As mobile marketing takes off, “toothing” has emerged as a popular way to target consumers (and even potential dates). The term is derived from the short-range wireless technology called Bluetooth, which typically works within a distance of 30 to 500 feet. As such, it’s a medium perfectly suited for location-based services and advertising. Industry analysts foresee a land grab that could result in three-fold growth of the $500 million mobile advertising market by 2010.
Australia’s Broadway Shopping Centre sends out promotional offers or coupons to people with Bluetooth-enabled phones. If a shopper chooses to accept the discount, he/she will be subscribed to a database. By responding to mall-specific or store-specific offers, customers help marketers recognize their favorite products as well as the correlations between their preferences and their socio-economic background and location. In the U.K., New Order used BlueCasting posters to send free ringtones and music clips to cell phones within 100 meters (about 330 feet). Terminal One at Heathrow has also used BlueCasting to engage over 40% of airport lounge traffic with advertising from Vodafone. This could easily expand to airport toothing from car services or hotels. Proximity marketing in airports may prove especially attractive to luxury retailers, who have turned to niche airline magazines and lounge broadcasts in the past.
The term toothing was actually coined by a British prankster who wanted to see if he could popularize a new sexual term. He started a website filled with fictional accounts of people finding hookups through Bluetooth. Although a hoax to begin with, the trend has caught on as a way to make mobile text introductions at clubs and bars. Bluetooth will provide room for growth in America’s already saturated online dating market, and add another dimension to location-based dating services like Meet Moi and 3GDatingAgency. Mobile dating will allow people to upload profiles and text-flirt with Bluetooth-equipped peers. Privacy issues and unwanted spam are certainly concerns when it comes to proximity-based messaging. As the technology progresses, marketers and developers alike will need to figure out ways of incorporating user controls and opt-in settings for consumers.
—Sherrie Hui
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