Does Wearables Data Have a Place in Your Next Marketing Campaign?

Weaving smart threads

At last year’s US Open, tennis fans cheered top athletes, spotted celebrities and, most curiously of all, glimpsed Ralph Lauren’s latest polo shirt. This wasn’t their grandpa’s polo, however, but a high-tech version with sensors woven into the fabric to track biometrics via a smartphone app.

For marketers and clothing designers, this was just the latest debut in the fast-growing and experimental new category of wearable technology. In addition to consumer appeal, wearables represent enormous potential for marketers, including the ability to tie store data to individuals, serve real-time notifications and capture a larger view of customers’ habits. For these reasons, forward-thinking clothing brands are getting serious about wearables data.

The question is how those brands will translate this new channel into revenue as part of a larger strategy. While most marketers understand the value of granular consumer data, they aren’t always confident in their efforts to use it across touch points, either because they lack the necessary tools or the understanding of how to implement an individualized, cross-channel approach.

Ralph Lauren’s sensor-embedded polo is just one example of a clothing brand’s foray into wearable tech. There are also Rebecca Minkoff bracelets that buzz discreetly when wearers receive a text, or Tommy Hilfiger coats with solar panels to charge smartphones. Newer products are adding more features and functionality. Take, for example, a newly launched tech-enhanced motorcycle helmet made by Skully that allows drivers to see behind themselves with rear-view cameras. It also allows them to receive calls and stream music through voice control. For marketers, this might be an opportunity to advertise through Spotify’s new, targeted playlists, which determine the user’s context and serve ads based on the situation.

Consider, as well, smart shoe soles from the start-up Sols, which measure steps and relay that information back to the consumer so that he or she can change their walking habits in real time. That same insert could let a consumer know they’re due back at their favorite store for a new pair of kicks when the heels have worn down—or alert the retailer to reserve the size and style for easy pick-up. This type of service-based marketing is already feasible with applications like Adobe Campaign, which allows marketers to generate push notifications for wearables based on their data.

All of this is still only the beginning. Google recently announced a partnership with Levi’s called Project Jacquard—a smart textile project that integrates technology with standard fabrics like cotton, silk or polyester. These smart threads include touch- and gesture-sensitive areas that can be woven anywhere on a garment, creating a large, flexible interactive surface with untold potential applications, including tracking a user’s particular gestures.

While wearables are still new, it’s important to start experimenting with what’s available today—like smart watches—in order to figure out how these new channels fit into your larger strategy. Wearables will soon be an important aspect of any cross-channel campaign, and the brands that capitalize on the experimental stage today will be much better aligned in the cross-channel, cross-accessory future. The ability to target consumers in a relevant and personalized—not to mention physically attached—context instead of trying to piece together a consumer’s intentions after the fact, should be the long-term goal of any marketing plan.

Check out the entire cross-channel guide to pop culture