AllIsBlue SMS2Email service links posters to mobiles
A company called AllIsBlue is in the process of launching an intriguing system that links offline adverts such as posters with the online world via your mobile phone. The poster will feature a short code, which you send a text to. AllIsBlue then sends you an email containing the URL of a web page that gives you more information about the poster you saw.
Why would you want this? Well, the Inquirer paints this picture:
“Say you’re down the tube, and there’s an advert with a URL and you have a phone but can’t go online. You just key in a number and when you next go online, you get an email delivering the information you want. Advertisers have a bridge between offline and online. AllIsblue assures us that while the advertiser knows a valid mail has been delivered, it doesn’t get your email, so you won’t be spammed in future. Ford and others are already experimenting with the technology.”
This is an interesting idea, but I’m not sure if it’ll take off. Most of the information I see on posters just reinforces a brand name, rather than make me feel I need more information about the product (although quick links to cheap tickets or reviews would be neat). It does represent convergence in action, though, which is no bad thing. I’m still waiting for the day when my mobile phone can scan the bardcode/RFID tag of a product like a book, and seek out and display reviews of the product and links to the same item at cheaper prices in my area. A service not available yet, but companies such as AllIsBlue are making further steps towards this goal. One to watch, I think.
