Mobile advertising is no longer new. In terms of proximity marketing, “Bluecasting” has been around the block a few times. Opt-in proximity mobile marketing was only a matter of time. Well, that time is fast approaching.
Where print ads, posters and signage become just part of the clutter, proximity marketing delivers relevant messages on a large scale. Proximity marketing is not intended to replace traditional advertising, but this is a valuable — yet cost-effective — supplement to that.
For example, if you’re a tropical destination and the winter temperature in Chicago has just dropped to 28 degrees, all of the Chicago-based mobile users in your database will receive a text or picture message about the warm weather they could be enjoying. Imagine your restaurant just opened a new location in Tampa’s 34228 ZIP code. You can message all the locals a coupon for a free appetizer. Or hit the lunch crowd at exactly the right time. With the relevancy and immediacy of proximity marketing, the possibilities are endless. Life just became the check-out aisle at the grocery story: filled with impulse buys a consumer suddenly can’t live without.
Start building opt-ins now! Use your website, email blasts, in-store ads and text messages. Entice mobile users to opt-in by texting for their chance to win. Or all of the above. You may not launch your proximity marketing efforts till next year, but when the time is right, you’ll be good to go.
