Wearables are expected to grow strongly over the next five years. Despite their many applications, many consumers do not know how to use them or, more importantly, why they would want to. How can we interest them in these devices? That is a substantial PR challenge.
For anyone unfamiliar with the term, wearable technology means electronic devices designed to be worn. Well-known examples include fitness trackers and smartwatches such as Fitbit devices and Apple Watch. As a Benelux PR agency specialising in IT and consumer electronics, we follow developments in these products closely.
Business Insider predicts 35 per cent growth in the wearable market over five years, with smartwatches expected to be the most popular category. A GfK forecast for 2015 anticipated worldwide sales of more than 51 million wearable devices.
Smartwatches and fitness bands are no longer entirely new. Fitbit, Misfit, Pebble, Apple Watch, Microsoft Band and Android Wear all compete for space on our wrists. But wearable applications go further. They can extend a smartphone’s capabilities in fitness, health or location-based services, and some manufacturers position them as fashion accessories. Many people are still unaware of these possibilities.
Few consumers know about Gameband + Minecraft, a wrist-worn device that lets users take their Minecraft worlds to different computers. Other wearables are worn on the head, such as a GoPro camera or Microsoft’s HoloLens headset. Some, such as digital tattoos, are almost invisible. Consumers may not know these products exist, and even when they do, they may not understand their value. Helping clarify that value is part of our job.
As an agency, our challenge is to communicate ideas that make clients think: more people should know about this. First, identify the audience clearly. A fitness-focused wearable, for example, may appeal to a niche of enthusiastic, athletic early adopters. Communication should be tailored to them.
Consider Microsoft’s recently announced HoloLens, which places holograms in a user’s physical environment. The message we wanted to communicate was that, in a world full of devices and information, people need to create their own freedom and space. Experiences should become more personal: HoloLens allows users to bring holograms into their own reality. That was a story we wanted to share.
The growing wearable market is therefore more than a contest for space on consumers’ wrists. Increasing demand and competition encourage new ways to integrate technology into everyday life. To win a place in that life, brands need to communicate the right information: the benefits that make someone think, “I need this product.” And that is something more people should know about.
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