• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, December 7, 2015

At year end, all the forecasts for the next several years come rolling in and The Internet of Things is heavy in the mix, as might be expected.

The five-year forecasts generally have the number of connected objects skyrocketing, the widespread adoption of smart everything and billions of sensors of various types pretty much everywhere.

While many of these forecasts can be useful indicators for long-term strategic planning in an organization, five years from now not many people are likely to look back to check the accuracy of these forecasts.

Meanwhile, many brands and marketers are looking to figure out what they should do for just the next year so they can plan and budget accordingly,

The reality is that IoT growth won’t all happen in five years; it is exploding year to year.

For example, there are 174 million smart homes this year, according to a new report from Gartner. But the number of smart homes will almost double next year, to 339 million.

The consumer applications fueling the growth of smart homes are smart TVs, smart set-top boxes, smart bulbs and various automation tools, such as smart thermostats, home security systems and kitchen appliances, according to Gartner.

Overall, the total number of connected things is expected to hit 1.6 billion, up from 1.2 billion this year.

Smart homes are but one aspect of smart cities, which include the introduction of connected devices in transportation, utilities and commercial buildings, such as the new one with 8,000 smart lights in New York being constructed for agency R/GA.

Consumers will have access to connectivity wherever they go. This is a step way beyond mobile, since the objects will be communicating with each other, with the expectation that new value will be created for consumers in motion

The critical link will be the messaging and content that will have to be created to leverage all those connections.

And that’s what brands and agencies should be building into their plans for the next year.