The Hottest Out-of-Home Technologies: Ad Age's Abbey Klaassen Tells You How Once-Static Outdoor Is Now Truly Interactive

copyright Adage.com
By Abbey Klaassen
Published: October 02, 2006

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Outdoor is getting more inventive every day, thanks to technologies that allow the once static billboards to be truly interactive. With more cellphones now equipped with Bluetooth, consumers can request more information or download music, while "digital ink" lets marketers change their messages and video screens respond to a touch.

Bluetooth
It was a big trend-to-watch last year, and it's bigger this year. While only about 14% of phones were equipped a year ago, that number is about 30%, said Saul Kato, CEO at Qwikker (formerly Wideray), a San Francisco company that has mostly launched Bluetooth campaigns in the U.K. but is beginning to market the technology in the U.S. In fact, 50% of new phones sold in the U.S. are Bluetooth-enabled. An advertiser can attach a Bluetooth transmitter -- usually no larger than a hockey puck -- to an ad, which then instructs users they can access the content by turning on their phones' Bluetooth function.

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