How Can Marketers Use This Technology?

Pros and cons of the technology

From a marketing perspective, there are lots of benefits to arm wearables, including:

• You’re able to track people’s data and use it to improve their experience and cater to their specific interests.

• You’re able to reduce long lines and wait times.

• You can get a large crowd into a venue quicker and easier.

• You can reduce bottlenecks.

• You can reduce friction and eliminate the “pain points” that customers complain about when they interact with a brand.

The "cons" of arm wearables include:

• Not everyone has a smartphone, which is a necessity for many arm wearables to work.

• People can be creeped out by the idea that they are being tracked.

• Wearables like FitBits can potentially expose locations and identities of individuals working at sensitive military sites and reveal the movements of troops, international aid workers and intelligence operatives. 14

• Arm wearables are expensive. 

Ways marketers are using (or could use) this technology

Walt Disney World has been using arm wearables called Magic Bands to improve guests' experiences and reduce friction at its parks. Watch the video below to see how Magic Bands work. 

Carnival Corporation also has been using arm wearables to allow their passengers to have more fun and spend less time in lines. Watch the video below for more about Carnival's "Ocean Medallion."

Other ways marketers could use the technology include:

• Insurance companies could offer incentives to clients who lower their resting heart rate, based on data collected from fitness trackers.
• Retailers could monitor a person's pulse as he or she walks through a store, and if their heart rate increases as they walk past a particular product, they could send that person a coupon or special offer.
• Marketers could start advertising on smartwatches.

Legal implication/ethical issues for a company to consider

There are a lot of legal and ethical issues for a company to consider as arm wearables become more common. Among them:

• People don’t like being tracked or having their data harvested, so marketers will have to be transparent about what kind of data they are collecting and be careful about how they are using it. 

• Marketers will have to make sure people opt in before they send them any kind of messages via their wearables. 

• People are especially sensitive about their health information, so tapping into that data to try to sell something to consumers seems particularly fraught.

Does this technology add value to the consumer?

Today’s millennials leave the house with their phone, debit card and ID. As the proliferation of wearables increases, they won’t leave the house with any of these things. Wearable tech can be used to track blood pressure, heart rate, the number of steps taken per day and other health-related indicators. 60% of patients think that wearables will improve their health, and 30% use wearables to assist them in disease management, according to a study by Philadelphia-based marketing agency Digitas Health. Wearables give you context and the ability to scale data, which equals a higher level of engagement in healthcare. Wearables will help marketers in industries from finance to healthcare to CPG collect data and enhance customer relationships. 15

When will this technology become mainstream? 

Over the last year or so wearable tech has gone mainstream, and the hottest devices on the planet are now ones you can place on your wrists, arms and faces. So far, it's largely the smaller companies that are making the better name for themselves in the wearable tech space.

Fitbit, Jawbone, Misfit and Withings have had huge successes with fitness trackers for the masses. TomTom, Garmin, Polar and Suunto make some of the very best sports watches for running, swimming, cycling, hiking and even skiing and golf. 16

Advice for marketing executives

The tourism industry is just beginning to grasp the value of this technology, thanks to Disney's pioneering work with Magic Bands. Marketers at other similar businesses should follow Disney's lead. Wearable tech could be used not just at theme parks and on cruises, but also at all-inclusive resorts, fairs, living history museums, conferences, festivals, multi-day concerts, and more. Basically marketers should consider implementing wearable tech devices anywhere a large number of guests are moving through an event or venue where they need to pay, use a key, check in, stand in line, etc. 

Meanwhile, smartwatches and fitness trackers are revolutionizing healthcare, personal well-being, and workplace productivity, and marketers should look for opportunities to take advantage of the new technology. 

According to research by Dr. James Levine of the Mayo Clinic, sitting is the new smoking, with hours spent being sedentary leading to everything from obesity to cancer. Thankfully, wearable motion-tracking devices are great at reminding us to stand up, stretch and take a walk. For example, when the wristband detects that you’ve had a poor night’s sleep, the device’s accompanying Android and iOS app may know based on past, similar instances that you tend to be less active the next day. So it will recommend a high-protein breakfast instead of a meal of harder-to-digest carbohydrates and sugars. While that may sound complex, it’s all served up simply and clearly through the smartphone app, resulting in an expert-fueled simplification of your diet and lifestyle that can lead to fewer inches on your waistline.

The most exploited benefit of wearable tech has to be the health implications. Not only physical health, but devices have been shown to improve the health of teams in the office. Again, fitness and health are the primary driving force to wearable tech (for now). Although, it’s not just about FitBits anymore. Clothing, footwear, and even underpants are being connected to help you become the best you can be. 17

The potential for wearable tech

Perhaps the most intriguing part of wearable technology is its potential. The benefits from current uses will only improve and give way to even better uses in the future. The only problem is they haven’t been created, yet. New apps are bound to come, but will heavily rely on sound ideas and available open data.




14 Liz Sly, Dan Lamothe and Craig Timberg, January 29, 2018, www.washingtonpost.com/world/the-us-military-reviews-its-rules-as-new-details-of-us-soldiers-and-bases-emerge/2018/01/29/6310d518-050f-11e8-aa61-f3391373867e_story.html?utm_term=.c4c3294c6804 (accessed May 6, 2018).
15 Sung, www.wareable.com.
16 Sung, www.wareable.com.
17 Kevin Ackerman, "Beyond the Fitbit, How Wearable Technology Can Help You," www.staples.com/sbd/cre/tech-services/explore-tips-and-advice/tech-articles/how-wearable-technology-can-help-you.html (accessed May 5, 2018).