• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, August 5, 2015

Marketing and advertising via the Internet of Things is just around the corner.

The most prominent and obvious IoT current implementations involve beacons.

Retailers have used beacons essentially to create in-store, advertising platforms on which brands can send their messages to specific consumers near their products.

While retailer beacon experimentation rolls on, companies creating the technologies needed to drive advertising are progressing behind the scenes.

Meanwhile, the evolution of beacon technology continues.

For example, Google recently introduced a new, open standard for beacons, which could dramatically increase beacon deployments.

And one beacon manufacturer this week introduced beacons powered by a normal, electrical plug, eliminating the beacon battery replacement issue, joining some other beacon makers that already have this capability.

But more sensor-based activity is being developed alongside beacons.

One startup is using an accelerometer-based system to sense vibrational patterns on any surface.

Once the surface detects the person knocking on the surface, it activates Wi-Fi and sends the knock pattern to the cloud to determine the appropriate reaction.

From an advertising and messaging standpoint, a certain tap on a restaurant table might trigger a message delivered via smartphone, for example.

The point is that surfaces are going to become interactive devices, which can be used by consumers to request an action from a brand.

Sensors will be everywhere, creating a massive, new interactive platform to reach consumers.

Now is the time to be working on what will run on that platform.

It’s not about the platform. It’s about the messaging.
____________________________________________________

What to learn more about IoT? Check out tomorrow’s agenda for the upcoming MediaPost IoT: Shopping conference here.