The vast majority of proximity marketing technology vendors are pushing beacons to potential clients, but brands in retail, hospitality and other sectors are evaluating other options, according to eMarketer.
A recent study commissioned by Unicast showed 50% of marketers in major consumer-facing sectors are already using some form of proximity marketing, and 94% of those in this space had beacons as part of that mix.
GPS and geofencing products are also expected to get more traction as the technology matures, the report said.
“Although it’s increasingly clear that proximity technology like beacons is gaining widespread adoption among marketers, that doesn’t mean that everyone knows how to use such tools effectively,” the report said, citing a significant portion of marketers who are still the planning stages.
“The research shows that beacons are a valid part of the IoT revolution. They are not only used to send push notifications linking to discount and special promotions,” said Szymon Niemczura, CEO at Kontakt.io, a U.K.-based firm which provides hardware and other infrastructure to support beacons in various environments. “Beacons are used to automate tracking in real factories, to lead visitors through museums and train stations, and to save money on utilities. They generate rich data that would otherwise be difficult to capture. It is actual use cases and real world examples that prove the beacon industry and the IoT is more than just hype.”
Niemczura said he expects to see more applications involving WiFi, radio-frequency identification (RFID), near-field communication and beacons at the same time, with a goal to offer customers bigger value.
For some, driving adoption of proximity technology means raising questions around traditional methods of reaching consumers such as display advertising. A few weeks ago, for example, Proxama CFO John Kennedy published a post on Marketing Tech that called display advertising “guesswork dressed up as science” and argued that segments such as millennials are much more likely to pay attention to a push notification than something they see on a bus shelter.
“Beacon technology unifies data and brands across agnostic platforms to deliver advertising credentials and messaging that are directly contextually and geographically relevant to an individual,” he wrote. “Not only does this support consumer confidence in brands, it also combats the growing threat of ad blocking.”
Some well-known Canadian organizations are already acting in line with the eMarketer data. Last week, GeoMarketing reported that the CN Tower was installing an Aruba Mobile Engagement system from HPE that would connect more sophisticated wireless infrastructure with a “CN Tower Experience” app.
“Just days after its debut, the app already has 4,000 downloads. While it delivers proximity notifications, marketing messages and the ability to purchase tickets and make restaurant reservations for the Tower’s in-house services, executives are looking at next steps,” the story said. “Those next steps are likely to include outside marketers who want to reach CN Tower’s visitors.”
Major players in the Canadian proximity marketing technology space include Turnstyle and the Freckle IoT beacon network.
