Casino67 Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Yahoo.news.com:NEW YORK – In a first for a wireless carrier, AT&T Inc. said Monday that it will use its phones' location-sensing ability to target text ads with coupons and other offers to participating subscribers in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco.Kmart, part of Sears Holdings Corp., is one of the chains that have signed up for "ShopAlerts by AT&T." That means AT&T could send discount offers to subscribers who are close to a Kmart store.AT&T is only able to locate its subscribers to within a mile or so, so its ability to sense that subscribers are in a receptive mood for the offer — like when they're heading to shop — is limited. The service locates subscribers based on which cell towers communicate with their phones, rather than using the more accurate Global Positioning System chips that many phones have. This means ShopAlerts will work with any phone, not just smart phones that can run third-party applications.JetBlue Airways Corp. is another participant in the program and could use AT&T's service to send promotions when passengers are approaching an airport. Other participants are Hewlett-Packard Co., SC Johnson, Kibbles 'n Bits, Nature's Recipe and the "Got Milk?" campaign. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rheo Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 That would make me very angry to receive spam texts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clearvision Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 They won't be spam... AT&T subscribers in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco who sign up for ShopAlerts will get text messages describing special offers, rewards, coupons, and other promo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rheo Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 They won't be spam... AT&T subscribers in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco who sign up for ShopAlerts will get text messages describing special offers, rewards, coupons, and other promo Ah, thank you. Would help to read before posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rheo Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I'm still confused. The stores sign up for Shopalert and then the location sensing of the ATT towers sends out alerts to any of their customers from those stores that are clients. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casino67 Posted February 28, 2011 Author Share Posted February 28, 2011 Have to admit I didn't read entire article either. I am on Verizon, so it really didn't concern me. Just posted it for those on AT&T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCTexan Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Ah, thank you. Would help to read before posting. Heck no Rheo! Reading takes all of the creativity out of one's responses and limits you so.... ... nothing more freeing to the soul than an uncontrolled and irrelevant rant! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rheo Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Ah, thank you. Would help to read before posting. Heck no Rheo! Reading takes all of the creativity out of one's responses and limits you so.... ... nothing more freeing to the soul than an uncontrolled and irrelevant rant! Thanks, Dad. The article is a tad confusing. I am going to conclude that I am right and clearvision is wrong. It works for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rheo Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 I am wrong and clearvision is right. It works for us. edited to add: clearvision found this article to be confusing so researched further and that is where from where his quote came. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pollyannaish Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 The key sentence is this: target text ads with coupons and other offers to participating subscribers in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco. (And it is a poorly written article.) Based on my marketing experience, I suspect it works like this: You sign up for coupons and specials notices for certain categories via text. If they are smart, these will be broken down into categories such as food/clothing/personal services, etc. Anytime you are in the near vicinity of a store, you will know without going in what their specials are, or receive a coupon for these goods. Handled correctly, this would actually be an excellent thing for both consumers and businesses. Honestly, if I can manage WHAT categories I get texts from, I would sign up. It would be nice to go into an area and know what the day's special was at a restaurant I liked, or that there was a 50% off household items at a store nearby. Because I am right there, I would not have to return later or fritter time away trying to decide what to eat. From a business point of view, it's also a great thing. Such tight targeting allows the marketer to only pay for advertising to people who have a higher likelihood of actually becoming customers. When you first hear things like this, it is easy to use our current blast advertising methods as the model. But that is not where advertising is headed. It is becoming increasingly personalized, targeted and better integrated with an individuals life. It is creepy on one hand...but is less annoying AND more effective in the long run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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