he mobile industry is finally opening its doors to advertising, thanks to "blue casting", a technology that beams advertisements directly to cell phones. Blue casting is done through the Kameleon platform, which is the hardware and the software that actually runs the campaigns. It keeps track of advertisement updates and also records the number of downloads. Blue casting works by inviting users with Bluetooth-enabled handsets within the Bluetooth hotspot zone to download media-rich promotional content. The content could be video clips, sound bites, MP3 tracks, ring tones, games, wallpapers, or themes.

Nilesh Kale, MD, One-2-One Technologies, which claims to be the sole provider of Blue casting in India, informs, "Though this technology was introduced only in October last year, it's growing steadily and attracting companies According to Kale, in India, Lee Jeans, IDEA, Nokia and Disney have already utilised this service and Lee Jeans campaign reported an acceptance rate of 27 per cent with over 20,000 downloads. Idea had put up four Bluetooth hotspots within different malls and multiplexes in Mumbai with posters asking customers to switch on their Bluetooth devices in the premises to receive free Sunidhi Chauhan memorabilia, thus creating hype for an upcoming event.... more