[Infowarrior] - USAF to begin "bluespamming"

[Richard Forno]

(Yet another reason not to have Bluetooth enabled on your cellphone except
when routinely sync'ing it......if they're doing it, you know companies ---
and miscreants -- will, too...rf)
     

The Air Force is marketing through cellphones to push enlistments.

    
http://www.rcrnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070411/FREE/70411001/101
2/rss01

Air Force turns to mobile marketing to up recruitment

By Brooke Capps
Story posted: April 11, 2007 - 11:30 am EDT

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On Friday, fans wandering around the sidelines of the Texas Motor Speedway
in Dallas will be the first to experience the mobile arm of GSD&M's "Do
Something Amazing" campaign for the United States Air Force.

The Air Force said it has hit all its recruitment goals since hiring the
Omnicom Group agency, and with 81 percent of the Air Force's target audience
toting cellphones, mobile was an obvious next step.

"More kids are going to have more access to this technology," said the Air
Force's interactive account executive, Master Sgt. Deshaun Woods. "If we get
involved now, we are going to be well-established when the market becomes
more saturated."

"We're a technology brand," said Travis Scoggins, the Air Force's account
supervisor at GSD&M, "and we are looking for those people who are tech
savvy."

The tease? As part of the Air Force's "Do Something Amazing" tour, which
makes stops at motocross, Nascar and other sporting events around the
country, Bluetooth transmitters will be set up in areas around the tracks
and stadiums. The transmitters ping any mobile device set to accept messages
sent via Bluetooth, sending consumers invitations to stop by the tour and
"check out what it's like to do something amazing."

Once inside the event space, consumers will find pods dedicated to each of
the career paths the Air Force has to offer. Users will be able to download
documentary-style videos to their phones about Air Force careers.

"Event marketing is a great place to engage people, but there's a lag time
between when we engage with them at the tour and when they get home and
explore on their computer. This eliminates that gap. They immediately walk
away with a video they like, a ringtone they heard, a wallpaper they thought
was cool," Scoggins said.

The offering will also work through text messaging.

Woods hopes the campaign will put information about the Air Force into the
target's hand. He envisions high-school students talking to each other about
the Air Force and one of them pulling out his or her cellphone to share
career options and pay possibilities. "All the information will be right
there," he said. "They will be able to carry it with them."

Brooke Capps is a reporter with Advertising Age, a sister publication to RCR
Wireless News. Both publications are owned by Crain communications Inc.