Although the initial adoption of Bluetooth proximity marketing in SA was slow, Bluetooth marketing companies report a significant increase of interest.
Petros Kondos, director at Wireless Customer Interactive Technologies (WCIT), a Bluetooth marketer, says there has been a surge in demand of this service in the past six months.
WCIT`s Bluetooth marketing enables willing participants to download an application when inside a shopping centre, that gives them a mini-menu to browse options such as movies, restaurants and retail. It is being used at major airports as well.
"SA has largely led the field in this type of technology," says Kondos. "We are receiving enquiries from the Middle East, Greece, Portugal and Spain."
"SA was an early adopter of this technology," explains Gerald Yapp, director at Bluecasting, a Bluetooth proximity marketing company. "And in the last two months it has picked up greatly."
Yapp explains that, as more and more phones come out standard with Bluetooth, more interest is being piqued.
"We have had a lot of success with advertising companies using Bluetooth for marketing in nightclubs, launches and shows. We even have banks using this technology to communicate with their staff," he says.
"People have to understand this is not spam. It is completely permission-based. If the message is rejected, the server will know not to bother that particular person again," he says.
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