Freckle IoT, a Toronto-based mobile ad tech company recently spun off from Juice Mobile, has partnered with New York tech company Blue Bite to launch a 60,000-strong beacon network in the U.S.
The joint venture adds to the 30,000 beacons Freckle is currently working to deploy in Canada to create what is likely the largest beacon network in North America.
“As more people adopt connected devices, marketers have grown eager to engage consumers on the path-to-purchase using hyperlocal strategies,” said Neil Sweeney, founder and CEO of both Freckle and Juice Mobile, in a release. “The scale of this launch means we can provide brands with infinitely greater opportunities to engage their target audience than with what is possible under the boxed-in solutions available in the market.”
As Sweeney explained when Freckle initially announced its Canadian rollout, its beacon network lets marketers locate and send targeted mobile messages to consumers in out-of-home locations like public outdoor areas, malls, convenience stores and restaurants.
Beacons can only communicate with users who have downloaded an app and agreed to have it receive messages from the devices. So rather than spamming anyone who walks by, the devices send signals to consumers who’ve opted in to marketing messages.
Although there is little data available on how many beacons have been deployed globally so far, one company, Reveal Mobile, says it can detect about 64,000 beacons in use across the U.S. If that number is even close to accurate (and it may not be, since Reveal admits it can only detect beacons using a default manufacturer ID), then Freckle and Blue Bite own the majority of them – or they will once the network is fully up and running.
