NFC Times Exclusive: Despite a widespread belief in some circles that NFC and Bluetooth low energy, or BLE, are in competition, a number of observers say they believe that the two technologies will fill complementary market niches, especially in retail marketing and wearable devices.

In mobile advertising, BLE is widely seen as a technology for push technology, which detects the presence of mobile handsets with a retailer’s application installed and then transmits messages to those users’ handsets at a preset distance, perhaps 50 meters away. NFC works at a much more immediate range and requires users to deliberately tap a tag in order to receive marketing messages or content on their handsets, which marketers refer to as pull marketing.

“We believe that Bluetooth low energy and NFC can actually work together,” said Mark Scott Aubin, founder and CEO of proximity marketing firm Just Desire, which works with both BLE and NFC, among other technologies.

“We use Bluetooth low energy beacons to do (push marketing) by placing those around a store, but it's important that the shopper is engaged on that journey as well, and that we're not just pushing messages to them,” Aubin said. “A user can interact with a piece of marketing at their leisure when they're absorbing marketing messages, whether that's through a bus stop, whether it's through a magazine, or even whether it's through a TV or radio, they all use different elements of technology to be able to capture that consumer's desire. NFC plays a very important part in that.”

The difference is whether users actively choose to seek advertising content or receive it spontaneously. Delivery of push advertising, whether through BLE or other means, requires users to turn on BLE on their handsets, install a retailer’s application, and opt in to receive the messages. Some in the proximity marketing industry note that consumers are not always fond of receiving push advertising. 

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Among Topics Covered:

Different roles of Bluetooth low energy and NFC technologies according to panelists  Push versus pull marketing for BLE and NFC, respectively, and Wi-Fi and QR codes, as well  Expected hype curve for BLE compared with NFC  Support split according to device platform for NFC and BLE  NFC and BLE: Possible uses in a retail setting  Apple’s impact on interest and prospects for adoption of BLE  McDonald's UK’s interest in BLE  Uses for BLE and NFC for Wearables

Sources Quoted:

Mark Scott Aubin, founder, CEO Just Desire  Neil Garner, CEO, Proxama Tim Baker, marketing director, Think&Go Chris Arnold, creative director, co-founder, Creative Orchestra René Batsford, digital innovation manager, McDonald’s UK Patrick Meyer, CMO, Thinaire’s CMO Mohamed Awad, former head, NFC program, Broadcom 

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