Mobile marketing firm TapSense claims to have released the industry’s first programmatic ad platform for the Apple Watch.

Ever since the announcement of the Apple Watch, advertisers have been looking into its potential opportunities. Mobile marketing firm TapSense now claims to have released the industry’s first programmatic ad platform for the device.

This week, over 3,500 firms from around the globe will descend on Las Vegas for this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, including TapSense, which plans to release the new platform at the event.

According to the company, the platform will provide developers and brands with a full suite of tools that will enable them to utilise the Apple Watch platform.

“Wearables and Internet of Things (IoT) are the next frontiers in the mobile revolution. We are excited to announce industry’s first programmatic ad platform for Apple Watch developers and brands,” said Ash Kumar, co-founder and chief executive of TapSense.

Kumar believes that the Apple Watch has the potential to be a “category disruptor similar to iPod or iPhone” when it is eventually released later on this year.

“We believe that it provides great opportunities for brands and developers to deliver engaging experiences to consumers,” he added.

One of the problems that advertisers face with Apple Watch is the small screen, preventing the use of traditional banner ads. TapSense claims its platform will work with Apple’s WatchKit technology to provide alternative ad opportunities through watch faces, wall-papers and other full-screen experiences.

Hyper-local targeting is normally hailed as the holy grail of mobile advertising, but is still struggling to capture the consumer’s attention. This is an area TapSense claims to have successfully utilised.

“We think it’s primarily due to the fact that users have to take their phones out of their pocket and unlock it before interacting with a local notification,” said TapSense in a statement.

“Being worn on the wrist, an Apple Watch is more accessible and can leverage the GPS on an iPhone,” added the company. Businesses may be able to notify consumers of special deals when passing a nearby participating shop, for example.

Apple Pay also provides another opportunity. As the Apple Watch has full integration with Apple Pay, the hyper-local coupons delivered through the TapSense platform can be redeemed by the consumer straight from the wrist.

“As this reduces friction for the consumer, we believe this will have huge impact on brand lift and engagement. Also, marketers would be able to link their marketing spend accurately with offline purchases, which has been a difficult problem to solve until now,” said TapSense.

But businesses will have to be careful not to bombard consumers with too many push notifications or may risk forcing them to simply remove the watch altogether. Communicating using vibrations is currently only available on Apple’s own apps for the device.

The exact date for the release of the Apple Watch is still unknown, but according to a leaked memo last year we can expect the device to be made available in spring.