NEW YORK ? A Mindshare executive at the 2015 Mobile: IAB Marketplace suggested that a third wave of digital advertising known as adaptive mobility has begun, meaning that brands and marketers must leverage wearables and location-based targeting for their efforts to be effective and provide relevant content to consumers.

During the ?Defining Mobile and Mobility ? It?s About People!? session, the executive discussed the growing amount of traffic on mobile, and the ways that wearables are able to complement advertising efforts on smartphones. Ultimately, marketers must prize their data, as it enables location, sensors and context to work together cohesively.

?We entered the third wave of digital advertising which is adaptive mobility,? said Jeff Malmad, head of mobile and life+, Mindshare North America, New York. ?Now we?re in the pipeline.

?The pipeline represents all the data around us," he said. "Data is the glue that makes all this real.

"Real-time data fuels real-time insights, into real-time actions."

Mobile first outlook
Brands? goals for 2015 should include making the mobile experience even more powerful for consumers, a feat which will be even more enticing when wearables fully permeate the market. Mr. Malmad revealed that consumers spend approximately two hours and 51 minutes daily on mobile devices, while two hours and 9 minutes are spent on desktops every day.

?We are a mobile first society,? Mr. Malmad said. ?If you?re not mobile first, your brand is failing.?

Because the time spent on mobile is so significant, it is affecting ad executions and experiences from the publisher perspective. It is also difficult for some marketers to monetize that traffic, although Mr. Malmad believes that the industry is getting better at doing so.

However, wearables will enable marketers to reach consumers at more optimal times with relevant messages that may positively affect their daily routines. Once consumers begin wearing smartwatches more frequently, they will start to understand that it will supplement their smartphone readily.

Mr. Malmad compared the smartphone to DC Comics superhero Batman, and likened to the smartwatch to his sidekick Robin.

?They complement each other extremely well, but they work well independently together,? he said.

Different advertising methods
The introduction of wearables will also pave the way for connected cars and connected cities, which will tap location to streamline consumers? experiences at places such as stadiums and supermarkets.

?From a brand perspective, it?s not about running a banner ad on a device, it?s about creating relevant content messages,? Mr. Malmad said.

He offered the example of Levi?s leveraging a mobile application for its stadium in California, which let users know the easiest way to find their seats, and offered advice on which restroom lines were shortest. Guests greatly appreciated the convenience and relevance inside the stadium, which used mobile to transform itself into a connected city with Wi-Fi sensors every several hundred feet.

Mr. Malmad also discussed the Ibotta app?s smartwatch companion, which enables consumers to interact with recipes and watch videos before offering a discount on select grocery store items. It essentially uses discounts as an incentive for customers to interact more with the app, a tactic that would likely benefit other supermarket-friendly applications.

Beacons will also help drive location as a top priority for marketers, especially as consumers interact with relevant messages sent at the right time approximately 10 percent more than with regular push messages.

?If you?re not incorporating location into your overall media buys right now, you should,? Mr. Malmad said. ?Location does a lot of great things for overall campaigns.?

Ultimately, the takeaways he stressed for marketers to ponder from his session were to leverage location in all buys, embrace sensors and wearables and place a high focus on message context.

?From a consumer perspective, context is huge,? Mr. Malmad said.

Final Take 
Alex Samuely is an editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York