A new world for advertisement has been born

I have read two different articles these past weeks that together are even frightening. On one hand, Mini (by BMW) has launch a marketing campaign in billboards all across New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Miami. Those billboards (see picture) are able to read RFID information from Mini cars, therefore users can customize the message in the billboard with anything they want when they drive close to the billboard. It is getting close to the future presented by the movie Minority Report.

For those that have no idea what RFID is, let's say that is going to be the BarCode of the future. All the products are getting tagged with RFID chips that send information to computers without requiring a scanner or similar. Let's compare to a wireless barcode.

Some uses are:

• Supermarkets: you buy what you want and you don't have to take everything off your cart to pay for it. As soon as you are in front of the cashier, the computer knows how much it is. Even, I saw one test of carts with a display that shows you how much it is.
• Distribution industry, Inventory Management: there is no more need for manual recounts or checking. The SKUs are telling you: "I'm here or not"

Now, the scary part, Hitachi has announced a couple of days ago that they have produced RFID chips so smaller that can be confuse with powder. Look at the image, the right part shows a human hair with lots of chips around. Be prepared to have dozens of RFID chips close to you in the next years: your pants, your shirts, your shoes, your food, your pills, your watch, ...

In terms of marketing, it has huge impact. You will get into a retail store and they will be able to know what is your size, what colors do you wear now, what are your favorite brands, ... I told you, scary future!!!

First, There Was the Wheelbarrow...

"Clean Up Aisle 7"..."Earl, we were never in Aisle 7. Honest." Yes, I am referencing the supermarket scene from one of the all time cinematic greats, Mr. Mom. The film, while it interests me on many levels, is of note in this post for what it tells us about the world of cart-based shopping--it can be overwhelming at times.

Fear not fellow consumers, MediaCart has arrived! MediaCart will play digital video promotions, connect shoppers to information about the whereabouts of the products they are trying to buy, and inform stores through RFID technology about what these shoppers are looking at and what they are buying. While the concept seems to be angering some, I am personally not offended...yet.

It is easy to imagine how linking this tiny screen to the Internet could open some very interesting marketing opportunities:
1) The electronic coupon. Load coupons from manufacturers sites onto your virtual Kroger Shopping Cart account. Arrive at the store, login to your cart...and watch the discounts add up.
2) Recipe Search (a la Fresh Direct). Load your favorite recipes onto your account. Login and shop from your ingredient list.
3) In Store Comparison Shopping. Login to a special section of your friend's account to see what she recommends for you.