What’s a beacon?

A beacon is a small device which can keep track of smart phones nearby.  The beacon in the picture is a couple inches long.

How much does a beacon cost?

The beacon in the picture costs about $30.

What is the range and useful life of a beacon?

The beacon in the picture has an effective range of 50 feet.  The beacon’s battery can run for about 6 months.

How might this beacon be used?

Beacons can gather information on any smartphone which passes comes within range.  They can also be used to target ads which are sent to a smartphone or digital sign.

How are outdoor companies using beacons?

A London pub used a beacon network to know when to switch on a digital ad at a nearby billboard.  When the pub became crowded the digital billboards ad switched off.

Levis used billboard beacons to send offers via its mobile app to its best customers.

Insider’s take:  

Being able to change an ad based on who comes near a digital board may have promise.  Insider is skeptical, however, about beacons which generate ads sent to a phone.  Insider hates spam and unwanted texts and wouldn’t want to receive a steam of unsolicited coupons.  Beacon-originated ads targeted to driver’s smartphones are a terrible idea.  Drivers aren’t supposed to use their phones.  Tell Insider what you think about Beacons.

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