Mowing the Digital Landscape

I’m not a big fan of Bluetooth. Maybe it’s the way that guys wearing one of these devices over their ear 24/7 always seem to be sitting right next to me when I’m out to dinner with my family. As he talks shop while munching on a hamburger, sometimes ignoring his own family sitting right new to him, it takes all the strength I can summon to not grab this guy’s Bluetooth and throw it out into the parking lot.

Or it could be incidents such as the one depicted below that turned me off to the technology, as I’ve all too often mistaken a Bluetooth conversation for an actual one.

That being said, I am intrigued by the idea of Bluetooth proximity marketing. Here’s the deal. You are walking past a billboard on a city street that catches your eye. For the sake of the discussion, let’s say it is promoting an upcoming concert series. In large, bold text, the sign directs you to enable your Bluetooth device to “discoverable” mode. Upon doing so, you are provided details on the next show featuring Nelly Furtado, as well as a code that can be redeemed online for a free parking pass.

As long as you are within 100 meters of the sign, you will be able to receive the marketing messages. From the marketing perspective, if you are already including billboards or posters in your integrated marketing mix and are interested in finding a way to make the medium more engaging, then proximity marketing may be your answer. Just make sure you avoid placing these interactive advertisements any where near my neighborhood. I’m not sure I can take any more Bluetoothians walking around the place.