Virtual reality headsets
Multiple VR headsets made appearances at CES this year with costs falling to a level that may start bringing the technology to the mainstream. And for brands it’s not just about gaming. Imagine being able to bring event experiences, sponsored by your brand, to your audience’s living room. Or being able to create personalized advertising for each individual viewing an event through a VR headset – so instead of seeing the same auto insurance ad on the side of the physical basketball court, each viewer could see an ad designed and presented just for them – in its place through their VR headset. Perhaps the advertisement could even be based on data coming from the viewer’s wearable sensors (more on that possibility below).
Automated automotive
Audi demonstrated a “piloted car†at CES this year and while we’re a long way from adopting fully automated cars, technology is already in place to require less driver attention. Think of recent additions to our driving experience such as lane drift and blind spot alerts or parallel parking services. This decrease in attention required combined with increased display intelligence begins to offer advertisers greater opportunities to target their audience on the move. Nokia and BMW unveiled their “Intelligent Drive†solution recently – it syncs mapped routes between the cars navigation system and your cell phone and offers suggestions of where to park before it then sends details direct to you phone so you can best continue your journey to your final destination by foot. Brands could use this same opportunity to provide timely and location based adverts on phones but also on the newer format of the dashboard or window screen displays.
Sensors with everything
Sensors were a big story at CES this year. Sensors on everything and anything and devices that connect with them to make automatic use of the data they gather. One of Tapstone’s favorite examples is a coffee machine which can be controlled by your phone with an app that could also be integrated to respond to your activity data – had a bad night’s sleep? Automatically get an extra strong coffee that morning to help you rally! If users are willing to share their data in the name of convenience, brands can learn the best times of day to approach an individual with an offer based on sleep, activity, mood and a host of other variables.
