Wearable technology has come a long way from the first calculator watches in the mid-’70s to the most recent wearable fitness gear, Bluetooth t-shirts and the Apple watch, to name a few. The wearable market is expected to grow at more than 60 per cent in value in the next four years. A whopping 245 million devices are expected to ship in 2019 ( Forbes , October 29, 2015). Each of these devices generate huge amounts of data about the consumer’s routine, health parameters, level of fitness, food habits, where he goes, what he does and such. What does this mean to marketers? Is there a way that they can use this data to communicate with individual consumers with the most relevant message at the right time?

Digital, for all its superior targeting capability, still lacks the punch where relevant brand messaging/ conversations go. I continue to get bombarded by messages promoting treadmills, long after I decided it was better to walk in the park in my locality. My crime: I searched for some information on buying a treadmill. This messaging is, of course, irrelevant for me and is definitely an irritant. For the marketer this is money wasted. Access to my fitness band data that I sync with my mobile phone every day would make it clear to the marketer (thanks to GPS) that I do not walk on a treadmill. This is but one very minor use case.

Still, we can see how all the pieces will ultimately be integrated into new, more personal communication systems in the near future. When that happens, brands will have the opportunity to enjoy richer, more personally meaningful conversations with every willing participant. Who knows? Maybe we will see a world in which interruptive advertising is a thing of the past. After all, when we know when someone is open and receptive to our message, why would we waste our time and money on someone who isn't?

Of course, questions about privacy, permission to use personal data, what parameters can be used and should be used as against what should be out bounds for marketers are issues and questions that need to be discussed and debated. However, given that consumers (going by what we experience in social media) are not entirely averse to sharing information about themselves and their lives, there is a high is a high probability that marketers will be able to access and use wearable-generated consumer data to target the right message to the right consume at the right time.

Debraj Tripathy is Managing Director, MediaCom India

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