There are other ways to connect with consumers on mobiles aside from Bluetooth. Text messages are potentially targeted, but content is limited. There are other short-range wireless technologies, such as near field communication, but phones are often not compatible.
- Who's doing it?
This year, Disneyland Resort Paris launched a Bluetooth-based system offering visitors information about attractions and queuing times.
Website Classical.com used it at the Royal Albert Hall during The Proms, with ticket holders sent a link to access a free download.
To promote the ITV series, Pushing Daisies, a temporary shop front was constructed in London where passers-by could choose downloads through Bluetooth. "There is a 10 second window of opportunity when a user will either ignore or download, so the content must be quick and easy to receive," said Paul Hicks, head of operations at digital agency Cunning.
- The lowdown
The University of Bath research collected data about how consumers moved around the city, following their Bluetooth signal without permission. This offered a glimpse into how Bluetooth data capture could be used in the future.
There are concerns over spamming, which threaten consumer confidence, says Ian McNamara, marketing solutions director at Occam. "A permission-based register asking people if data could be collected from Bluetooth could work, but sending out blanket offers without permission worries them," he says.
Hicks thinks Bluetooth will evolve: "Software to capture data could well become available, but other methods of mobile communication will also develop."
Bluetooth will have to fight it out with other mobile technologies to become the marketer's mobile tool of choice. One key obstacle is that if misused, people can simply turn their Bluetooth signal off.