Hotels these days offer a wide array of services to their guests, usually through a great number of facilities. In big hotels in particular, communicating to the visitor the availability of all these services or features offered, is a substantial task.

Brochures or booklets, that are currently being handed out, are now used for this task. However, as those of you that have tried exploring a big hotel will know, it is simply inconvenient to be carrying around all of these, all the time.

The opportunity is there to add a proximity marketing element, and make this information available to the guest on their most private electronic device – their mobile phone.

This way the information is made readily available wherever and whenever.

Let’s now take a look at individual ideas:

Service list
Straightforward stuff. Put all your services in an eBrochure, (or simpler an illustrated image) and send it to guests mobile phones. At any time they can then take out their phones and find what they need.

Prices
Hotels charge guests for using their facilities, and sometimes that puts them off using them because they are unaware of the costs involved. By making this information available on the mobile phone, guests can discretely retrieve this information whenever they need it.

Events
Hotels often organise events for their guests. Through proximity marketing via bluetooth it is very straightforward to send guests calendar reminders for the events they are interested, to help them remember, and eventually attend the event.

Map
One of the most obvious pieces of information that can be offered (but one that is also frequently neglected), especially in large hotels / hotel complexes, is the hotel map. If you need this point proven, all it takes is a visit to some of the wonderful village-like hotels you can find on most greek islands. And then, try not getting lost!

Room Service
A very exciting service that mobile marketing can put on the table for hotels, is room service on your mobile phone. When you want to order breakfast, simply take out your phone, have a look at the menu, and place your order using your mobile. Next thing you know the door rings. ‘Room service’…

Stock exchange updates
For business executives, or the everyday guest who owns some stocks, hotels can offer the icing on the cake type of service, by going the extra mile and retrieving for them live stock exchange information, and making it available on their mobile phones.

3rd party promotions
Hotels also offer third-party advertising by providing leaflets and brochures to their guests, for outside activities they can partake in. By offering these promotions on guests’ mobile phones, it is much more probable that they will actually have the information available at the point in time when they need it, and thus increase the conversions.

Hotels are great candidate areas for proximity marketing services, and I’m sure there’s plenty more ideas out there. These are just to get you started. Good luck!

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Athens International Airport

* What is the project about?

The project is about giving interactive mobile services to as many visitors as we can. The first phase is the pilot. AIA and Cytech wanted to test the feasibility of this project as there aren’t many such project all over the world. The aim was to develop a number of simple and valuable services that would be tested by the AIA personnel. Not just IT but also marketing and administrative personnel. We wanted to have feedback so we make any necessary alterations before we go public.
The first thing was to install 7 Bluevibe Hotspots at the departure terminal. These hotspots were not able to cover all the terminal but they are in such locations that cover the cafeterias and the corridors. After the installation we made all the connections to the Bluevibe Server installed at the AIA premises.
There were a number of challenges such as, power over ethernet, remote power cycling, decoration of the hotspots to look pretty and we achieved all these with the aid of the AIA personnel in about two months. Especially the decoration issue was hard as the rules are very strict.
If you visit AIA you can see the blue plaques at the ceiling, these are antenna containers. After the installation we train the AIA personnel to use the Bluevibe Manager, our web based administration and monitoring tool. They now are able to operate it mostly by themselves.
We also developed a special application for AIA for managing their content and of course a special version of the Bluevibe Browser, the mobile application installed in the visitors’ mobile phones.

* What kind of services are you intending to provide?

The most important service during the first phase is the Flight Information. You enter the flight number and get information about the departure/arrival time, status etc. The other service is about the retail shops of the airport.
It is a mobile shopping catalog. All retail shops inside AIA can present their products and offers. The marketing department of the Airport can change dynamically the images, texts etc using a CMS. We also provide a number of information concerning the airport itself, like left-luggage” areas or safety rules.

* Do the users accept to install a Java mobile application?

We ve just ended our test phase so our users were AIA personnel. They dont have serious objection on installing a new application as lons as this application is useful and not create any problems to their mobile phone. When the number of employees started to install this application and they saw that there is no problem and that they are able to use it we overcame any hesitations.
I think that the most important thing when you ask someone to install an application is to give him a good reason why to do it. If it is something really useful and “alive” they’ll accept it and try to install it.
We confront the same hesitations during the DontDrinkandDrive campaign we currently run for Johnnie Walker. We have developed a mobile application containing all the necessary information (taxi call numbers, bus itineraries, metro time tables) so if you decide to drink to take public transportation and not your car.
Most of the people find this application useful and at the moment they undestand what it is, they are willing to install it. It is 100 times better that a piece of paper containing all this information and that you ll probably throw it away after 5 minutes.

* Since it’s not yet public, and you don’t have any numbers on use, do you have any numbers regarding how many users have their Bluetooth turned on?

You will be surprised, and so our partners at the AIA did. More than half a million different devices have been scanned during the last 10 months and only at 7 hotspots at the departures terminal. I have to add that there is currently no signage and no one knows that there is a Bluetooth system active in the area. We know that we will double or triple this number if we cover the whole terminal and inform people about it.

* What would you identify as the main problem with this project?

I think the major problem hasn’t appeared yet. I strongly believe that when we go public there will be such great demand that we ll have problem to serve them. As you understand, our goal is to serve more than 300.000 unique users in a year.
Based on this assumption and some statistics concerning the number of people per hotspot and the time a user browse the services, we make our plans for the full scale installation. But, I am afraid, the real number will be greater. We are trying to be ready for this case also. I ll keep you updated but I am sure you will be informed from your sources when we go public.

Johnnie Walker Mobile Marketing Campaign

* Could you please also describe the JW campaign to us?

The concept is simple. Don’t drink and drive. It is about responsible drinking. Johnnie Walker has great tradition in this kind of events that contain messages like this. This time they have decided to include proximity marketing to the whole scenario. GetItRight marketing services, in cooperation with Cytech have designed a campaign with the following innovation.
Instead of giving people a plain paper with information about the means of transport during late hours, they also send this information to their mobile phones.
This way, this information which includes, taxi call numbers, bus and underground time schedule, is stored at the mobile phone and can be used anytime. The paper version is OK but it is most of the times misplaced somewhere and you can’t find it the next day.
These events take place at crowded squares of Athens from 20:00 till 24:00 just before people enters the bars and pubs for a drink. Everyday we setup a kiosk where promoters call people to play an internet game and win prizes. At the same time Bluevibe is responsible for sending the mobile application to the people as they stop in front of the kiosk.

* Can you share the penetration rate there with us?

I can’t disclose our statistics as the campaign is still running but I have to say that we believe that the penetration rate will be greater than 10%. We can discuss it again when it is over, at the end of May.

* What would you identify as the main problem with this campaign?

The main problem is the infrastructure. As you understand, we are in the open and we have constantly problems with electricity and network. We are lucky to use a system like Bluevibe because it is very versatile.
We use it as we think appropriate during each event day. If we see that the network is not stable enough we operate the Hotspots in standalone mode and when the network is back again they are synchronised with the server, uploading all the statistics and downloading new campaign settings. On the other hand if the network is stable we operate them in Networked mode, having all the advantages like online monitoring and administration and live statistics.

Mr. Antoniadis’ views provide a very interesting inside view on the workings of proximity marketing campaigns. I believe those of you interested in starting out in the bluetooth marketing sector, have plenty to learn and I highly recommend you keep some of these hints in your mobile marketing notebook.

I hope you enjoyed it, and found it valuable as much as I did.. Feel free to share your views, or questions, if you have any. I’m sure Mr. Antoniadis will be more than happy to follow up.

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NORTHBROOK, Ill. — Northbrook, IL based Parachute Marketing Group has brought cutting-edge Bluetooth proximity marketing to the Mid-West by deploying Hypertag units at events over the last several months. Overall, Hypertag units have been present at 5 different events and have directly reached about 60,000 people.

As the sole authorized U.S. partner of Hypertag, a UK-based Bluetooth proximity marketing company, Parachute has brought Bluetooth marketing to consumers at the Chicago Bears Fan Festival (March 31-April 1) Bluesfest (June 7-10), Summerfest (June 29-July 8 in Milwaukee, WI) and the Taste of Chicago (June 29-July 8). Hypertag has also been in operation at Busch Stadium in St. Louis for the entire Cardinal’s season.

One of the nation’s largest cellular carriers used Hypertag’s technology and its industry-exclusive Bluetooth wearable marketing tool to conduct an “instant-win” campaign through user’s mobile phones at the Taste. Promotional staff wore the eye-catching and lightweight Hypertag devices and intermixed with the crowd, sending out electronic coupons. Winning coupons were sent out based on the numbers of hats and shirts to give away, but the “losing” coupon gave users a second chance to win an item from their booth. Hypertag’s industry-leading “fingerprinting” technology ensures that each cell phone only has one chance to win by recognizing the unique Bluetooth address of each phone and is set to only give out the number of coupons specified by the client.

“It’s been a great summer for Bluetooth marketing in the U.S. and for Hypertag,” Parachute Marketing Group President Brett Cutler said. “The consumer’s willingness to view content on their most cherished device opens up huge new opportunities for advertisers in an increasingly difficult environment. Hypertag’s incredible ease of use and innovative tools make it the perfect tool for companies seeking a cutting edge solution that can track the consumer from first interaction through purchase.”

“We are very encouraged by these numbers and will continue towards our goal of making Hypertag the #1 choice for proximity marketing campaigns in the U.S.,” Cutler said. “As consumers and advertisers turn away from their televisions, print and radio and towards alternative media, the market for mobile phone-enabled advertising and marketing will only increase. We are here to supply the technology and provide the support and knowledge to help mold the campaigns to take advantage of the ever-expanding reach of the mobile phone.”

ABOUT HYPERTAG

Hypertag (www.hypertag.com) is a proximity marketing technology provider which allows brands to deliver rich, interactive content to consumers based on their proximity to a fixed physical location. This ensures that brands can reach their target audience at a time and place that puts their offer into a direct and relevant context when a consumer is most receptive.

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Proximity marketing, also known as Bluetooth marketing, is a new trend in mobile marketing. This new marketing method enables an advertiser to establish a connection with Bluetooth enabled phones located within 20 meters of a designated hotspot. Since 2006, proximity marketing has turned out to be a highly efficient free advertising method, reaching millions of customers with incredible ease. At proxiblaster.com you can purchase proximity marketing software and receive maximum feedback for a minimum initial investment. With our Bluetooth broadcasting software you won’t have to pay any hidden costs or annual fees.

A marketing campaign is successful only when it is able to reach a large number of people. Marketing methods are meant to attract target consumers and inform them about your products and services. Traditional marketing techniques are not only difficult to elaborate but also very expensive. Just think about the costs of a TV advertisement or promotional banners. And you won’t even have the certainty that the message has been received by your targeted audience. Proximity marketing software is an easy way to make sure your potential clients have received your message. At proxiblaster.com you can purchase Bluetooth broadcasting software that’s easy to install and use.

So how does proximity marketing software actually work? The purpose of any Bluetooth broadcasting software is to deliver media files to the potential customers’ mobile devices. The software automatically sends out media files to all of the Bluetooth enabled devices within a range of approximately 10 meters. Receivers will be asked for permission to view the media on their mobile phone screen. If the potential customer accepts, the Bluetooth media file transfer will begin. The transfer is absolutely free – customers won’t have to pay anything to view it and the advertiser won’t pay any additional fees after purchasing the proximity marketing software. If the user refuses to view the advertisement, the message will disappear from the mobile phone’s screen.

Proximity marketing can turn out to be more efficient than you’ve imagined. Users that receive the media are generally pretty interested to know what it’s about. Therefore, your message will reach more than 90% of your targeted audience. That’s a lot more than you can account for other marketing methods. Furthermore, the costs for this type of advertising are incredibly low. At proxiblaster.com you’ll only have to purchase the Bluetooth broadcasting software and will never have to pay for any additional fees.

Making your business a success is all about intelligent marketing. You don’t necessarily have to spend a lot of money in order to broadcast your message to a large number of people. By using proximity marketing software you will be able to send a media file containing your advertisement to any number of people within a 10 meter range. Proxiblaster.com is where you’ll find Bluetooth broadcasting software at a very convenient price.

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MPro Care is the first two-way mobile diabetes solution that provides automated reminders and accepts readings using standard mobile phones on all major U.S. service providers. mPro Care was developed to help improve patient medication and treatment compliance for improved health care outcomes and reduced cost of care for patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes, coronary artery disease and hypertension, asthma and obesity.

“We’re very excited about this whole mobile healthcare division, and we’ve partnered with content providers and complementary platform providers to create this mobile command center platform,” said Alan Stern, CMO of Gold Mobile, Clark, NJ. “We’re trying to create solutions that can be implemented in multiple locations, from doctors’ offices and hospitals to call centers and medical labs.

“This platform provides a rapid notification alert system with lots of capabilities for patients and their families, physicians and local authorities such as appointment confirmations and SMS reminders 24 hours before so you don’t have to have a nurse make these phone calls,” he said. “This allows them to send and receive text messages from a Web-based console to a cell phone and handle multiple calls simultaneously.

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“We created categories that can be customized based on whatever the hospital’s needs are.”

…

“We’re in the process of demonstrating this to a dozen-plus hospitals, and some are about to adopt it, while others are in the early stages.”

…

There are currently over 23 million diabetics in the U.S., about 8 percent of the total population, with approximately 2 million new diabetics diagnosed each year.

…

Medication compliance, proper nutrition and exercise are major factors in diabetes management, and mPro Care sends custom-tailored medication reminders, motivational and behavioral trigger messages and condition-reading requests to patients’ mobile phones via SMS.

It will be great when we see this applied in hospitals, as I truly think such services can improve the quality of life of people with such diseases. I hope we will soon see more such services surfacing, because they are excellent examples of how the mobile technology can be put to good use and help us protect our lives and health.

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* How long has your company been doing what you guys do? Give us a bit of background.

Cytech Ltd, started off as a technology provider for the mobile marketing field back in 2001, by building mainly sms marketing tools for bulk sms, and interactive sms services. Based on that very positive experience and success – mainly in the greek market – we decided to invest in bluetooth marketing by purchasing a share in a bright startup company then called Bluebird. Bluebird later evolved into Bluevibe, the company that develops the synonymous proximity marketing product for us.

I am quite pleased to say we identified the potential in the mobile marketing field very early on, and we are very happy with our choice! (laughs) At the time we invested in Bluevibe, it was the only proximity marketing platform built in Greece, and one of the very few worldwide. Since then, we have concentrated on constantly pushing our product one step ahead of the competition, in order to be able to cope with marketing giants from around the world developing their own solution. Today our system is the only system in the world that can offer free web access via Bluetooth wherever a Bluevibe Hotspot is covering the area.

* In your experience, do you think people are still afraid of using Bluetooth? – Is that any different in Greece than abroad?

I am not sure if the word “afraid” is the right one but it is definitely right that most of the people are circumspect about accepting files over Bluetooth. The main reason is that they have heard that viruses can infect their mobile phones and they are coming from Bluetooth. This is something common all over the world. From my point of view there is only one solution and this is trust. When a well known brand runs a mobile marketing campaign and makes it visible to the people, they tend to trust it. According to our experience if the brand informs people about the proximity marketing event the penetration rate doubles. So there are hesitations about accepting mobile content over bluetooth but there is always a way to overcome them.

* You’ve run a couple of very interesting campaigns lately in Greece.. Do you see the market opening up?

Indeed, we have run a number of different campaigns, in expositions like Thessaloniki International Expo (Helexpo) or Taxi Show and DTE-Comdex, in events like the Dont Drink and Drive campaign we are currently running, and of course at the Athens International Airport. We are in the proximity marketing field for about 4 years and we know that you have to be patient. We see that marketing agencies adopt this medium day by day and that in the next years will be part of their tool set. In the beginning we had great difficulties to make marketers understand the role of this new medium at the whole marketing landscape. Now we receive daily phone calls and emails all over the world asking about Bluevibe. They know the basic features and want to know more about centralized management, web access over Bluetooth etc.

* What is your favourite mobile marketing campaign / proximity marketing campaign, from any that you might have seen?

I have read a great number of campaigns all over the world and many of them were very successful. But I have to say I am biased. My favourite campaign is the one we are currently run with Johnnie Walker. I like it because it is in combination with other marketing activities, field promotion, internet marketing and because the mobile application we send is very useful. It is not easy to run such a campaign as the events take place at squares where there is no electricity or network coverage and sometimes you have to overcome issues like bad weather etc. I will come back if you want with numbers when this campaign is over.

* How do you see proximity marketing in the economic crisis?

I think that proximity marketing and mobile marketing in general will benefit from this crisis. No one can say for sure, but my thinking is that these types of marketing media are relatively cheaper that the legacy ones like press or radio. Marketeers are trying to find new media to use, cheaper that the ones already have because the marketing budgets are lowering. We ll see about that in the next months but I have to say that the demand for Bluevibe is greater than one year ago.

* Do your customers prefer opt-in campaigns, or opt-out?

As you understand opt-out campaigns are easier. There is no need for acceptance and there is no need for special mechanisms to manage the opt-in lists. So, in the beginning, customers try this type of campaigns. They soon understand that even if the numbers are good they tend to lower as people get used to proximity marketing. During the first campaigns we run, people accepted to receive mobile content, most of time because of curiosity. They didn’t know what exactly this bluetooth message is and they wanted to see. Now most of the people and mainly young ones, are accustomed to the whole procedure and they want to receive only valuable information. They dont want to be disturbed and as proximity marketing events are more frequent, they want to know what they will receive before the click on OK button. I am sure that opt-in is the magical word for the next year and we, as technology providers, are obliged to provide the appropriate technology to support it.

* How do you avoid being thought of as SPAM?

This is one of the first things we tell our customers. It is crucial to inform people about the proximity marketing event so they are not annoyed. In addition, Bluevibe platform has a number of features to ensure that the person who says no will not be receive anything in the future. But I think the final and more antispam policy is the Bluevibe mobile application. One of the most advanced components of the platform is the interactivity. Bluevibe mobile application is installed at the user’s phone and it is s/he that begins the interaction with the system. There is no need to send him/her nothing and on the other hand s/he has access to rich content like multimedia, internet websites, facebook, wikipedia etc. Finally, in order to void being thought of as a spammer you have to:

o inform people,
o give them the right to opt-out easily
o and, if the application permits it, provide interactive services.

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FRANKFURT and SUNNYVALE, Calif., March 31 /PRNewswire/ — GoldSpot Media Inc., a leader in mobile interactive advertising solutions, and Solid Ground Communications GmbH, a leader in mobile proximity marketing services in Central Europe, launched the first of its kind interactive mobile movie trailer for Universal Pictures’ release of “Fast & Furious” in Germany. Interactive trailers for this blockbuster movie are available for download free-of-charge to Bluetooth enabled mobile phones at select cinemas and other public locations throughout Germany. The interactive trailers offer the mobile viewer a one-click access to “Fast and Furious” sweepstakes contest and allows them to purchase movie tickets for upcoming screenings of the film in select cinema chains in Germany. The interactive trailers are created using GoldSpot Media’s miSpot(R) interactive advertising technology and delivered via Solid Ground’s b-LAN(R) Bluetooth cinema network.

“GoldSpot Media’s innovative mobile ad technology brings a whole new level of audience engagement to our trailer promotional marketing program and is expected to drive even more impulse ticket sales and brand engagement among our target audience,” said Niels Oeft, Promotions Manager, Universal Pictures International Germany. “This is extremely beneficial to the entire mobile content ecosystem – from Universal, to the cinema distribution chains, down to the mobile payment solution providers.”

“GoldSpot Media is excited to help Universal Pictures Germany pioneer a unique, interactive movie trailer experience and add new dimensions to the Universal brand uplift through audience engagement and one-click cinema ticket purchase,” said Srini Dharmaji, CEO, GoldSpot Media. “Enhancing Solid Ground’s mobile proximity marketing services with our interactive advertising technology creates a compelling business model for marketers to cost effectively interact with their target audience on mobile.”

“Through GoldSpot Media’s technology we are able to drive consumer interaction within movie trailers transmitted through Bluetooth. This offers a complete range of new ways to drive transactions straight at the point of sale,” said Dr. Wilhelm Bielert, Managing Partner, Solid Ground Communications GmbH.

About GoldSpot Media

GoldSpot Media offers the industry’s first end-to-end interactive advertising solution for all mobile channels, devices, inventory owners and applications. Its unique solution powers profitable new advertising revenue models for the entire mobile content value chain by delivering highly targeted, interactive ads in real-time based on demographics, behavioral patterns, device type, context and location. The privately held company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif. with R&D centers in New Jersey, USA and Bangalore, India and sales offices in Europe.

For more information, please contact us at info@goldspotmedia.com or visit http://www.goldspotmedia.com/

About Solid Ground

As a core business unit of the Solid Ground – Group, Solid Ground Communications develops, customizes and operates complex, interactive Proximity Marketing (Bluetooth, WiFi, RFID) and Mobile Internet solutions. Being a turnkey solutions provider and using state of the art proven technology, the company is able to offer customer target group specific Mobile Solutions at outstanding quality levels. Typically, Solid Ground Communications services do include the graphical user interface, the technical development & deployment and the ongoing operations. Solid Ground Communication has offices in Germany (Berlin, Hamburg), Malaysia, Switzerland and USA.

For further information please contact us at info@solidground.de or visit http://www.solidground.de/ .

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For any business entity, effective marketing skills are considered as key to success. The marketing is based on image and message, both of which can be delivered in myriad ways. Marketing through text messages are getting more and more popular among the business entities, nowadays. Therefore, it can be said that SMS marketing has become a rage in the field of marketing technology. This technique of marketing is gaining importance over others because the use of mobile phone has become rampant. With the growing popularity of the mobile phones and increasing intensity of competition among business entities, this trend is normal.

In this ‘SMS’ generation, mobile marketing technique promises vast opportunities. As a matter of fact, SMS services offer powerful marketing potential via direct communication with target people. While floating the SMS, it is essential for any business entity to get their idea across the receiver in a quick, short and relevant format. Therefore, it can be said that the SMS marketing is a procedure wherein specific message is transmitted from an organisation to target group of customers.

An effective marketing process follows various steps such as planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of goods, services & ideas to satisfy the individual and organisational goals. With the SMS marketing solutions, the business entities tend to develop long lasting relationships with their target group of people. The content of these messages is interactive and promotional in nature. This solution goes a long way in building brand identity, as sending of text messages is just a part of the entire scenario. Apart from the text messaging option, the business entities can even go in for advanced multimedia messaging services or MMS, infrared and Bluetooth marketing, as it will create better impact on their users.

In comparison with other modes of marketing and advertising, the SMS delivery solutions have instant reach. In this entire process of SMS service, one could also use SMS gateways to generate the maximum promotion with the minimum possible costs. The SMS gateway is used for sending and receiving SMS messages without using a mobile phone. Therefore, these gateways are proved to be the best bet for many big and not so-big business establishments, and the corporate houses which want to reach the users of their products and services.

To conclude, the SMS marketing is one of the inexpensive ways of promoting goods and services across a wide range of customer-base. Therefore it is necessary that message should be short and crisp – otherwise it would loose the purpose.

About the Author

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A new trend has set in the mobile marketing from the year 2006 with the Bluetooth marketing or proximity marketing. This new technique is becoming highly popular among the en users of mobile phones. With this technology, users can connect their phone between the distances of 20 meters. Users can share data without paying single penny. There are various advantages of Bluetooth marketing which are listed below:

Free messages sending : Users can send lots of messages to mobiles and PDAs quickly with no transmission cost.

24×7x365 delivery: Users can share their data anytime throughout the whole day. Bluetooth is the effective tool that helps end user to share their data with no cost. Data that you can share through Bluetooth are:

:Audio and video

:vCal

:Images of your own or JPEG files

:Animates moving images or still images

Bluetooth equipments are also available in the market that can also help users to make the calls. While sharing data, a simple question will appears on your phones that is Do you accept the data from someone? You need to do Yes/No to accept the data. If you press yes then the data will download on your phone but if you reject then it will not download on your phone. The data that you share with the help of Bluetooth is totally free. All you need is a phone of Bluetooth feature and enough memory to store the data. With this effective and simple feature of mobile phone, mobile phone users are demanding handset with Bluetooth feature.

Bluetooth tool is continuously growing in the market and there are countless users those are using Bluetooth in their day to day life to share their data. Therefore, there are lots of companies which are promoting Bluetooth in the marketing with various effective tools.

Bluetooth is increasing their popularity in almost every country like India, Dubai, US, etc. Various companies are already involved and some are involving themselves in the sector of Bluetooth marketing in various countries. In developing countries like India, Dubai, etc. companies are doing Bluetooth marketing Dubai, India, US, etc.

Bluetooth Marketing, an astonishing system that uses Bluetooth wireless technology to target your audience at close proximity to your establishment with the direct response message.

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The world we live in gets easily bored and craves novelty. Smart marketers look for new ways to put a twist on old standby marketing and advertising techniques. Marketing through television and radio channels has been done to death and has more nuisance value than anything else as far as the audience is concerned.

For marketers seeking new ways and means to expand their reach anywhere their prospects are — the future is here. Smart marketers and advertisers create a personal touch in their ad campaigns. This is one of the reasons why mobile advertising is rapidly increasing in popularity as an effective marketing tool. And the astonishing use of mobile devices leveraged this trend.

There are over 1.5 billion mobile phone users worldwide according to the International Telecommunications Union with the highest growth percentage coming from emerging economies like China, Russia and India. The US has about 200 million mobile subscribers. Smart marketers are tapping into the potential to reach their prospects as they’re on the move. Mobile devices are practically a permanent attachment for people under age 34.

Mobile Advertising is delivered in a number of formats. Text messaging, mobile internet advertising and mobile radio advertising are some of the common advertising formats. Out of these, text messaging (SMS) is the most widely used format.

According to the joint Mobile Advertising Report (MAR) released by Limbo and GfK Technology, text message usage is about 74% in India, 48% in the UK and 22% in the US. Projections predict in the near future mobile internet advertising will surpass text message advertising (FierceWireless).

In June 2008, Nokia launched the Nokia Advertising Alliance that aims to make mobile advertising easier for advertisers. This particular program includes services like providing marketing strategies, geographic targeting and related technologies to enhance customer captivation. Now advertisers can work in conjunction with Nokia to expand the coverage of mobile advertising with emerging mobile technologies for more powerful ad promotions.

The best part about mobile marketing is mobile devices are more heavily used than traditional PCs. Mobile advertisements are delivered to the customer no matter where they are. Even with these advantages, mobile advertising is still in its “early adopter” stages with a long way to go. The main obstacles are in the form of data tariff structures, handset and mobile internet interactivity and quality of subject matter.

Like the early days of the Internet, there are more advertisers than quality content. Add to that an acute lack of tools to assess the performance of mobile ad campaigns. Even though most of these difficulties will be solved in the future, mobile advertising will still face competition from other advertising and marketing methods. Google, Microsoft and Nokia are the prominent players in mobile advertising. The future holds a huge potential in terms of revenues from mobile advertising.

According to a report released by Informa Telecoms & Media, it is estimated that mobile advertising will generate USD 1.72 billion in 2008 and will rise to USD 12 billion in 2013. The report also advocates the use of banner ads as an effective tool in mobile advertising. The report highlights the significance of focusing on the long run and not the short term stumbling blocks.

Yahoo jumped on the bandwagon in June 2008 when it partnered with Publicis to integrate Publicis mobile advertising agency (PhoneValley) with Yahoo’s mobile developer platform language (Blueprint). The partnership is aimed at developing brands, reaching customers and maximizing sales through new techniques. It also aims to initiate cutting edge advertising strategies in the future.

Since the potential market for mobile advertising is huge, a few companies are exploring new horizons and expanding in new territory. For example, Millenial Media Inc., is venturing into Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Millenial develops ads for cell-phones and mobiles. Its CEO Paul Palmieri says “There is a tremendous growth opportunity for mobile advertising on a global basis, as evidenced by a rich and active mobile direct marketing industry, as well as surging demand from top brand advertisers.”

The media industry and brand advertisers are slowly catching on and making use of mobile advertising to increase market penetration. Mobile advertising has added support from applications like ringtones and pictures. Bluetooth advertising is also growing in popularity. Here, a company can advertise its products or services over a fixed area.

The three major search engines: Yahoo, Google and Microsoft have already realized the potential and the possibilities of the mobile advertising market. MSN uses banner ads on MSN mobile pages. Earlier MSN’s mobile advertising was confined to countries like France, Japan, Spain and UK. Recently it expanded coverage to include the US. Google also launched mobile image ads. When the cell phone browser is opened these image ads are displayed on the screen. However, the ad size is much smaller as compared to those for web pages. These image ads are connected to a web page and they follow the price-per-click model Google AdWords uses.

Mobile Advertising is one of best forms of mass medium advertising. It’s personal, and has a wider reach than any other form of advertising. It’s still early to comment on exactly how big or how successful it will prove to be. However, by all indicators “the future’s so bright you gotta wear shades.”

The predictions about the future revenues generated through mobile advertising optimistic. A brand advertiser, a mobile advertising company and the consumer will have different perceptions of mobile advertising. However, mobile advertising also comes with its fair share of drawbacks. Mobile ads are sometimes viewed as another form of spam and the advertisers as spammers. To resolve this issue, there are programs developed to give subscribers free talk-time for performing certain activities related to viewing ads. As far as the opinions of consumers are concerned, it’s a mixed bag. This is because people are simply not accustomed to being paid to view ads. Even if they are paid to view them, many still view the ads as a nuisance. It doesn’t make sense for the advertiser to pay a consumer to view ads if there are no conversions.

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