Bluetooth marketing is the process of using wireless technology to transmit promotional content to the many mobile devices that support the protocol, particularly phone handsets.
The technology itself is rather long in the tooth, if you’ll pardon the pun, conceived in 1994 by Ericsson as an alternative to the proliferation of cables that linked mobile phone accessories at the time. It was named after Harald Blatand (literally translated as blue tooth’; a tenth century Danish Viking ruler who united large parts of Scandinavia), as a metaphor for the technology’s ability to unify the telecommunications and computing industries.
The beauty of Bluetooth lies in the flexibility it affords to send a broad range of rich digital content including text, images, audio, video, vouchers and games at a low cost to multiple users within a defined radius.
Whilst Bluetooth doesn’t suffer from obstacle interference (things like walls), content can only be sent to devices that are switched on and in discover’ mode within a range of up to 100 metres; although greater radii are becoming technically possible, it’s questionable whether additional reach offers any incremental benefit.
The technology can be used indoors or outdoors and lends itself to a vast number of business and consumer applications. Sports stadia, concert venues, events, exhibitions, public concourses, bars, restaurants and retail outlets are obvious candidates but Bluecasting can even be readily adapted to moving vehicles.
Bluetooth has several compelling advantages over SMS in the form of lower operational costs, no per-message’ charge and not needing to know your target’s phone number (the power of the latter point shouldn’t be underestimated).
Bluetooth really comes into its own when the information is at its most valuable, i.e. whilst the audience is in the vicinity of the sales channel. For example, promotional vouchers can be sent when your prospective customer is close to your store or exhibition stand (where he or she may be more predisposed to making a purchase).
So what, if any, are the downsides? Ostensibly, very few. With regard to the four letter s-word (spam), the mobile industry has learnt from the internet and has put forward guidelines and opt-in best practices that protect the end user experience; although many still condemn the disruptive nature of the initial solicitation as Bluespam’.
Responsible marketers should refrain from bombarding users with messages – after all, a mobile phone is, to many, an extension of their personal space and no-one will warm to your brand after what they perceive as an invasion of privacy. To combat this, your Bluetooth server should be set up to allow only one message to be sent to a device during a given time span and to ensure that users who have declined to receive a message don’t get swamped by further entreaties from the same campaign.
So why isn’t uptake of Bluecasting more widespread? Obviously, its applicability will depend on your business model – if your prospective customers are limited in number and don’t need to come into location-specific contact with your products or services, you probably have no use for it.
Although Bluecasting has yet to build up a head of steam, there have been a number of Bluetooth marketing success stories which boast response rates that most direct marketers would give their eye teeth for. But so far, there have been few examples of failures. Whilst this may seem reassuring on the surface, it may also appear too good to be true for those who feel the medium still hasn’t been adequately tested to satisfy the concerns of later adopters.
Bluecasting offers a rich seam of opportunities for B2B marketers. For example, as a customer enters your premises, they can be offered your electronic business card which, once accepted, will automatically be stored in their mobile phone for future use. Sending digital fliers or video clips demonstrating new products can be highly effective at boosting your return on trade show presence.
Unfortunately, the mobile collectibles that are often associated with Bluecasting may be inhibiting uptake amongst B2B marketers who struggle to justify the use of “novel” marketing channels over traditional, tried and trusted direct response ones. In this respect, Bluecasting appears to suffer from the same caution that still makes many B2B organisations leery of RSS feeds, social networking forums and digital signage. Fortunately, opt-in rates for Bluetooth campaigns are eminently quantifiable, which should quickly satisfy the wary marketer looking for a low-risk medium.
The commonality of standards and the adoption of industry best practices means that mobile is a very easy channel to use. But it’s important to remember that mobile is just that – a channel, not a standalone strategy – so the unique capabilities of Bluecasting need to be integrated with a solid cross-media marketing campaign to appeal to a business audience.
In conclusion, the ability to target customers when and where they’re ready, willing and able to engage with your brand is not confined to the entertainment industry or the retail sector – the same principles (and advantages) can apply when attempting to connect with business people.
Bluecasting still appears to occupy a grey area, ethically if not legally, but as the UK Information Commissioner acknowledges, people are “increasingly aware of, and concerned about, the sophisticated methods of sending marketing to them and it is good practice to take their concerns into account when devising a responsible marketing strategy”.
So if you’ve yet to dip your toe into proximity marketing, now may be the time to evaluate the addition of Bluetooth to your campaign armoury. It’s not suitable for every business, but if you aren’t at least looking into how the technology can support more creative marketing practice, your competitors may well be.
Vodafone, GM, Microsoft, Cisco, Universal Music, Pepsi, SonyEricsson, BAA, Samsung, Discovery Channel, Diesel, IBM, UBS, BMW, Land Rover, Lavazza, Virgin Mobile, The Royal Albert Hall and even the good old BBC have recognised the value of putting information directly into the hands of their prospective customers with proximity marketing.
Vue, Cineworld and Showcase cinemas are providing Bluecast trailers to movie-goers across over 150 UK cinemas. A recent campaign was set a target of 370,000 downloads, which was exceeded by 62,000 to deliver a total of 432,000 within three weeks – ten days ahead of schedule.
At a recent trial at Portsmouth Football Club, 6245 Premiership fans opted in to download free content to their phones via Bluetooth from a total crowd of 20,200, adding value to their matchday experience.
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