Laura’s Blog

It’s hard enough to get people to notice your brand, much less think twice about it.

In Branding Unbound, Rick Mathieson introduces readers to mobile marketing – using wireless technology to create an interactive experience between the brand and the consumer.

Case in point:

Smart Sign Media of Sacramento, California uses sophisticated wireless sensing technology to operate roadside electronic billboards. What makes these billboards unique is their ability to continuously scan cars to detect which FM radio stations drivers are listening to. The billboard then displays ads that best fit drivers’ demographic profiles.

I had no idea that when my car antenna picks up a radio frequency, some leakage seeps out of the antenna. The sensors on the billboards measure the leakage frequency that comes off the antenna of each car that drives by. The technology can differentiate frequencies among up to 100 cars per second.

“It’s not enough to wait for someone to sit in front of their TV or turn on their computer anymore. You need to reach them on the road, in the airport, and on the go.”

-Howard Sadel, North Carolina Hurricanes director of new media and graphic communications

The sensors collect the frequency info that leaks from each car, aggregate the data, provide a ranking of which radio stations cars are tuned to, and then match the aggregated data to demographic profiles of people who listen to the detected stations.

The billboard is programmed to serve up the most targeted ad for the demographic makeup of people expected to see the sign at any given hour. “So, if the freeway is packed with classical music listeners, drivers are more apt to see an ad for a luxury car or a high-end retailer,” writes Mathieson. “If hip-hop is tops, the billboard might change to athletic shoes or an upcoming movie.”

Branding Unbound was published in 2005, so some of the “upcoming” technologies the author touts are already obsolete. But for the most part, the book is a conversationally-written series of anecdotes and case studies about the present—and future—uses of wireless technology as a marketing tool. Worth the read if you want to learn more about marketing.