Proximity advertising - Reach Out and Sway Someone
“The key is to add value,” said Cyriac Roeding, who runs CBS Mobile. “At the end of the day, if the consumer doesn’t win in this game, there is no game.”
So went the New York Times article (In CBS Test, Mobile Ads Find Users) outlining a mobile proximity advertising test to take place in the USA in the coming weeks.
Loopt which bills itself as a Social Compass, (a mobile social location service enables registered members to opt-in and keep track of their friend’s location via GPS) will be conducting the proximity advertising test.
Proximity advertising is basically ads/messages pushed out to sway consumers based on who, when and where they are - just a few shades shy of being the ultimate in relevancy. Think SMS but with the intelligence to know that you are a block away from my store/my brand. These channels - be it mobile, digital signage, laptop will be triggered by GPS or RFID.
For example - you are within range of a Starbucks – they might SMS an offer to you because you’ve walked past 2 of their stores and haven’t had your fix yet and/or perhaps you are within the gravity well of a Second Cup and might succumb to their branded temptation first. How cool is that.
“Consumers are savvy enough to expect advertising,” said Angela Steele, a director at Starcom USA, an ad-buying agency based in Chicago. “They are accepting of it, but they want it to be relevant. If they are getting something they are interested in, that is great. But if they are sending ads that are not relevant, people won’t want it.”NYT - In CBS Test, Mobile Ads Find Users
But there are other consumer considerations before making any leaps into the channel.
Remember that ad Starbucks sent you – it didn’t go out to your friend walking right beside you for whatever CRM reason. So what happens to the brand dynamic in this situation? Your friend gets upset for being rebuffed and you either feel good for being singled out, annoyed by the intrusion or annoyed that they don’t value your friends. where does that leave Starbucks?
As this post by Kate Trgovac shows consumers are possessive of their cell phone. The Harris study reported that only 20% are very or somewhat accepting of having SMS messages from a company - which punctuates the need for opt in and relevance. Therefore when you proceed, insist that your campaign has a real-time feedback loop allowing users to signal you when you've crossed their line.
a) Thanks – that’s helpful
b) No thanks – not interested at this moment – try me again later
c) No thanks
