Brands are becoming more adventurous as wearables lead to cross-development - Mindshare’s CDO on wearables unit launch

“Privacy is a big one. I think it’s a case of making sure that, ethically, brands understand the boundaries of what people find acceptable: in other words, when they know that they have to have some level of opt-in from consumers in order to provide more intimate content.

“There is a lot of room for brands to be relevant there and do things that are helpful,” he added, suggesting the health and fitness arena as one sector that could use wearables to an advantage, citing FitBit and Jawbone as some of the companies using wearables well.

One of the five clients that wearables division Life+ has on board so far is MapMyFitness, part of the new connected fitness category.

Life+ will work with the app to provide quantifiable ecosystems, including adaptive messaging opportunities based on physical state and needs. One of these, Johnston revealed, was looking where people run based on anonymous data gathered using the app, which could help with the targeting of outdoor advertising.

But it is not just brands such as this that he feels can be successful from the rise in wearable devices: it can also inspire collaboration, which in turn makes brands “more adventurous” and products smarter.

The predicted tie-up between Apple and Nike is one such opportunity which Johnston believes marks the stage of cross-development.

“I think everyone is waiting for what Apple is going to do. The launch of the iWatch – perhaps in September – may see Nike built in and that might be why they dropped the Fuelband,” he suggested.

“I think what you’ll find is that as other companies get into this space, not just content and marketing but also the merging of brands and companies together, new products and new applications – like Nike and Apple have done in the past with Nike+. I think you’ll see other examples in the future of brands being a bit more ambitious in cost development really.”

When asked if this will lead to better products, he agreed that it could: “Just look at the realm of possibilities out there. Making products and objects smarter, in theory it should make your life easier or enhance your life, whether that’s coffee machines automatically turning on when you wake up, or an automatic re-order through Amazon.”

The Life+ team, which launched last week with five team members and is being headed by headed by Jeff Malmad, MD of mobile at Mindshare North America, is predicted to double in the next six months.