Vindigo.com (vindigo.com) has a large database of cus­tomers willing to accept promotional materials on their wireless devices. This is known as permission marketing. The users download special software on their smartphones or PDAs that allows Vindigo.com to deliver timely, accurate information about places to go and things to do in their area. Along with every listing, the company can deliver a customized message to the users at a time and place where it is of most interest to them and they are most likely to act on it.

The company targets ads by city (New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, etc.) and channel (Eat, Shop, or Play). Vindigo.com tracks which ads a user sees and selects, and even allows a user to request information from an advertiser via email. Vindigo.com determines a user's location through GPS or by asking which neigh­borhoods they want to be matched with. For example, if you own an Italian restaurant chain, you can use Vindigo.com to send a message to anyone looking for Italian food within a few blocks of one of your loca­tions. You can give them directions to that restaurant and even offer them the list of specials on the menu and discounts.

MyAvantGo.Com (avantgo.com) has over 2,500 content channels and over 7 million registered users. The content is delivered to smartphone and PDA users. MyAvantgo offers an m-business channel and direct promotions to deliver advertising from some of the world's top brands including American Airlines, Chevy Trucks, the Golf Chan­nel, CNN, the New York Times, and Yahoo.

Hoping to become the king of location-based web domains, Go2Online (go2online.com) helps mobile travelers find everything from lodging (choose go2hotels) to Jiffy Lube stations (choose go2oilchanges). Partnering with Sprint, Nextel, Verizon, and BellSouth, Go2 makes its services available to smartphone and PDA users. Entering "JiffyLube" or hundreds of other brand names into the Go2 system will bring up the nearest location where a shopper can find that product or service.

Address the following questions:

Give an overview of the case and the issues it raises.

The number of ads pushed to an individual should be limited. Why?

What security issues should vendors and users be aware of?

What ethical issues does wireless advertising cause?

Would you be willing to listen to a 10-second commercial if you got free airtime?

What other observations from the text do you notice in this case?

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

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