Advertising That Follows You

           Do you ever have those days where you just don’t feel like flipping open your laptop or turning on your TV? Maybe twice a year do I isolate myself from the tech world – even though rare, it is extremely cathartic! I didn’t include cell phones in the mix because at the end of the day, if you wish to screen a call or ignore a text, you have the power to do so. Yes, there is that little bit of power we still have left! It’s not as invasive as a pop-up on your screen or commercials coming at you every 10 minutes. But what if I told you that those days were gone?

            Receiving advertisements to our smart phones isn’t necessarily foreign to us Canadians; however, we would normally have to be on a telemarketer’s list or accessing a website. Once again, technology has never ceased to amaze me! So it’s as simple as this – every time you walk by a convenience store you will automatically receive an ad to your smart phone offering you a promotion (you must be within roughly 300-feet of the store). Couche Tard is teaming up with iSign Media Solutions to offer this non-traditional mode advertising to its demographic. Convenience stores tend to be laggards in terms of marketing, so this is a great way for them to become innovative as well as competitive with other retail venues.

            Buzz will soon spread across Quebec about the dépanneur’s new initiative, but with only 4 out of 10 residents in this province owning a smart phone, it’ll still take time to realize. Some may argue that targeting real-time location is intrusive, but if I’m able to save a couple of bucks on my weekly supply of Redbulls, then I sure won’t complain! 

                                 (now you won't even need to activate your bluetooth)

          Get used to it people, we live in a time where marketers and innovators are capitalizing on any and every resource they can get their hands on to bring consumers in.