Running a successful Bluetooth Proximity marketing campaign may be more expensive than you think, if you’re looking to achieve all of the factors of a non-intrusive mobile marketing initiative. Just some of the things to consider would include:

• A value added offer
• Interactive Digital Signage
• Content for both the digital signage and the offer itself
• Mobile / web portal

A Value Added Offer

Why would a person accept a Bluetooth transmission from an unknown source? There has to be a way to persuade a person just to activate the Bluetooth functionality on their mobile device. A value added offer must come in the form of a free download that a person would actually like to receive.

Imagine walking through a mall and your cell phone starts beeping. That’s the first interruption. How many times have you been shopping and haven’t even taken a call from a known contact, let alone accept an unknown transmission from a Bluetooth device. This brings us onto the next factor.

Interactive Digital Signage

So there you are, walking through a mall, an airport or anywhere else that has just spent a vast amount of money to install Bluetooth servers and send messages to its patrons, whether informative or advertising, and you see a Bluetooth sign on a poster. Is it enough to tell you that you can receive Bluetooth data at no cost to you? How do you activate it? How do you ensure that you haven’t just activated your mobile phone’s Internet browser and are about to run up a huge sum of money surfing the mobile web? Is your phone even compatible? Are you even compelled to find out? There has to be consumer education.

A free offer is usually always compelling unless you’ve become so cynical that you believe free offers are stuff fairytales are made of. A digital video screen that offers clear information about how to receive the Bluetooth data together with a facility to interact and ask questions about activation and phone models will further clarify the intent, legitimacy and credibility of the campaign. Not to mention, details of the actual offers available to users once they become a part of the Bluetooth network.

Content

The content shown on a large screen has to be at the same standard as television commercials. In addition, due to the interaction there has to be a number of pre recorded options. This kind of content does not come cheap.

The actual mobile content whether banners, videos, coupons or ring tones available from the Bluetooth network is also a costly effort. However, partnership deals would be the best way to alleviate some of the heavy content costs.

Mobile Web Portal

The campaign would be in vain unless mobile users had access to a sticky portal that gave a value added service to customers when they are in the proximity of the Bluetooth network. In addition, once the portal is established and users register and accept content via Bluetooth, most Bluetooth ad serving software can establish user patterns therefore enabling targeted advertising within the zone.

Summary

Bluetooth guerilla campaigns will always be an option. However, these campaigns are intrusive and the take up rate will be inevitably low. When Sony Pictures ran a Bluetooth marketing campaign for the release of the movie ‘Superbad’, they displayed visible signage in the foyers of selected cinemas. The call to action was ‘turn on your Bluetooth’. The offer was free ‘Superbad’ mobile content. 434,478 phones received a prompt to accept and 33,390 phones accepted the content. That’s a 17% take up rate. This campaign was targeted, relevant to the surrounding, educational to the phone user and offered value. If a campaign of this nature had a 17% take up ratio, how much fewer would the ratio be for guerilla campaigns consisting of one man and a Bluetooth server acting covertly?

For Bluetooth Proximity marketing to be a true success, the campaign needs to concentrate on the chosen location and then only over time can bring results. However, making a free Bluetooth download zone would be one way to gain interest and acceptance and allow advertisers to serve ads on the download itself.

On a final note, once mobile Internet use becomes unlimited at a fixed cost, Bluetooth campaigns will become extinct. Therefore any plans for creating Bluetooth campaigns, should work completely in conjunction with a mobile web presence in order to accommodate a seamless transition from Bluetooth to mobile wireless.