Dünya üzerinde Bluetooth teknolojisinin geliştirildiği tek merkez olan Bluetooth SIG, 21 Nisan’da yeni versiyon Bluetooth teknolojisi olan Bluetooth 3.0′ın özelliklerini açıklayacağını duyurdu. Bluetooth SIG’e bağlı Bluetooth Çip üreticileri, yeni versiyonun kamuoyuna açılmadığı halde bu aydan sonra güncellenmiş versiyonuyla kullanılmaya başlanacağını bildirdi.

Bluetooth 3.0, geliştirilmiş bir dosya aktarım protokolüne ve saniyede 480 Mbit hızla indirme yapabilme kabiliyetine sahip. 802.11 teknolojisi(teknik olarak WiFi olmayıp, WiFi tarafından kullanılan 802.11 arabirimi kullanan) ile çok daha büyük dosyaları transfer etmek mümkün olacak. Eski versiyon ile sadece randevular, iletişim bilgileri ve küçük boyutlu dosyalar transfer edilebilirken, yeni versiyon ile multimedya içerikler, video ve müzik dosyaları yüksek hızda gönderilip alınabiliyor. Ayrıca Geliştirilmiş Güç Kontrolü (EPC) ile gerekli durumlarda sinyal arttırımı yapılarak bağlantı kopmalarının da önüne geçileceği öngörülüyor.

Türkiye’nin Bluetooth SIG’deki temsilcisi Desnet Yazılım AR-GE yöneticisi Gürbüz Ekinci, yeni geliştirilen Bluetooth Modüllerinin, Mobil saha satış otomasyonu başta olmak üzere, fabrikalarda, hastanelerde, kamuda sayaç okuma projelerinde ve elektronik devrelerle geliştirilen bütün sistemlerde Mayıs ayından itibaren kullanılmaya başlanacağını belirtti.

Since the debate has raged on for a long time over what is right and wrong when it comes to Bluetooth marketing as well as proximity marketing as a whole, the MMA introduced the new set of rules aimed to “reference framework for any company using Bluetooth marketing, and are the result of discussions between operators, content providers, advertising agencies, brands and technology firms.”

The guidelines cover almost every aspect of Bluetooth marketing, including the delivery, types of content, permission-based attributed, as well as proposed legislation. It’s all aimed solely at the European market, for now, but ultimately as other parts of the world realize the benefits of the Bluetooth marketing, the guidelines will already be in place to regulate any future offerings.

While the MMA is focusing on Bluetooth at the moment, they’ve already stated that it will expand to wi-fi, Near-Field Communications (NFC) and location-based services as well.

“Bluetooth has several clear advantages that make it an attractive way to distribute content but must have consistent deployments,” says Laura Marriott, MMA President. “As with other forms of mobile marketing communication, it is important to provide guidelines that ensure a positive user experience.”

The MMA is holding public consultation until September 26th to get any feedback related to the proposed guidelines, and will release a finalized version for late October. I would venture to guess the new guidelines won’t change many aspects of those who are using Bluetooth marketing in the right way, meaning proper permission and opt-in processes, and will instead move the industry in the right direction and keep any future offerings in line with other mobile marketing channels such as SMS.

Proximity Marketing is very trendy here at the moment. From a huge outdoor ad, in the middle of the Pg. de Gracia, the brand (Aquarius) invites you to activate your Bluetooth to download their latest TV ads for free.

The campaign installed Bluegiga Bluetooth Access Servers in over 20 high-traffic bus shelters around town. The Access Servers automatically sent two anonymous messages to any bluetooth enabled phones in the area.

The first message was tailored specifically for the local location, with something along the lines of “Im watching u. Ur at the (customized current location)”. The second message is received 30-40 seconds later with the big reveal, saying “Big Brother is back. 7 PM weeknights on TEN”.

I like the unusual dynamics of this campaign which can intrigue people who receive a message from a “stalker” to end up being a promotion for a TV show.

Bluetooth is a short distance communication technology, initially developed to replace cables connecting portable or fixed devices. Two key features of the technology are its low cost and low power.

Bluetooth marketing is the process of transmitting promotional content through this bluetooth wireless technology to potential customers. To transmit bluetooth messages a bluetooth transmitting product is required.

What can be sent over bluetooth?

A huge range of digital content can be sent, including:

• Plain text
• Images
• Audio
• Video
• Vouchers
• Games

Why use bluetooth marketing?

• Low cost - every bluetooth message is sent and received free of charge, whether you send 1 or 1,000.
• It’s flexible - all kinds of content can be transmitted.
• Multiple uses - it can be used to support and improve the effectiveness of existing advertising, such as high street leafleting or billboard advertising, as well as on its own through being placed in stores or prime locations.

Where is it most suitable?

The use of bluetooth technology is currently used in predominantly three marketing situations:

• Point of Sale Promotions

When fitted in shop windows people walking past with bluetooth enabled phones will receive the promotional message from the store. This may be a special promotion and is often enough to encourage the recipient to enter the store.

• Billboard Advertising

Through fitting billboard posters with bluetooth transmission devices you can interact with people within the vicinity of your poster. For example, to support your billboard campaign you could send a branded game via bluetooth to peoples’ phones. This helps to overcome one of the major disadvantages of billboard advertising - the absence of a strong call to action.

• Field Promotions

Portable units can be carried by promotional staff, automatically sending bluetooth messages to anyone within the vicinity of the staff. This is particularly effective when combined with leafleting.

What are the disadvantages?

Bluetooth marketing is only effective if the target audience can actually receive these messages. Some people are yet to upgrade to bluetooth-enabled phones, whilst others have switched the bluetooth capability in their phones.

When used on its own recipients can be confused about the message, in particular why it has been sent. Consequently it can be quickly dismissed as spam, or worse, worry recipients into thinking that it’s a virus.

There is also a concern that as the bluepod marketing industry grows consumers will become inundated with promotional messages, reducing the effectiveness of messages and resulting in many people turning off their phone’s bluetooth capability.

How much does it cost?

The real potential in bluetooth marketing lies in its low cost. Unlike SMS marketing it costs nothing to send a bluetooth message.

Bluetooth marketing companies earn their money through placing bluetooth marketing devices in prime locations, such as retail stores, and selling advertising space on them. However, companies also rent out the devices, especially the portable ones.

Therefore the cost of bluepod marketing tends to be a fixed price. After the promotion you can usually receive a comprehensive statistics report, which includes how many messages were sent and how many were opened.

Commercial real estate and high end homes are a tougher sell in this market and brokers and Realtors specializing in expensive properties are likely actively seeking ways to differentiate themselves and their properties…to make the sale. Bluetooth marketing offers just such an opportunity.

No more after hours. No more costly answering service that simply gathers contact info and doesn’t provide meaningful information on properties. Now prospective buyers can receive listing details and request appointments, while real estate dealers enjoy actual time with family and friends.

What’s more, with the right technology, Bluetooth advertising can be remotely controlled and programmed, limiting Realtors’ and brokers’ drive time (and gas bill).

Did the price drop? Send the new pricing info to the broadcast box from the comfort of your home or office. Think prospective buyers might be interested in similar properties? Load the Bluetooth transmitter with details on the property at-hand and your other comparable listings.

Even better, and perhaps most obviously, Bluetooth marketing your properties makes the flier box a thing of the past. Even if you live an area spared from the torrential downpours we’re treated to here in Florida, weather, theft and otherwise make antiquated flier boxes ripe for replacement by Bluetooth technology. Just park a Bluetooth transmitter near the front window of the home or commercial property and never spend precious cash on print fliers and gas for the trip to refill the flier box.

With hardware/software prices dropping, the ease of setup and use, and significant consumer response to Bluetooth advertising, Bluetooth marketing for real estate makes great sense.

Recently mercedes has made an activity with bluetooth. Photos and discount coupon were sent to visitors’ mobile phone by using bluetooth application.

Bluetooth Server devices inserted into these bluetooth totems so that when people come close to it,can download what it send to their mobile phones.

Random advertising and some location-based services for cellphones have existed for several years, but the meshing of the two is relatively untested and has some in the industry seeing a way, finally, to translate data on a user’s location into revenue.

Location-based services have mostly been limited to somebody taking out their phone and pushing a few buttons to see if there is a restaurant nearby. With location-based advertising, the restaurant will be sending a text message when the cellphone user walks by, perhaps offering a discount coupon that expires an hour later.

It is too soon to know how cellphone users will respond to what some are sure to consider an intrusion on their privacy.

“There has to be value in it for the subscriber in the way of product subsidies or award programs,” said Vijay Sundaram, the chief operating officer of Zad Mobile, an 11-month-old company that has created software allowing mobile phone operators to send advertising to clients.
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A cellphone can be tracked using a method called triangulation, in which data from several cell towers is used to pinpoint the device’s location. Other methods are usually more precise, but triangulation has the advantage of working regardless of what type of cellphone is being used. Phones that have a Global Positioning System chip and the right software can be tracked more precisely, but these are still niche products, and the satellite tracking system does not work well indoors.

Ads can also be sent via Bluetooth, which requires that advertisers send the message from a Bluetooth device to a cellphone that is Bluetooth-enabled. The service must be activated and has a limited range, usually less than 50 meters, or 164 feet.

M1, a cellphone operator in Singapore with 1.4 million customers, on Thursday started using triangulation to send unsolicited location-based advertising by text message after a successful two-day trial in October. The trial included no more than two ads a day from a department store, an ice cream maker and coffee shops. Each message came with the ability - free of charge - to opt out of future advertising. Only 0.2 percent of the recipients opted out during the trial.

“People didn’t seem to mind the advertisements,” said Neil Montefiore, M1’s chief executive. “There is a market for this, but we have seen that without discounts, customers don’t want this type of advertising.

“Retailers tend to sell at peak hours, especially food and coffee shops, so if they can attract people at down hours, that could be very valuable for them,” he added.

The Australian affiliate of Vodaphone recently began using Bluetooth to send location-based ads, and the service may soon be expanded to other countries, said Richard Saggers, the head of Vodafone’s advertising business. NTT DoCoMo in Japan and KT in South Korea are some of the other companies that have begun to use location-based advertising.

Not everybody is so bullish about its prospects.

“This is a really hard model to make work,” said Russell Buckley, a pioneer in the sector who is the European managing director for Admob, which helps companies post ads on the mobile Internet. “The problem is that this sort of advertising becomes perceived by a lot of people as spam. You might sign up because it sounds cool to get a cheaper ice cream, but the next day you are in a bad mood and when you get that message you think it’s spam so you cancel the service. If somebody disconnects from the service, you lose them forever.”

Yet the possibilities for advertisers and the operators are as compelling as they are scary. Somebody using a French cellphone in Madrid during vacation may find that he is getting advertisements from a Spanish tapas bar near his home in Paris that has received information from the operator about the trip.

“There are issues on privacy and respecting limits, but I think that will get sorted out,” Esra Yagci, of Infocus Media / Turkey, said. “People said Gmail would never work because of the advertising and the fact that a computer would be reading the e-mail, but that has grown by leaps.”

Cevahir, one of the biggest shopping mall of Europe and second biggest of the world was opened in October 2005. It is located at Sisli and covers a total area of 420.000 sq.mt with 320 shops.

The mall houses the stores of several famous brands, restaurants, furniture shops, household goods, movie theaters and entertainment park.

This year on the week of the Valentine day ,an activity with bluetooth was madeby Vodera. This was the first application with bluetooth used in malls in Turkey. The concept was “if you see love wherever you look!”

Customers visiting Cevahir Shopping Mall send their photos with their familys,with their kids,with their girlfriend/boyfriend using bluetooth system on their mobile phones.

Photos sent by visitors were seen on the huge screne in the hall of mall. This activity was continued 14 days. At the end the most beautiful photo expressing love best was chosen by a jury.

The interactivity of the system became popular around the visitors and loved by the management office of the mall.

Marketing director of the mall Yusuf Esenkal said:” We wouldn’t expect such a high attandence with a brand-new system. Throughout the day people sent their photos to the system. We were shocked with the results. According to the records 120.000 people participated in this activity.”