How beacons are being used in advertising

medialifemagazine.com

They're the future of OOH, but still in the experimental phase

When you talk about the future of out-of-home advertising, beacons inevitably come up.

The tiny devices that use Bluetooth technology to connect with mobile devices are being placed on all types of out-of-home inventory, everything from billboards and other signage to bus shelters and buses themselves.

When used creatively and unobtrusively, beacons reflect everything that’s smart about OOH advertising.

They offer useful information or product offers that people can act upon instantly, and advertisers win by increasing the interactivity of their OOH ads and improving the ability to track how people react to those ads.

The key, though, is using them respectfully.

Beacons can be seen as an annoying invasion of privacy when advertisers become too aggressive or don’t allow people to opt out of notifications.

While beacons are already widely used, the technology still has a way to go. New uses become available seemingly every week, and media people are interested in seeing different ways they can be deployed.

Here are some creative recent uses of beacons.

Targeting beer drinkers

A campaign running now in St. Louis encourages people to have a pint of beer and contribute to a good cause at the same time.

Schlafly Beer, a Missouri-based independent craft brewery, placed beacons on beer taps in 50 bars and restaurants in the market in early April, with plans to be in more than 250 locations by next month.

Customers who have the Schlafly Beer app installed on their mobile device with notifications turned on receive a message that reads “Do Your Part and Have a Pint” when they walk into a location.

The ad explains the beer company will donate $1 to the St. Louis Earth Day organization for each pint of beer sold.

Promoting movies

Fox used beacons on buses in London to promote the third installment of its animated “Kung Fu Panda” movie franchise.

Printed ads on the buses encouraged riders to use the Shazam audio recognition app on their mobile devices. When users pushed the Shazam button on the app, it “listened” for signals from the beacons and provided users with content related to the movie.

Beacons were places on around 500 buses with the potential to reach 300,000 riders daily.

The campaign rolled out about a month before the 2016 movie was released in the UK, allowing commuters to check out a sneak peak and buy tickets on the spot.

Queuing up with the weather

Liquor company Diageo used beacons and real-time weather data to promote its liqueur brand Pimm’s on warmer days last summer.

When the temperature hit at least 16 degrees Celsius (about 61 degrees Fahrenheit), digital ads at London bus shelters encouraged people to head into a nearby pub or bar to enjoy a drink.

The beacon technology was used at the pubs where Pimm’s is sold.

Beacons measured how many people were at the shelters every five minutes by counting the number of smartphones in the area.

If there was space available for new visitors in a nearby pub, based on the beacon count, the name of that pub would pop up in the creative of the ad, telling passersby that seats were available.

Playing basketball

One area where beacons are becoming more and more common is sports arenas and stadiums.

The NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers began using beacons last season, allowing the team to better interact with fans using the team’s mobile app while at Quicken Loans Arena.

Fans who had the app and opted in for notifications received different messages depending on where they were within the arena.

Upon entering the arena fans received a recorded video message from team owner Dan Gilbert. Those walking by concession stands got discount offers on snacks. And others walking though the concourses were encouraged to enter a 50/50 raffle.