Bluetooth marketing has been around for almost a decade now; and it has become very popular worldwide during the recent years.

Technically, the single most important contributing factor is that Bluetooth has become the standard in most mobile phones.  It was 4 years ago when Bluetooth became an essential feature on newly released phones and now is the time whereby almost every user would have an Bluetooth-enabled phone, given that people upgrade their handsets every 2 to 4 years.

There is a huge potential to be taped with such a large audience, and a Bluetooth marketing campaign can only take off if there are tangible benefits to be reaped.  So, what are these?

Bluetooth marketing enables its audience to keep the campaign’s details conveniently, without holding on to extra pieces of items.

Depending on the campaign’s nature, different media formats may be utilized.  For example, a musical is best promoted using a combination of calendar events and ringtones, as the calender event can serve as a reminder for relevant dates while the ringtone describes the essence of the musical, and allowing people to bring it around, promoting it further as the viral effect kicks in.

Other than these benefits, one can now expand his advertising possibilities and utilize new media formats such as interactive games, wallpapers etc and distribute them at no per-content cost.

Tapping on these advantages of Bluetooth marketing, campaign owners will be more effective in conveying their messages across to their targeted audiences.  It will be a matter of time before Bluetooth marketing reaches its full fledge, to become as commonly used as its printed counterpart in public places.

The Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery are now advertising for their upcoming exhibition “Garden and Cosmos: The Royal Paintings of Jodhpur” using Bluetooth technology.

According to Smithsonian’s website, “… A message from the Smithsonian will appear on pedestrians’ mobile screens, and those who accept the message will receive a detail of the bus shelter advertisement and a message urging them to visit the featured exhibition, “Garden and Cosmos.” This advertisement magnifies the eyes of a Nath Yogi from the exhibition and gives users the opportunity to use the artwork as wallpaper for their mobile devices…”

We believe that Bluetooth marketing is very appropriate for events like this because: First, the targeted audience gets to keep the its details without holding onto flyers.  Second, if the received graphics/multimedia contents are interesting enough, they may be multiplied among friends.  Moreover, when combined with the use of calender events, reminders may be set in the receiving devices, alerting their users of the approaching exhibitions.

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At Raglan Castle, a late medieval castle located in the county of Monmouthshire in south east Wales, the officials that managed it ran a trial to distribute audio files to visitors’ mobile phones using Bluetooth.

According to Tom at Lexemetch.com, “As I walked through the entrance I simply made my phone discoverable, waited a few seconds for the MP3 to download, then started listening to a guided tour of the castle. It’s a great use of the technology: it just worked…”

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During Coke Zero 400 at Daytona, fans were presented with media contents from the sponsors that supported the race.

According to Mobilemarketing watch, “The race’s two main sponsors; Coke and Chevrolet supported the campaign with 15-second video spots placed among the content. Chevy notified people of the vehicle demos they offered around the track, and Coke directed people to free samples of Coke Zero as part of their promotion integrated into the system. Other content the fans received were things like concert information for the infield performances, and driver autograph-signing information and times…”

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During Def Leppard’s show at Detroit & Joe Louis Arena, multimedia contents such as ringtones, wallpapers and videos were sent to fans around the venue.

According to Marketwire, “… We can deploy these campaigns quickly and results are updated throughout the course of the campaign, sponsors love that real engagement, fans love that they can save the content, Def Leppard loved that it brought their legacy to a new generation — a win-win-win. Fans adapt well, understand how to use it and they engage it, with no usage cost, no data plan required, a totally free multimedia experience..”

Throughout the night, the campaign intereacted with more than 1648 devices, which amounted to 18% of the audience; and with 62 rejections, 93% of the fans opted in when they were presented with the contents.

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(Marketwire via TMCnet)

The Northern Ireland Tourist Board has launched a new marketing campaign to pull travellers towards its place.

According to Fermanagh Herald, “Visitor attractions such as Marble Arch Caves European Geopark and Enniskillen Castle will feature strongly in the £1 million campaign. Cutting edge technologies such as bluetooth advertising will be used, while two-wheel Segways will be used to spread the message…”

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The Mobile Marketing Association has recently published a set of Bluetooth Marketing Guidelines for public review; making it the first international effort to set a standard for this evolving market.  Its ultimate aim is to speed up market growth and to assure customer’s satisfaction, while allowing brands and media owners to market and give out contents effectively.

According to the guidelines, “Bluetooth has several clear advantages that make it an attractive way to distribute content… The use of Bluetooth for proximity-based content delivery and marketing is an evolving area, but initial results indicate success…”

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In Stockholm, the largest city and capital of Sweden, Audi has employed Bluetooth to distribute videos of their latest and hottest model, the Audi R8, to devices within proximity. The poster in the picture informs users to turn on their Bluetooth to receive this content. This is a great example of viral marketing where the brand gets passed on by the targeted users to a larger audience.
 
 
 
 
 
 

In the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, England, Trafford centre had started their new marketing strategy by sending multimedia files to their shoppers.

According to how-do.co.uk, “This is gold-dust for the marketeer. We send information to the mobile device of our willing shopper while they’re in shopping mode. That information is not only relevant to who they are, but also where they are… a quarter of a million messages out to phones, with 70,000 people accepting the advertising…”

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In the US, a Bluetooth proximity marketing campaign had been deployed to promote a major motion picture release.

According to Marketwatch, “In just 4 weeks, we deployed in theatres across the country and interacted with over 100,000 mobile devices… The campaign distributed “voicetones” from the movie - 5-15 second audio clips that can be saved and used by consumers for alerts or ringtones - video clips and a calendar reminder that went off the day before the release date. Bluetooth hotspots were in place three weeks prior to the release date and showed steady uptake increases as the movie’s buzz increased…”

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