Location-based Advertisements Sent to Your Cellphone?

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060510-6798.html' target='_blank'>http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/pos...60510-6798.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"French-based (but multinational) advertising delivery experts JCDecaux is about to unleash an interesting advertising scheme based on sending highly targeted ads to your cellphone as you walk by a billboard or a bus stop. An initial trial will happen in France first, with plans already in place to expand the reach considerably. The idea has some potential, and something like this may soon be inevitable, but there are a few problems with it too, such as invasion of privacy."</i><br /><br />I can think of a lot of colorful adjectives to describe this idea, but I'm pretty sure that "interesting" would not be one of them. Now, to the credit of the "inventor," his vision is that each person would have to consent to this service before receiving the ads (in exchange for free ring tones or something similar). Of course, that leads me to wonder how often I might get prompted to participate. If I'm to get prompted everytime I step out of my house, I'd have a really hard time imagining this idea going far without a firestorm of protest. What are your thoughts? Do you think this idea will fly?

[whydidnt]

I have virtually no interest in this. The first time I get hit with an ad such as this will probably cause me to cancel my cell phone plan. I don't want to be distracted by it, I am on pay per message for both text and MMS and would certainly be ticked if I had to pay to receive an opt-in message.

We hear all the time how carriers need to watch bandwidth usage and there is limited Spectrum available for voice/data, etc. Then they turn around and talk about wasting it on advertising nobody wants. :roll:

And don't get me started on privacy implications, if they can send you an ad based upon where you are, you know they can then track where you are and use it to send you more ads later, or for who knows what else. I know the mobile phone cos. have the ability to track where we are today, but to the best of my knowledge they don't really do this unless they have a specific need such as a subpoena.

[mrozema]

I have to agree with whydidnt.
Random spamming of consent forms would become so annoying that people might eventually find another provider who wouldn't be so spam-happy. There are so many people out there who don't even use sms, but they will get all the crap showing up on their phone too!
I'd call that a pretty poor invention. :roll:

[Paragon]

No...No...no...no...absolutely not! My land line rings all day with people trying to sell me things. My doorbell rings constantly with people trying to sell me things. My fax machine goes of regularly with people trying to sell me things. My inbox is full of messages from people trying to sell me things. Please...please...please...please let me walk peacefully down the street without being accosted by unwanted spam, or messages asking me if it is ok to accost me.

Dave

[SteveHoward999]

I don't use my phone much anyway. If this happens, and gets remotely out of hand the phone goes in the bin.

[ctmagnus]

"French-based (but multinational) advertising delivery experts JCDecaux is about to unleash an interesting advertising scheme based on sending highly targeted ads to your cellphone as you walk by a billboard or a bus stop."

So it's an ad for an ad? :confused totally: There are too many advertisers. :?

Dear Mr. President, There are too many states nowadays. Please eliminate three.

[ricksfiona]

In America, they will give you a cheaper cell phone rate if you opt in for the SPAM. The common folk will flock to it in droves. In America and the masses, it's all about getting the cheapest service.

[x51vuser]

These people are not experts.
It sounds like they stole idea of location aware content:
http://kmaps.ulocate.com/

[ADBrown]

This will never fly. People won't tolerate it. And even if they did, it would still fall victim to people like me who would find it so annoying that we would rip the electronics out of these billboards and take them home to see if we could fashion them into something useful, like a robot that kills marketers.

No...No...no...no...absolutely not! My land line rings all day with people trying to sell me things. My doorbell rings constantly with people trying to sell me things.

I've found that a well-placed placed dead rat nailed to your front door drives those people away. Alternatively, I think there's a place online that sells signs reading "Beware of Attack Porcupines."

[PetiteFlower]

And even if they did, it would still fall victim to people like me who would find it so annoying that we would rip the electronics out of these billboards and take them home to see if we could fashion them into something useful, like a robot that kills marketers.

That's it. I need to go back to college to become an engineer so I can learn how to build one of those things...

[thunderbass]

What a really BAD idea. It wouldn’t surprise me a bit if my cell phone provider was all over that one. :evil: