Next Step To Smart Technology Could Be Implants

The rise of smart technology has exploded in recent years, with the smart watch now well and truly making its mark on the market – but the next stage for smart technology, the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) states, could well be implants.

This prediction comes from Marc Mathieu, the global senior vice-president of brand marketing for Unilever. Discussing the industry at the IAB Mobile Engage event recently, Mathieu said that it is common for people to be permanently online now; with online abilities now available in our watches, he believes this will soon make its way into an implant. As he states: “Why have it on your wrist if you can have it permanently in you?”

Implants are being hailed as the “next frontier” for smart technology and increased connectivity – but this new “frontier” as it is being called must be fully researched and considered by brands, especially when it comes to their marketing techniques. Brands must always remember to focus on people first, rather than technology, so any new technological evolutions must be adopted with this in mind from marketers.

Part of this will involve brands moving away from an interruptive model of marketing to a “micro interruption” model. This means brands will no longer force their presence on consumers but provide them with information that the consumer wants and needs as and when they want-or-need it.

Certain brands are already working the interruptive model effectively, such as Apple and Google, as they push messages at scale, but technology allows consumers to “pull brands into their lives multiple times a day based on their needs at that moment.” The key consideration for brands in the future of tech, Mathieu states, should be “utility.”