Index of Paper Presentations for the Parallel Sessions - Academy of ...

What is Proximity marketing?Proximity marketing is the localized wireless distribution of advertising content within a particular place.To receive any messages the customer must enable Bluetooth on their mobiles when they are within theproximity of a broadcasting device.The process of Bluetooth based proximity marketing involves setting up Bluetooth "broadcasting"equipment at a particular location and then sending information which can be text, images, audio or videoto Bluetooth enabled devices within the range of the broadcast server. (―Proximity Marketing‖). Mobilecampaigns can also be integrated with other media like email and internet in the marketing mix (White,2008).ResearchResearch ObjectiveEnhancing the effectiveness of marketing spend, as stated earlier, is a major anxiety for CMOs acrosscountries. ‗Proximity Marketing‘ can provide some assistance in this regard. Proximity marketing as apractice is gaining favor in the developed countries. This study has been done to assess if there is anopportunity for this technology solution in emerging countries. Hence, UAE has been chosen for study.The research objective was to see if buying behavior varied across different retailers with the respect torisk perceived, willingness to adopt, customization desired, etc.Retailers were not clear whether using the Bluetooth marketing channel would add value and generatecommensurate revenues. It was necessary to understand if the preference for the solution varied amongstdifferent retailers: government service/ retail organizations, standalone retailers, local franchisees andinternational franchisees (Reed, 2011). If the right bundle of attributes and options are not identified, onecould waste marketing resources and also face a dilemma in attracting customers and retaining them.Qualitative ResearchDemonstrations of the technology were given and pilot projects were conducted for a few retailers inDubai. Discussions were held with several organizations to understand the challenges being faced by themin sending marketing communications to the right person at the right time.In- depth interviews were conducted, using a discussion guide with IT Managers, CRM andMarketing/Product Managers in Banks, Government Retail arms, and Mall management offices.This phase of the research helped identify: