• by Dave O'Flanagan , Op-Ed Contributor, October 1, 2015

Whether consumers are running, working, relaxing, socializing or even sleeping, Apple knows that they are always on. Yet despite non-stop demand for access to technology all day, every day, Apple also realizes that the same person isn’t using their products for the same purpose in every situation. In fact, if the latest upgrades to the Apple Watch operating system wrote a marketing headline, it would be that context is king. Consider some of the new functionality. A new Time Travel feature allows users to scroll through their schedule and access relevant information about what they’re going to be doing later, such as what the weather will be at that time and location, or what the watch’s battery life will be during your afternoon meeting. Apple even realized that a watch isn’t always a watch in certain contexts; when users go to sleep, Apple has ensured that it won’t be more than an arm’s length away, as the newest upgrade includes Nightstand Mode, turning the watch into a bedside digital alarm clock.

An arm’s length might be the furthest some consumers get from their device during the course of the day. With mobile and wearable technologies in the pocket and on the wrist of seemingly everyone, mobile technology providers have changed the way we interact, access the internet and share information. Email is no longer a passive activity akin to reading the paper, accomplished in the morning in front of a desktop computer. Inboxes can be checked while literally on the run, shopping can be done without leaving the house and information can be instantaneously found with a few swipes and taps. 

As situational technology use becomes increasingly fluid with the adoption of wearable tech, marketers need to prepare their communications to be equally nimble. By taking a cue from the watchOS 2 updates and creating offers that are contextual, marketers will be able to give users what they want, when they want it. Our recent survey found that outside of price, the most crucial factor influencing people to buy or act is when an offer adds value to something the consumer is already doing or planning to do. Nearly two-thirds of millennials said that their purchasing habits change based on where they are and what they are doing. 

New consumer technologies such as the Apple Watch don’t just give marketers another channel to send offers to, they also provide huge quantities of previously inaccessible data which marketers can use to develop a more complete customer profile. Customers will be willing to share this data, but only if marketers prove that they are using it in a responsible way. This responsibility includes being transparent with what data is being used and how, as well as using that information to provide personalized value rather than untargeted spam. As Gartner analyst Lisa Kart stated in a recent press release, “as big data becomes the new normal, information and analytics leaders are shifting focus from hype to finding value.” Data from wearable technologies provide great value for marketers. Now marketers must shift focus from hyping up generic offers to providing relevant and personalized value for their customers in a precise, targeted, contextual way. 

When correspondence with family and friends was delivered by a mail carrier, and information was consumed from the pages of the local newspaper, high-level demographics might have been enough to market effectively. But with exponential growth in technology, data and customer intelligence, brands will be doing more harm than good if they continue to follow this path. Taking advantage of the new wealth of data will help brands gain a complete view of the preferences of each individual customer, which in turn will allow them to integrate contextual customer intelligence into each marketing offer they send. Just like the Apple products they buy, love and wear, no two consumers are the same and sometimes, even an individual has a different persona in different situations. Going forward, marketers will be challenged to address their customers’ needs based on where they are, what they are doing and who they are with.

While somewhat difficult to implement in its purest form, contextual marketing is a smart and simple concept because it focuses on relevant value and timeliness. Wearable tech is just the door opener – in time, contextual marketing will become the standard of all brand communications, with those that embrace it properly reaping the benefits of better conversion rates, higher levels of loyalty and better overall customer experiences.