• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, September 1, 2015

The Internet of Things (IoT) isn’t going to arrive one day with a big bang.

Rather, it’s evolving through the introduction of many small connected things.

That is, at least in the case of what matters to brands, agencies and marketers.

For industrial things, the IoT is rolling through like a freight train, with sensors to track imminent rainfall, automatic regulation of heating, air conditioning and lighting, tracking of health and maintenance of commercial equipment and vehicles and countless other aspects that save energy.

Those solutions tend to be at a grand scale with immediate payback in savings.

In the area of consumer IoT, the things generally are smaller, but there also tend to be many of them. For example, wearable fitness trackers and smartwatches both have sold in the millions with millions more projected.

Those devices connect and live to provide information to each person wearing the device.

And then there are connected devices in the home, ranging from small to large appliances, as in toasters to refrigerators. Sensors in those devices are designed to either self-diagnose or do something for you, as in sense when it’s time to make you toast or coffee.

There also are sensors that communicate to each other. Some of these sensors even are portable, like the new LG sensor coming out that consumers can stick on an appliance and have it send a smartphone notification when something pre-determined occurs.

Other sensors – many millions of them – will be in various out-of-home locations such as stores, transportation centers, stadiums and convention centers. Many, such as beacons, already are in place with many more on the way.

The messaging around all these sensors will vary along with the needs.

For example, messaging for the consumer interacting with a wearable device may be highly personal, such as a promotion to try something that aligns with their activity level.

Meanwhile, messaging to mobile shoppers as they enter the store and visit the same department for the third time in a week will be different than messaging sent to fans at a baseball game.

And then there is the opt-in factor, since all this messaging has to be agreed to in advance by the consumer, making the IoT audience a subset of the universe, at least initially.

All of the small things are now rolling out with a large number expected to be highlighted for the coming holiday shopping season, followed by the expected wave of IoT introductions at the annual CES International mega-show in Las Vegas in January.

At the moment, most of the categories of the IoT are essentially islands of connections, with some islands larger than others.

The longer term promise of the Internet of Things is to bridge those islands together, creating a massive highway of connections along which will ride messaging and advertising of all sorts.

Though the Internet of Things won’t arrive one day with a big bang, the realization of it may.