• by Tim Dunn , Columnist, June 4, 2014

So, for some analysts the latest WWDC conference was a bit of a wash-out: no new hardware, no iWatch, no new Apple TV, no payment solution, no big iBeacon experiences.

But under the skin, Apple is still making changes that bring new opportunities to marketers across the board. All sorts of innovations from mobile browsing to apps to mobile social networking have only been possible because Apple created the kind of device experience that made them not just possible, but delightful.

By expanding consumers’ minds to new ways of interacting with content and services, Apple creates new ways for our brands to get our message across. Here are the key four elements of yesterday’s announcement that will take consumer interactions into the future.

Interactive Notifications make brands conversational

Where app notifications have so far been a relatively blunt instrument in terms of reminding users that they do (somewhere on page 6 of their home screen) still have your app on their phone. New ‘actionable notifications’ allow users to respond to you directly from the home screen notification. Now we can see a future where CRM does not just involve sending users through to sites or apps where they have to complete a transaction, they can do it instantly with the flick of the screen – without unlocking the phone. Marketers need to consider how these developments elevate mobile to the lead channel for CRM and ongoing engagement.

Brands need to fit into the Connected Home

Apple is clearly making a big play for its device to be the hub that controls your heating, garage door, grocery list etc. Marketers now need to think about how their products are going to live and breathe within this new connected architecture, whether it’s home electronics that need to be operated from anywhere or retailers who need to start integrating with devices to top up shopping lists. 

Apps become more worthwhile as they grow more Connected

Many brands have grown wary of branded apps, and with good reason, as few gain real traction and scale with users. This is because in the current app model, if you download an app you generally have to launch it from its own icon. However, now you can launch apps from within other apps. For example, if you are a brand requesting user images for a competition, it’s a big ask to get users to remember to open your app to do this. Now however, you can simply let them add their photo from the camera app straight into your brand’s gallery. This means that brands can add their presence more naturally into users’ daily mobile behavior, making branded apps more useful and intuitive. It may be time to rethink that ‘no apps’ policy…

Consumers lower their guard on personal data

The new Health app is both cause and symptom of an increase in consumer confidence about sharing personal data through digital channels. The Health app and its extensions will be used by a myriad of healthcare and health plan providers to deliver both primary care and wellness solutions. The knock-on effect is we will get more confident in sharing this level of personal data, and that confidence will likely extend to our favorite services in finance, insurance, leisure and entertainment. We will start to learn that the more we share, the better our experience becomes. The raft of data that consumers allow us to use will allow us to deliver targeted and personalized experiences across the digital and physical experience.

iOS8 will be with us in the Autumn, but it’s well worth thinking how these tools and trends are going to create new possibilities for forward-thinking marketers, and be leading the field when iOS8 drops.