Is the internet of things ready for the media industry?
The IoT is an advertiser's dream: data from connected devices "deeply enriches what we already know about our audience&rdquo; &nbsp;according to Matthew Knight, head of innovation at media buying agency Carat, however the question of whether we should let agencies get at all this rich data is still up for debate, as indeed is the relevance of the content actually delivered to our myriad of IoT devices. This article concludes that "IoT has to cut its teeth first", before we can move to intelligently targeting and aggregating the relevant users' data. &nbsp;
Alex Wood is no stranger to technology. Founder and CEO of Zonkey, a website development firm based in Bath, Wood happily brandishes his newly purchased Apple Watch while sitting in the spirited surroundings of his local Brew House pub. But the pleasure is not unalloyed.

He clearly loves his watch but he was hoping for so much more – more automated connectivity and interaction with his local environment, more relevant news and deals and, well, a little more than a mini iPad on his wrist.

Wood’s malaise is symptomatic of the hype that new technology can bring, particularly with the promise of the internet of things (IoT). The perception is often greater than the reality. Wood, like many tech-hungry consumers is also open to changing media. He wants to be connected wherever he goes and to be delivered relevant content and recommendations. Surprisingly, he claims he is open to marketing deals as he passes restaurants and shops, ticking all the opt-in boxes. He is surely an advertiser’s dream.

So is this the face of automated new media consumption? The idea that IoT will mean little more to media than delivering laser-targeted guided marketing is disappointing. For every Alex Wood there might be 20 others who don’t want automated media delivery based on detailed profiles intricately developed through harvested device data. Is the IoT ready for the media industry?

Saverio Romeo, principal analyst at Beecham Research and a close watcher of developments within IoT, says it is a difficult one to pin down.

“I have to say it is not straightforward,” he says, suggesting that the IoT is more concerned with manufacturing and the delivery of vital services and utilities than media. “Let’s say that it is not the top priority,” he adds.

Romeo suggests the best way to look at IoT’s role in media is in terms of assets, people and processes. How can automation improve the management and delivery of media services beyond simple asset-tracking and application control? He provides a possible scenario.

“Let’s take a journalist crew in war zones. Maybe, they want to use AR [augumented reality] smart glasses in their activities, maybe recording what they see, and send data to the studio. Maybe, they want to use drones and they want to monitor and control the drones, but are also able to take the data from the drone [video data] and real-time analyse that data. Here, things get a bit more IoT: different sources of data from different devices and sources. Similarly, we can think about a film crew.”

Of course the more we connect and create automation between devices the more we will invent ways to make use of it. Media will surely capitalise on this opportunity but it will take time. It’s what Haydn Jones, managing director at Fujitsu UK, refers to as the potential for an “internet of media things”, citing the idea that connected smartphones will be able to both generate news through data and deliver news relevant to individuals based on previous consumption and habits. It reflects the increasingly popular expectation built around the delivery of content. But is this right? Is it IoT?

Certainly smartphones are changing the media landscape. In the US the Pew Research Centre’s analysis of the news media found that 39 of the top 50 news sites get more traffic from mobile devices than from desktops, while print newspapers saw a corresponding 4% drop in ad revenues. It’s not a surprising picture, but it’s not black and white either. The shift in news consumption is understandable but what about video, music and longer forms of written media?

Deloitte’s recent study into UK media consumption says that habits “are formed slowly and hard to break”. New technology, it seems, does not always rip up the rulebook – at least not quickly. So how can the media industry exploit automation and connected machines if consumers are not prepared to go along with it?

Understandably media agencies would like to plough ahead anyway and add cultural and contextual layers to their current crops of demographic data. IoT from a marketing agency’s point of view means on one thing at the moment: consumer data.

Matthew Knight, head of innovation at media buying agency Carat, says he believes that the extra data from connected devices “deeply enriches what we already know about our audience”.

He adds: “This deeper insight means we can help our clients develop better ways of reaching consumers, across a much wider ecosystem of touchpoints.”

But how are agencies going to get aggregated data from all these sources to make sense of consumer movements, timing and habits? And should we let them?

According to Matt Wolfrom at marketing automation software company PubMatic, “consumers expect increasingly relevant advertising across all of their devices”. But don’t consumers just put up with ads on their devices to get free stuff? Not everyone is like Alex Wood. Not everyone opts in.

Sef Tuma, managing director of the media and entertainment practice at Accenture, suggests that the real value is serving content “either in a manner that is convenient or a manner that is surprising and delighting”. This, he says, can go across many devices, following the consumer as they move from home, to mobile device, to car, to hotel, to office and so on.

It is this fluidity of media consumption that is most intriguing. But, while technically possible, there is still a nagging doubt. What would be the benefit of automation here? Many scenarios seem a bit superfluous and gimmicky.

The reality is that IoT has to cut its teeth first. We need networks established and devices and objects connected before we can see the potential. Nandini Nayak, managing director at design consultancy Fjord, an offshoot of Accenture Interactive, says that intelligent aggregation of data “will naturally occur when the focus is on asking the right questions from a human/service point of view.”

And therein lies the problem. For the moment, at least, the media industry has a lot of answers to problems that don’t really exist. Are we asking the right questions? Romeo is perhaps right. The IoT market is not quite ready for media yet.

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