Amid the flood of smart glasses, watches, and other intelligent accessories designed to augment every aspect of our daily lives, a wearable device that aids in the storytelling process may seem to be the most natural fit of all.
In its recently published report The Wearable Future, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) talks specifically about how wearables will change the way we consume various forms of content. As such, wearable technology will affect your content marketing. In fact, some companies already deliver messages directly to an audience through the use of smart watches and glasses, enhancing the branded experience.
PwC describes the natural content-consumption model that has made devices like the smartphone so valuable to nearly every industry. But in the case of wearables, the model is intended to be much more interactive and highly personal, which is a perfect fit for storytelling.
Creating, not consuming the story
Allowing audiences to generate content through the device is perhaps the most useful aspect of any wearable device. It speaks to the content-creation vs. content-consumption debate.
We’ve seen a migration from wearable devices solely focused on the core function of displaying information to those that provide multiple functions, including video recording or streaming to capture and share content. As open application programming interface (API) development progresses, these multi-function capabilities will skyrocket and wearing these devices will be more ingrained into our everyday world. Such capabilities do, indeed, make wearables fit for storytelling.
Three touches to wearable storytelling
As is the practice with any technology, wearables for the purpose of storytelling must be viewed with a bit of a discerning eye. The most useful devices need to deliver new and unique capabilities, and enhance the wearer’s ability to find and generate content.
Consider the following criteria for successful storytelling through wearable devices:
1. Natural touch. Storytelling is best when you can get the audience to see the story through your eyes. When a device makes users less cognizant of the fact that they are actually wearing it, they can live in the moment, which translates to telling the story in its most natural format. A pair of sunglasses, for example, is a more natural viewing experience than a viewfinder of a camera strapped to the body.
Alongside Google Glass, products from companies like Pivothead and Vuzix, to name a couple, are introducing visual-streaming capabilities into the wearable-technology fold. In true content-generation form, these devices are spearheading a movement of creating point-of-view video that allows marketers to share content straight from the brand’s line of sight to the web. The smart-glass form is ideal for delivering high-quality imaging and broadcast performance capabilities.
2. Unique experience. What if you could share the stories that have long gone untold due to some type of physical limitation? Look to what Google X laboratory is doing with wearable technology – it’s exploring how to transmit content from a pill through nanobots in the bloodstream to scan specific body tissue for cancer.
This is an extreme example but illustrates the point that technology has the capability to take us anywhere. Don’t think that Google isn’t already researching ways to adapt this type of technology for more common everyday uses.
3. Beyond limitations. Speaking of physical limitations, how about the age-old challenge of simply not being able to clearly hear the story? Think about that crowded meeting or busy trade-show floor where you are struggling to hear the details.
This is where a device like LaLaLa would come in handy. LaLaLa is a concept device molded as an earpiece that uses motion-sensing technology to filter all extraneous noise in an environment and focus the audio on a single speaker. Also, LaLaLa is set to include a built-in camera to help with object recognition, as well as some gesture-control functionality.
Wear the story
Those in the business of telling stories are always looking for that unique way to find and package a message for the audience. Couple this with the fact that we live at a time when technology innovation is at an all-time high. Blending these two ideas will help better uncover and deliver the content that has seemingly been out of reach.
Perhaps the greatest impact that wearable technology will make on the world is a story that is yet to be told.
Want more expert advice on addressing the future of content marketing? Check out all the fantastic CMW sessions that are available through our Video on Demand portal.
Cover image by Mia Domenico, Unsplash, via pixabay
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