Bluetooth billboard beams free ringtone
Would you accept a free ringtone from a billboard? Westin hopes so. They've installed a Bluetooth-enabled billboard in the subway stop below Grand Central Station in New York City. The billboard beams a free ringtone to those passing by.
The interactive ad is part of a $30 million push for their "This is how it should feel" campaign. Instead of pictures of plush beds or in-room workstations, there are steps converted into waterfalls, image shifting ads with a boardroom meeting on one side and sky diving on the other and the entire insides of subway cars transformed to look like rain forests, a scuba dive or mountain ski lift.
But back to the billboard - the technology is really neat, and a great step ahead - but is the average person ready to accept an incoming file transfer from a strange billboard they might be standing by but not noticing? Also, the billboard is put in a place where people walk by but not where they wait. It would be better placed near a boarding area where people are actually waiting for their train.
So what does a Westin ring tone sound like and how easy is it to get on your phone? Check out the Crave video to find out.
More imagery from the campaign here: http://assets.electricartists.com/westin/feel/index.php?loc=NY
