Beacons in the Spotlight

admin DOOH, FUTUROLOGY, MOBILE-OOH, TECHNOLOGY

A typical advertiser’s mantra can look a little like an equation:

Investment x (brand + message + (location + timing + relevance)) = sales + ROI.

At Site Audits we understand that while targeted advertising is the goal, focused advertising is the endgame.

Beacons offer an opportunity for localised, proximal advertising, courtesy of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and an app-enabled Smartphone in the vicinity. Being able to broadcast your advertising in a 70m – 100m radius is a tantalising one, but Beacons are not without their challenges.

Cost: The entry level for investment is very low. Independent retailers can buy a starter pack with three units for less than £50 on eBay. More importantly, so can the retail outlet next door – and therein lies the problem.

Compatibility: Apple’s iBeacon works with IOS and Android, which is not something all Beacon manufacturers can stay at this stage of the game. Choose wisely!

Credibility: Of course, the technology works. The bigger question is whether consumers appreciate technology that searches for them. It’s a sensitive issue for individuals and organisations. And let’s not forget wider civil liberty concerns in what is one of the most surveilled countries in the world. Did we mention that BLE ‘wakes up’ the Smartphone app?

Intelligence: As smart as it seems, the Beacon is very much the straight man in the double act. The creative genius lies in the app, which picks up the BLE signal and contextualises it based upon location. We’ll have something to say about that in a minute.

Security: What happens to all the customer proximity data that’s collected? More importantly, how secure are your Beacons? Potentially, less secure than you might think. Take one Beacon location app, someone else’s Beacon IDs and a hacker, and what’s to stop someone from hijacking or piggybacking your Beacons to promote their own wares? Surprisingly little at the moment, although that is certain to change.

So much for the challenges, real or imagined. What you should be worried about is the second half of that equation we began with: sales + ROI.

Beacons give you the means to deliver proximal OOH advertising, but only segmented intelligence and nuanced data can ensure that your message is contextualised appropriately.

Site Audits is the missing part of the equation. We have the field force, UK wide coverage, ‘real time’ reporting and expertise to keep your campaign on message. We – in conjunction with our partners – focus on the needs of the industry so that our clients stay informed and stay ahead of the pack.

Site Audits – marketing intelligence.