Tag: iBeacon

The Movie Unlocker

Paying for movies via credit cards are a thing of the past. Grolsch Beer from Netherlands has developed a first of its kind ‘Movie Unlocker’ technology that their consumers can use to pay for watching movies online.

Their beer bottles now come fitted with special custom made Bluetooth beacons that transmit a unique code to the movie partner website when the bottle is brought close to a laptop or smartphone that has BLE (low-energy Bluetooth) enabled. The unique code helps verify the user and gives them access to the chosen movie. 😎

The evolution of iBeacons

iBeacons are the future of retail. However last week I spotted two unique examples of how the technology could be used beyond retail…

SnackBall Machine

GranataPet is a pet food company from the Bavarian Alps. In their latest campaign, they decided to port the fitness hype from the human world to the dog world.

With the help of their ad agency MRM / McCann Germany, they developed a SnackBall Machine that automatically launched a tennis ball (embedded with an iBeacon) in the park when the dog owner checked-in with #snackball on Twitter. The dog that quickly returned with the ball was then rewarded with a healthy GranataPet Snack, that was activated by the proximity of the ball to the machine.

Since its launch across various large German cities, GranataPet has seen a 27% lift in sales at various local pet food shops.

Tzukuri iBeacon Glasses

Australian company Tzukuri (phonetic spelling of “to make” in Japanese) has successfully combined a tiny iBeacon chip with regular sunglasses, that automatically and permanently connect with the users iPhone. So when the user leaves the sunglasses somewhere he is automatically alerted via a custom iPhone app.

More infos on the glasses are available at: www.tzukuri.com

Macy’s first to use iBeacon

Apple is currently working to bring their iBeacon technology to retail stores around the world. But on November 20th, Shopkick deployed the first iBeacon system at Macy’s to beat Apple to the punch.

The technology, which is new to iOS 7, uses Bluetooth Low Energy signaling to enable micro-location services and is expected to be a huge hit with retailers. The technology allows stores to deliver targeted information (location-specific deals, discounts, recommendations, rewards etc) to further enhance the retail shopping experience of their customers. 😎

At Macy’s the technology is being called shopBeacon and is currently live in a closed beta trial at Macy’s Herald Square in New York and Union Square in San Francisco.