I want to talk about mobile marketing and proximity-based marketing.
Is it so bad? Is it invasive? Maybe it’s just me but if I had the opportunity to get special coupons, discounts, or announcements from my favorite stores I would sign up or opt-in. I already receive plenty of e-mails from Victoria’s Secret and American Eagle about their weekly deals and specials but unless I plan on going shopping soon I delete them. If I were already at the mall, however, and I got a text alert that said “Hey Erin, come into American Eagle within the next hour and get $10 off your entire purchase” I’d feel like I just needed to get to AE as soon as possible to take advantage of that deal…I mean c’mon…free stuff!!!
A lot of people are saying this type of marketing communication is invasive, annoying, and would bombard the customer. I have to disagree. It’s not like I’d be walking near a strip mall and get 15 different text messages about sales or store promotions. A bluetooth advertising blog has a post that states,
“Contrary to popular belief most bluetooth advertising software and servers…are permission based meaning the receiver can elect to refuse the bluetooth advertisement. ProxiBlaster.com bluetooth advertising software and servers take it a step further as once a bluetooth advertisement is refused, the software remembers this and does not send the bluetooth ad again.”
So, when I opt-in to certain brand names or companies, I’d only receive their messages. If one of the companies decides that my interest in them means I may be interested in certain other stores and I receive advertisements for those other places, I could always opt-out of what they have to say to me.
Why is blueooth marketing a good idea? Proximity Media lists that with this type of marketing a company can:-“Ensure that recipients have an enhanced retail experience-Drive sales by offering digital delivery of coupons and promotional material-Encourage repeat visits so users can acquire new or updated content-Increase loyalty through redemption opportunities and loyalty programs-Extend the brand beyond the retail location-Lower the dependence on expensive paper-based marketing material”
Also, with bluetooth marketing the consumers reap benefits. They have an:-“Enhanced retail experience-Enhanced level of personalization-Consumers can store content on these devices for later viewing-Consumers can receive exclusive content distributed only at select locations-Consumers can help with viral marketing process by transferring the acquired content to other mobile devices with ease”
One case study from Bloozy, a bluetooth advertising company, discusses their success with implementing the technology in a popular nightclub. They installed the system in the club so that it covered the entire bottom floor of the venue. The DJ controlled it and was able to send out text alerts about promotions throughout the night. Using this type of advertising allowed the club to “market to people within [the] venue throughout the night without having additional costs of staff to do [the] job.” The device detected around 400 bluetooth devices and 20-25% of people accepted the promotional material. Honestly, it’s cheaper and more effective than a flyer, the club didn’t have to pay anyone to go around to post flyers, signs, or spread the word, it works.
There can be a downside to bluetooth marketing, however. AT&T has recently found this out when they sent out text message reminders to watch the TV show American Idol to past Idol voters and “heavy texters” within their mobile service. Apparently great deals of people were upset by this and AT&T has gotten into some trouble. They may have even violated some of their own regulations for commercial use text messaging services. In the spring of 2007 U.S. cellular carriers updated their restrictions on mobile marketing, specifically adding details about text-message abuse. AT&T required that all recipients of messages must opt-in before they start to receive any marketing messages. In this Idol case, they didn’t follow their own rules! They did offer a way to opt-out of the messages, but the damage was done and people were ticked off!
I guess that just goes to show you that when it comes to a seemingly invasive technology companies really do have to be careful about what they do and how they work. If it were up to me, I’d opt-in to plenty of store updates (I have a few favorite shopping locations) and definitely Starbucks. If I wasn’t particularly in the mood for coffee and I got a text that I get a free drink between noon and 2, you bet your ass I’d be in that line! Mobile marketing, helping commercialism be all that it can be!
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