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Bursting Bubbles

I mentioned magic bullets awhile ago. If you’d like to continue to believe in them, I suggest that you STOP NOW and DO NOT read any further.

Still reading? Okay… then I’m going to say it… proximity marketing is BULLSHIT. In theory, it’s new, it’s cool and unlike SMS it’s (a) free to the end user (no standard messaging rates) (b) International phones can receive the messages and (c) it’s push marketing via a mobile phone that doesn’t require the user to opt-in. The end user does have to accept the message, but selecting “yes” is a hell of a lot easier than sending a text message to some random number that’s not currently in your address book.

In reality, I just don’t think the mainstream population is ready for it. Most people (a) don’t use their Bluetooth device, aka it’s not turned on (yes, the latter would be a key factor in this technology working) and (b) those who don’t have it turned on have no idea how to turn it on. If, by some miracle, they do turn it on, they also have to make it “discoverable”. On most phones, this is an additional step in an already long, complicated process. IF they’ve made it this far, now the message(s) have to be retrieved. While some phones automatically pop up the messages after downloading, several phones save them to some random folder you’ve probably never been to or have any idea of how to navigate to. By this time, your user is so frustrated that whatever you’re offering is no longer worth the hassle.

Let’s look at a few things we think everyone knows about, but in reality, only those on the “bleeding edge” are even remotely interested or utilizing this stuff:

  • – According to Google Trends, Twitter isn’t even a blip compared to Facebook, Olympics or sex. Yes, there are people out there who survive the day without Twitter. In fact, there’s a lot of them.
  • – According to Google Trends, more people are interested in the meaning of life vs. Google’s new browser, Chrome. In fact, more people are searching for Twitter, which is barely a blip.
  • – Even social networks have a much smaller penetration rate than what you may think.

If your target demo is teenagers or interactive marketers, then yes, proximity marketing may be the answer to your prayers. If not, well, similar to Second Life, I just don’t think the mainstream population is ready for it or has the technology to implement it properly.

Posted by Vegasbab on September 3rd, 2008 Posted in Advertising, Interactive Media, Marketing, Social Media

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