. We should be curious guides for our clients and colleagues As communicators with a focus on digital and tech, we need to maintain a curious mind for new technologies. Like we did with Facebook, Twitter and other social networks a couple of years ago, we need to look at how these new technologies change the modes of communications and our lifestyles, test them, work with them – and then share our insights and opinions with clients and colleagues alike. 2. We need to tell innovative stories Wearables certainly have not become a mainstream technology for most consumers thus far. While some question the value, others voice concerns regarding data privacy. Thus, our challenge is to communicate the benefits of these new technologies via creative storytelling and contextualizing these innovations as well as building trust through transparency. Photo: Frits Ahlefeldt-Laurvig on Flickr
- 10. 3. Big Data: Chances and challenges The collection of personal data is obviously a hot topic and a communicative challenge for brands and developers, but big data also offers chances, especially when it comes to targeted marketing and advertising. Furthermore, analyzing user data and usage patterns can lead to optimized and individualized products and/or content. 4. Building a community Many developers of wearable technologies also create communities with gamification elements around their products. Users of activity trackers like Fitbit or the Nike FuelBand don’t just want to collect their own data and keep quiet about it, they want to share updates and compete in rankings with their friends and peers. The creation of communities which enable users to engage with each other not only creates a bond between users, but also between brand and its users. 5. Brand love and brand ambassadors In most cases, users of wearables will also become – voluntary as well involuntary – brand ambassadors. They not only share data with brand/companies, they also share status updates, activities, pictures, via Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and thus create buzz for the products they wear and applications they use. iWatch, Pebble and co. also tend to be lifestyle products, which are talked about and also shown off by its owners. Top: NEC Corporation of America on Flickr
- 11. 6. “Piggybacking” and brand partnerships Many of the wearables on the market have open APIs which can be used by other companies. Fitbit for example has a multitude of existing partnerships with companies ranging from Weight Watchers to Walgreens. Thus, even companies who do not have their own wearables devices have the opportunity to benefit from these by programming their own applications and integrating their own services into existing wearable technologies. This is something we will likely see a lot more of in the future. 7. Campaigns with a focus on wearables Although the amount of users for may still somewhat limited, some brands have already started PR and marketing campaigns revolving around wearables technologies. Kenneth Cole for example called upon Google Glass users to accomplish a set of actions and document them via Google Glass. Likewise, Nike placed vending machines at certain spots in New York where runners could get goodies by way of their accumulated fuel points. Thus, even though the initially targeted group was limited: Using wearable technologies in a communications campaign is still a newsworthy novelty factor. Once Mashable and the like pick up a story, broad coverage is guaranteed. Photo: Kārlis Dambrāns on Flickr
- 12. 8. Communication on the run Nike is not the only company which has started a context- and location-based communication with fans and customers. Another example is the dog food brand Granata: They put up advertising billboards which animated people walking their dogs to check in via Foursquare to get some samples of the food right on the spot. With the advent of the iWatch and other smart watches in combination with new technologies such as iBeacons, we will likely see a lot more of context- and location-based marketing and PR campaigns. 9. Wearables in internal communications Various companies have already started implementing different wearable technologies as part of their internal communications. Salesforce has started a distinct developer program for smartwatches and Google Glass which has resulted in applications supporting CRM or approval processes. Another example is the corporate health app Keas, which aims at animating employees to be mindful of their health and well-being at work by incorporating gamification elements and incentives. Our role as social business consultants is to be strategic advisors and recommend the right tools out of an ever-evolving wearable toolbox. Photo: Tayla Lyell on Flickr
- 13. 10. Creation of own wearable technologies The supreme discipline would of course be conceiving, designing and creating your own wearable device, thus going beyond the programming of an app which can be integrated with wearables. Disney for example is not a brand known for producing hardware and thus being predestined to creating a wearable device, but has ventured into this sphere by launching the MagicBand, which can be used as a payment or reservation device among other functions in Disney Worlds across the globe. Again, cooperation between brands are another possibility here as Fitbit and Tory Burch have co-created and launched a set of wearable accessories. We should be creative catalysts, nudging ideas and launching the process of thinking about potentials and possibility for wearable technologies. ●●● Photo: General Physics Laboratory on Flickr
- 14. Wearables – Enhancing the Quality of Life Insider Band Sesame Ring Oculus Rift Wearables - Pushing the boundaries of Healthcare Embrace Wristband Smart Bandaid Smart Diapers Mobiles – Seamless Integration & Impactful Storytelling IKEA’s Wireless Charging Furniture Nat Geo Wild on Snapchat Inside 16 18 21 25 27 29 32 34
- 15. Wearables – Enhancing the Quality of Life + Insider Band + Sesame Ring + Oculus Rift Photo: kris krüg on Flickr
- 16. Insider band Photo: Mashable Video: The Insider Band Being always connected, people have developed the habit of sharing their most memorable experiences with others in an instant. Music festivals see some of the most social and tech-savvy millennials in the world as attendees. Unfortunately for music festival lovers who want to share live updates with the world, the venues for such events are almost always non- conducive to proper connectivity. This is why the Insider Band was introduced to the hugely popular Outside Lands music festival in San Francisco. It works on NFC technology (near field communication). Auto insurance company Esurance, in a collaboration with ClearHart, installed eight 14-foot towers with NFC-enabled Nexus 7 tablets mounted on each of them, around the venue. Attendees could tap their Insider Bands to the tablets to share their festival updates with friends, in real-time. Read: Why do people share their lives online? #ExperientialWearables
- 17. Photo: Mashable A Tap to Stay Connected Attendees to the festival could register online for an Insider Band prior to the festival and connect it to their Facebook profiles. After collecting the band from the venue on the day of the festival, they could tap the activated bands on the towers to check in on Facebook, find friends at the venue and message them, and also win goodies to exclusive events – all without having to rely on their service providers’ network reception. As per ClearHart’s data, during the three-day festival, 8,060 registered users tapped 29,753 times and uploaded 4,780 photos. That’s a lot of tapping! Revisiting Existing Technology with Creative Ideas The idea worked because of an intelligent approach to the existing NFC technology – which enables connected devices to establish radio connection with each other by touching them together or being in close proximity. It gave people the opportunity to tell their story in a fun and interactive manner, without having to compromise on the quality of their experience – which is what happens when festival-goers struggle to establish connections on their cell phones. Users could check in and post photos to Facebook, which would also later be available in an online memory bank. Being relatively new, the full potential of NFC technology is still to be realised. It also is an idea that’s scalable because it brings together, in a fun manner, what the millennial generation is most familiar with – experiential events and wearable tech. ●●● Infographic: How to Use NFC technology in Your Marketing Strategy