Gimbal’s proximity beacons are small transmitters that use Bluetooth Low-Energy technology to send encrypted data to mobile devices. The beacons have become popular marketing and messaging tools for retailers (Apple Stores, Gamestop, American Apparel), sports teams and venues (the Cleveland Browns, the Miami Dolphins, Madison Square Garden, the Staples Center), and events and conferences (the U.S. Open, SXSW, Tribeca Film Festival).
When a shopper or event attendee comes in range, the beacon sends a message to a Gimbal-enabled mobile app on the person’s mobile phone. The app platform sends relevant information to the device, based on what the user has opted in for and the user’s exact location. The Miami Dolphins use Gimbal to message fans at Sun Life Stadium about where they can find shorter concession lines. The Chicago Transit Authority and advertising firm Titan have tested Gimbal beacon technology at several stations to determine whether advertising furthers engagement with transit riders.
In November, Retailigence, an online-to-online marketing platform, announced a strategic partnership with Gimbal to provide product and shopper data to retailers looking to fine-tune their marketing efforts. Presumably, retail designers could use such data to improve wayfinding in stores and even to create physical ways to influence shoppers’ traffic patterns within the store.
Not everyone’s ecstatic over the new technology. After Buzzfeed disclosed that Titan had planted 500 beacons in phone booths to push advertising, New York City officials had them removed.
Read about more innovations from BD+C's 2014 Great Solutions Report.
Related Stories
| May 18, 2011
Eco-friendly San Antonio school combines history and sustainability
The 113,000-sf Rolling Meadows Elementary School in San Antonio is the Judson Independent School District’s first sustainable facility, with green features such as vented roofs for rainwater collection and regionally sourced materials.
| May 18, 2011
New Reform Jewish Independent school opens outside Boston
The Rashi School, one of only 17 Reform Jewish independent schools in North American and Israel, opened a new $30 million facility on a 166-acre campus shared with the Hebrew SeniorLife community on the Charles River in Dedham, Mass.
| May 18, 2011
Design diversity celebrated at Orange County club
The Orange County, Calif., firm NKDDI designed the 22,000-sf Luna Lounge & Nightclub in Pomona, Calif., to be a high-end multipurpose event space that can transition from restaurant to lounge to nightclub to music venue.
| May 18, 2011
Lab personnel find comfort in former Winchester gun factory
The former Winchester Repeating Arms Factory in New Haven, Conn., is the new home of PepsiCo’s Biology Innovation Research Laboratory.
| May 18, 2011
Addition provides new school for pre-K and special-needs kids outside Chicago
Perkins+Will, Chicago, designed the Early Learning Center, a $9 million, 37,000-sf addition to Barrington Middle School in Barrington, Ill., to create an easily accessible and safe learning environment for pre-kindergarten and special-needs students.
| May 18, 2011
Raphael Viñoly’s serpentine-shaped building snakes up San Francisco hillside
The hillside location for the Ray and Dagmar Dolby Regeneration Medicine building at the University of California, San Francisco, presented a challenge to the Building Team of Raphael Viñoly, SmithGroup, DPR Construction, and Forell/Elsesser Engineers. The 660-foot-long serpentine-shaped building sits on a structural framework 40 to 70 feet off the ground to accommodate the hillside’s steep 60-degree slope.
| May 18, 2011
New center provides home to medical specialties
Construction has begun on the 150,000-sf Medical Arts Pavilion at the University Medical Center in Princeton, N.J.
| May 18, 2011
Improvements add to Detroit convention center’s appeal
Interior and exterior renovations and updates will make the Detroit Cobo Center more appealing to conventioneers. A new 40,000-sf ballroom will take advantage of the center’s riverfront location, with views of the river and downtown.
| May 18, 2011
One of Delaware’s largest high schools seeks LEED for Schools designation
The $82 million, 280,000-sf Dover (Del.) High School will have capacity for 1,800 students and feature a 900-seat theater, a 2,500-seat gymnasium, and a 5,000-seat football stadium.
