Ads Go Mobile

As an increasing number of people opt for Bluetooth-enabled cell phones , advertising agencies and billboard operators are teaming up to create a new form of advertising within the growing sphere of mobile marketing. At the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Motorola unveiled its new pocket-size media player, the Mobile TV DH01, with a 4.3-inch, high-resolution wide screen that makes TV programs available wherever viewers want to watch them. So what’s the next thing aiming for your high-tech wireless mobile device? Commercials.nnUsed more broadly in Australia, Asia and Europe, Bluetooth marketing has yet to take off in the United States. But Clear Channel Outdoor is eager to transform that with the introduction of 1,000 Bluetooth-enabled ad sites across the United States in the next year, according to a recent report by The New York Times. nnBluetooth was named for Harald Bluetooth Gormson -- a 10th-century Danish king who unified the Danes and the Norwegians, according to the information provided by the company at Bluetooth.com. Bluetooth uses short-range radio frequency to unify information from different technologies, such as wirelessly connecting a laptop to a cell phone. Now Clear Channel is teaming up with a New York-based mobile content distributor on a new Bluetooth advertising effort that will test the marketing scheme on wireless Americans. There are already more than 100 sites in operation across the country. nnHere's the way it operates: When you have the Bluetooth function on your phone turned on and you walk by a Bluetooth-enabled ad, your phone will suddenly ask if you would like to download some form of free content that comes from the sponsor. If you choose to accept, you'll receive a music video, wallpaper, or video clip that the advertiser believes will make you want to buy their product. Short video clips and music videos are the most popular content download options. nnAccording to the Times, the U.S. Navy used Bluetooth advertising to encourage sailors to enlist in the reserves at the completion of their active-duty service. The ad campaign offered downloads of two-minute videos from pay phone kiosks at about a dozen naval bases. nnEarly this year, Pepsi offered music video downloads to consumers in six cities to promote its short-lived WB series Pepsi Smash. The campaign was billed as the largest ever Bluetooth marketing campaign in the U.S. But of the 159,045 cellular users offered Bluetooth ad content during the eight-week Pepsi campaign, fewer than 10 percent accepted. Still, as the number of Bluetooth-equipped phones sold around the world grows, interest in mobile marketing campaigns will increase as well. Worldwide sales of Bluetooth phones are expected to approach 1.3 billion by 2011, according to the research and advisory firm Gartner Inc. n