Among Marketers, IoT Is Seen as Critical Emerging Technology

A survey of advertising and marketing executives indicates that, of a variety of emerging technologies, the internet of things (IoT) is seen as the most important.

According to data published in November, about half of US advertising and marketing executives identified artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented realities, the internet of things and “conversational marketing” as at least somewhat important. But almost a quarter called the IoT very important—distinctly more than the other platforms.

In October, MediaPost Communications and Advertiser Perceptions surveyed 303 advertising and marketing executives in the US on their understanding of emerging technologies.

According to the data, IoT was rated “very important” by 24% of executives, in contrast to only 14% feeling this way toward each of the other technologies.

While the rankings were clustered in a close range, VR/AR was perceived to be slightly less important than the others, with 48% said it was “somewhat important” and a total of 38% saying it was either “not very important” or “not at all important.”

This could be related to concerns about the market for VR products and experiences. A recent survey by Greenlight Insights found that fewer than half of VR professionals are confident that their products will be profitable in the near term.

By contrast, the internet of things is seen by many as a near-term business reality. In research released in August, Deloitte found that in 2016 more than one-third of executives polled said their companies were actively deploying IoT, while nearly 20% described their company’s efforts were already at the mature stage—effective deployments. A similar number said their company’s efforts were in the early, experimental stage.

Marketers interested in IoT may want to take a cue from the retail industry. A year ago, more than half of retailers worldwide told Retail Systems Research that they believed the technology was poised to dramatically change the way companies do business in the future. Through IoT, retail executives said they are able collect, share and analyze real-time data that can be useful to supply chain and inventory management, as well as in delivering personalized promotions and enabling ecommerce.

Courtesy of eMarketer