In an interview with the Drum, Coca Cola Enterprise’s digital director Simon Miles indicates that his company might use Apple’s iBeacon technology to ensure their advertising sticks out from the crowd at the Football World Cup this summer.
“We are looking long and hard at iBeacons and what they might bring to market,” Simon Miles told the Drum. “It’s very interesting. We have some good ideas which will come to market this year around this as there are big opportunities. If you think that we can offer people various different offers and conversations with people depending on how close they are to our fixtures it can really help bring your marketing to life in a new way. What’s interesting is how we can integrate it.”
“What’s really interesting is where we can have iBeacons installed so a person will receive one message when in the car park, then a second, different one once they are in-store, in a way which can bring your message to life.” Miles explains.
While Apple’s iBeacon technology is currently use as a tool to provide users with up-to-date promotions within retail stores, a recent patent application from Apple suggests that Apple is looking at integrating this technology in their rumored mobile payment system – iWallet.
Here’s part of the interest part of Apple’s patent application (via Patently Apple):
[su_quote]In one or more embodiments, a portable device can make purchases by using near field communications (NFC) to establish a secure link with a point of sale (POS) device connected to a backend system that is configured to execute commercial transactions. This secure link can be established by positioning the portable device to be within close proximity of the point of sale device. Increased mobility is provided to users of the portable device making purchases by establishing a second secure link that uses a different protocol, such as WIFI or Bluetooth, that has more desirable characteristics for maintaining the link over time than NFC.[/su_quote]
