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PR- SUBtv launches Bluetooth advertising trials in universities

SUBtv, the new media channel which broadcasts into 90 of the top UK Universities, is conducting a number of Bluetooth marketing trials across its network.  To date trials in the University of London Union (ULU) and the London School of Economics (LSE) indicate that students are prepared to accept commercial messages on their Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones after seeing a promotion of the offer on the SUBtv screens.

Positive opt in / take-up has been more than 25 per cent.  SUBtv chief executive Peter Miles says: “Students are the most media-savvy group of people in the country and they are aware that Bluetooth can be a spammer’s paradise with the ability to send and receive large files at no charge.

"The clear danger for the medium is that it will be abused and that advertisers and consumers will miss out on what should be a major development in consensual marketing.

"Our trials show quite clearly that when Bluetooth consumers are reassured that the messages they are about to receive have the endorsement of a brand they trust and are of interest to them, then they are likely to respond positively. Without such brand endorsement they are likely to stay switched off because of the danger of being bombarded with unwelcome messages, commercial or otherwise.

"Increasingly clients are searching for effective new marketing channels through which to reach their audience and Bluetooth most definitely ought to have a valuable role to play. However, mistimed or ill advised, usage of any communication channel can be highly counter productive and it is important to understand the implications of any technology within the target market.

"Bluetooth usage within university unions has the ability to target a precise audience demographic on a completely ‘consensual’ basis and this is by far the best way to use any medium.”

The ULU and LSE trials were conducted in academic year 2004/ 5. SUBtv is planning further pilots in the forthcoming academic year with a view to setting up a permanent network.