Why Sensors Will Change the Marketing Profession

Sensors are making waves in areas as diverse as sports and the arts. But marketers should take notice too. Below I describe 3 inspiring ways you can use these devices.

Sensors are everywhere. These little devices are used in everyday objects such as touch-sensitive elevator buttons and lamps which dim or brighten by touching the base. In sports, sensors are used to measure movements which subsequently can be analyzed by algorithms. Though the application of sensors in marketing is in its infancy, the possibilities are promising. Let’s take a look…

Today, wearables are mostly used to track health and sports activities. These gadgets can help enrich the customer’s experience for marketing purposes too.

In 2015, the car manufacturer Jaguar provided selected members of the crowd at Wimbledon with biometric wristbands that captured heart rate, movement, and location around the grounds. At the same time atmospheric, in-ground sensors monitored the energy around the courts, and sociometric tracking monitored the conversations among fans around the world on social media platforms.

Based on these data, key “atmospheric” and “biometric” moments were broadcast to commuters at key London stations. Those moments which were the most energy-charged and most discussed on social media were the very ones selected to be broadcast to consumers who, it was believed, wanted to see them.

This example of content marketing strengthened the customer engagement with both the Wimbledon brand and the Jaguar brand.

Using the Bluetooth, low-energy, radio signal on customers’ smartphones, beacons can be used to determine the device’s physical location. Hence, customers can be tracked, and a location-based action on the device can be triggered such as a check-in on social media or a push notification.

In another article, I described a successful beacon-use case. Celebrating the 2015 release of the James Bond movie Spectre, Dutch beer giant Heineken used Apple’s iBeacon technology to draw in-store supermarket shoppers to an interactive display. The results were amazing; purchase intent increased by 7 times.

To locate customers, you don’t need wearables or beacons. Smartphones are enough to enable location-based advertising.

During the 2016 holiday season, tequila manufacturer Brown-Forman teamed up with Foursquare to do just this. People whose mobile devices were found near Herradura Tequila selling points, or had been seen there in the past, were targeted with mobile and desktop ads. These advertisements resulted in a 23% lift in visits to places selling Herradura.

Sensors are just one component of an emerging world in which individuals, devices, and systems are increasingly becoming connected through the Internet, the so-called “Internet of Everything.” Offering a great product will soon not be good enough because the competition will try to steal your customer everywhere she goes. So, it is wise to take a moment to think about the many possibilities of sensors, and how they can strengthen your marketing.