How does Bluetooth marketing work?
This is one of the many questions I answer on a daily basis talking to our customers and those interested in Bluetooth marketing generally. What better way to be more informative than to answer those questions directly and demystify how Bluetooth marketing works. Where it works? And what can the pitfalls be? But first, does Bluetooth marketing work?
Yes, if used and implemented correctly Bluetooth as a medium is effective for distributing marketing, advertising and rich media through the air to consumer mobile phones on an opt in basis.
If you would rather hear this from us call us on free phone 0800 567 7289.
What is Bluetooth Marketing?
Bluetooth marketing is the use of Bluetooth radio as a communication method; Bluetooth radio is similar to the wireless networking technology most people have in their own homes. Like wireless networking it passes through the air creating a connection between the two devices. Wireless radio technologies of all kinds can be interrupted by obstacles though with careful planning Bluetooth transmitters can be positioned to minimise interference.
Bluetooth marketing uses Bluetooth radio to communicate with mobile phones that have Bluetooth enabled.
The marketing element relates to the message you send. If you are advertising something you will use Bluetooth for marketing purposes, though we have clients in police forces and community safety teams who use Bluetooth for anti-knife crime and drug awareness campaigns. Bluetooth is certainly not only for marketing!
All of these terms refer to the same technology; Bluetooth marketing, Bluetooth advertising and proximity marketing.
When the term proximity marketing is used, the relevance of Proximity should not be lost. The range of the Bluetooth transmitter you are using affects the type of message you should send and how you support that message within your campaign.
There are so many ranges 150m, 250m, 1km what do they mean?
The numbers refer to the range in meters or radius of coverage provided by the transmitter when in clear space. The range of the Bluetooth transmitter you use determines how far away a mobile phone can be and still be detected. The longer the range of the transmitter the more phones it will discover. The actual range of the transmitters varies, but in our tests we found the maximum distance of our 150m transmitter is actually 80m and the 1km Host XR product works to 400m. These are still relevant distances for detection but the issue is delivering a message over this range. The delivery of a message requires a connection from A (the transmitter) and B (the phone). The connection is dependent on the power of the transmitter in the phone or PDA receiving the message. The previously mentioned tests were carried out with recent mobile phone technology (a HTC Touch) so represent the tested not theoretical distances. However, when we tested with mobile phones such as the Sony Ericsson k750i the distances were considerably reduced. This is because the power of older mobile phones’ Bluetooth transmitters is much weaker reducing the distance at which they can receive your message.
So is the 1km product is the best solution because it finds the most phones?
Yes and no, the detection rate is much greater with the 1km product, in all of our tests the number of phones detected was considerable larger than with the 150m transmitter. But the purpose of these systems is to deliver messages not simply detecting them, Bluetooth is restricted by the number of devices it can communicate with at once, these are called channels. Each Bluetooth transmitter can communicate with 7 devices at any one time; this has an impact on which transmitter you would implement. A key indicator of which range of transmitter is appropriate is the Bluetooth footfall at your intended site which is a measure of how many devices each scan is capable of finding.
Our professional system Unicast Pro provides the ability to group transmitters for up to 28 channels per site and infinite number of sites working in unison across a connected network. Whether you are managing Bluetooth marketing in multiple retail stores across regions or you are looking to create a seamless Bluetooth marketing zone or “BlueCloud” within a shopping complex, we have consultants available to help design and specify the right professional Bluetooth marketing system to get the most from your proximity.
If you are purchasing a standalone Bluetooth marketing product here is some more information that might help you choose the most relevant transmitter for your purposes. There are 5 main phone manufacturers Sony Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung, Motorola and LG, they make up 80% of the mobile phone Bluetooth footfall our systems have ever detected. Most of these phones do not possess powerful Bluetooth transmitters on them; they were designed to support short range Bluetooth devices such as headsets and exchanging photos with other phones nearby. This limitation means the long range transmitters are only relevant where footfall is low and there is no other choice to increase the available footfall visible from the transmitter or where implemented as part of a more complex system. Once we have ensured you have the right transmitter for your scenario, you can start to send out messages, more on the types of messages in a moment. First the consumer experience.
What about the consumer, will they think it is spam?
When you send a Bluetooth message you open a connection to the consumer’s mobile phone and in built Bluetooth technology makes a request on the consumer’s phone to accept a message. “Would you like to receive message 10pc_Discount.jpg from BLUEAD.” This is a typical mobile phone message though this message varies by phone manufacturer. The consumer will select yes or no to opt in or out of receiving the message you are sending. If they select yes the message is delivered and can be displayed on the consumer’s phone. Our system will not resend the same message to the same phone twice. We prefer to respect consumers’ rights to not have their Bluetooth repeatedly hit with the same message. If the consumer declines we will exclude their phone from receiving the message again. Other messages will attempt to deliver to this consumer in future. We ensure the consumer remains in control of the communication process, which to date has prevented complaints to any of our customers from consumers.
What messages can be sent?
Again this depends on the environment you are transmitting in. Some simple ground rules though are:
- .vcf (Business Card) An electronic business card that contains your name, contact number, email address and website, a simple small file that will be entered, upon acceptance to the consumers mobile phone contacts list.
- .jpg (Pictures) are the fastest and smallest message to deliver, this is essential in high Bluetooth footfall areas as we look to minimise the time each channel is busy delivering messages.
- .gif (Animated Picture) is typically a larger file; we only suggest this type of marketing with a maximum of 150m range and additional visual promotion such as a poster alerting consumers to your Bluetooth message being available. This file takes longer to deliver as it keeps the delivery channels busy for longer, this may require more channels to be made available.
- .3gp/.mp4 (Movie) a great medium for delivering movies, adverts and viral marketing to Bluetooth enabled phones. These files are typically larger than .gif files and contain audio as well as video. We have short range transmitters that should be used for this type of campaign. Ideal for interactive posters and digital signage systems marketing support. These files require more visual promotion activity to ensure consumers are aware the message broadcast is taking place.
- .mp3 (Audio File) is suitable like movies above for interactive posters with short range 10m transmitters or 150m transmitter in a closed environment such as a press conference, launch party or audience based message.
What do I need to make this product work?
There are various ways to use our software and transmitter package.
- Use an existing desktop computer, laptop, kiosk or point of sale system running Windows XP SP2 or higher and simply buy our Unicast Lite retail package including software CD and transmitter. If you have any trouble getting it up and running on your proposed machine then please contact support and let us help you get it working. Please ensure you register your support call with the same email address registered for your support credits, customer support requests without credit will not be actioned urgently.
- Buy a pre-built machine with the software pre-registered and pre-configured from us, when it arrives you just need to switch it on and set your messages broadcasting. Our prebuilt boxes are about the size of an A5 paperback book.
- Buy a managed service from BlueAd, where transmitter machines have internet access. We can provide you with a managed service contract where we look after the marketing administration for you and provide you with regular reports on campaign success, changes to campaigns and suggestions. We can work with your existing media agency for design and production.
- Buy multiple packages and manage multiple locations yourself by subscribing to our application service Unicast Pro. Unicast Pro is a professional Bluetooth marketing system that provides the latest reporting across your Bluetooth transmission installations and centralises control of your Bluetooth marketing in one accessible place.
What if I have problems with the software?
BlueAd offers free support for as long as you are using the product, it is a commitment we made from the start. As part of a larger software development company BlueAd takes advantage of the latest developments in technology and utilises a specialist software development team in house to develop and enhance our technology. It’s important that we and our competitors provide an exceptional level of service to our customers. Faith in Bluetooth marketing has been held back for too long by unscrupulous sales people willing to sell technology without telling the full story. We constantly speak to customers who have bought competitor software and found it didn’t meet their expectations. Our motto is better to be honest upfront before you spend your money so you know what you can expect. Our knowledge will always improve performance over time and as new phones enter the market we actively seek new methods of ensuring your message if transmitted can be received.
It doesn’t end there we continue to develop our suite of products and ensure your investment is not wasted, we are always adding new features that our customers request, so if there is something you want to achieve from Bluetooth and you can’t find the solution off the shelf we can still help.
I’ve still got more questions?
Feel free to call us to discuss more about what you are trying to achieve with Bluetooth marketing. Don’t forget it’s free 0800 567 7289.