Has the industry made such a tremendous amount of noise that consumers lost interest before it caught on?
In the mobile tech industry, marketing needs to be conducted extremely carefully in order to make sure that consumers will gain interest and retain it enough to make a purchase and tell all of their friends – wearable technology is no exception to this rule.
When it comes to these mobile devices, brands and advertisers have stopped at no expense to spread the word.
However, as of yet, these wearable technology devices – which tend to be rather on the pricy side – still have yet to catch on with the majority of consumers. While it has generated some interest as individuals read up on the latest developments in the market, the number who do actually make a purchase of one of these gadgets is not as big as it was predicted to be. While some analysts believe that it is still too early in the evolution of the devices to tell for certain what the future will bring, others wonder if the hype was so great in this area that it died off before getting started.
This has left wearable technology makers wondering if they are looking to the future or not.
From smartwatches to augmented reality glasses, there is no shortage of different options available for the consumer to choose. However, as this flood of options has been tremendously hyped and the choices have raced their way forward even before many consumers could even tell what they are, many wonder if the flame on that torch was burnt out before most people could even become aware of the existence of most of the products.
According to the trends that have been seen over the last year, and that were renewed a few weeks ago in Barcelona at the 2014 Mobile World Congress (MWC), it looks as though this year is going to be an exceptionally critical one in the arena of wearable technology. Though Google Glass and Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatches have seen disappointing sales, so far, the marketing has been pushing forward to boost enthusiasm. Now, all the analysts can do is watch to see whether or not 2014 truly proves to be the year of the wearable tech.
These augmented reality wearable technology devices will be the next ones hit by ads and promotions.
Hipcricket, an expert in mobile marketing engagements, has recently revealed that its AD LIFE platform will now be supporting text messaging and website rendering for wearable technology devices, such as Google Glass and other types of augmented reality glasses.
The AD LIFE platform from the company is already being used by many different brands.
The platform is being used by international and domestic agencies and brands for the purpose of powering their mobile marketing campaigns. The goal is to enhance the interaction between companies and consumers through the devices that these shoppers are using the most. Though this had previously been smartphones, it has expanded over the last while to include tablets, and now wearable technology, as well. The platform offers advertising and analytics, all in one place.
Mobile marketing for wearable technology is becoming increasingly important as these devices take off.
According to Canalys, this year will be the year in which wearable technology will suddenly explode among consumers, with an estimated 8 million shipments of smartwatches headed in our direction. It was also estimated by that firm that this number will skyrocket next year to 23 million units, and that by 2017, that will have reached 45 million units.
Hipcricket has explained that wearable tech will be including everything from the iWatch, which is rumored to launch at some point this year, as well as the already existent Google Glass, and a range of different fitness and medical devices. This notable shift in consumer behaviors is expected to reflect the same one that occurred when there was a movement away from desktops toward smartphones and tablets. Now consumers are thinking even smaller and more convenient than those already small screens.
The Hipcricket chief operating officer, Doug Stovall explained that “We believe mobile will evolve to become seamlessly integrated with our everyday actions in the form of wearable technology.” For that reason, the company is ensuring that its platform keeps in line with the consumer preferred devices and will gear its mobile marketing capabilities in those directions.
