Wearable Tech Impacts the Mobile Marketing Industry

The wearable device market is expected to shift 100 million units per year by 2016 and grow to a $19 billion industry before the decade is out. The hardware has improved significantly as public demand for wearables has increased, and the mobile marketing industry is adapting to these changes with typical flexibility.

So far, the main driver of business has been the health sector, which has developed all manner of gizmos aimed at monitoring physical fitness and wellbeing. Calorie counter, pedometer, sleep monitor and all round digital watchdog Fitbit Force has performed very well, and other activity trackers like Jawbone UP and the Nike FuelBand have followed. Healthcare professionals are working on making embedded wireless communication available to inpatients and outpatients alike.

By tracking how much you move around your house or local area via a discrete wristband, FitBit and its ilk can record information about anything from miles walked to number of steps taken, allowing you to plan your fitness regime more effectively.

The technology behind the wearable device boom is the star of the show here. Bluetooth 4.0 has been combined with newer, more effective body-worn sensors, capable of automatically recording data from an individual's activities. But the fundamentals of the hardware are remarkably simple - and that's why wearable technology has so much potential. As designs get sleeker and subtler, they become more attractive to people usually reticent to wear watches or jewellery. Worn so close to the skin, fitness trackers now capable of picking up on perspiration levels and incorporating that data into the wearers physical report.

Companies are developing new ideas at a terrific rate, some that will probably remain on the drawing board, others that will transcend their ambitious conception and make it to market. The AirWaves mask was one recent winner of a competition run by Frog Design. Emerging from Shanghai, AirWaves takes the notion of the pollution mask and gives it a hi-tech makeover. It monitors pollution levels in the air and shares it with other local wearers, effectively creating a collective map of which areas in a city you should avoid.

The Kinetik concept – also from Frog – has emerged as one of the leading new ideas. As the name suggests, it attaches to moving objects like bike spokes, and harnesses kinetic energy. The low volume of energy generated could be enough to power mobile phones.

Speaking of which, wearable mobile tech devices built into phones are going to play a major role in the future progress of wearable tech products. Companies can adopt targeted text message campaigns that contact customers to tell them about their latest product. Individuals who are in the vicinity of a shop with an in-store special offer can be informed. The technology promises to have a major impact on the way mobile SMS campaigns are run. The mobile marketing industry has to be ready.

Advancing your mobile marketing strategy is, at this point, all about reaching individuals with the type of message they want to hear. The twin forces of bluetooth capability and wearable mobile tech gadgetry are proving to be an unstoppable force in terms of personalized SMS marketing.