50,000 beacons: Ströer is setting up the first nationwide beacon infrastructure in Germany

Ströer is the first company in Germany to connect the real world with the online world on a nationwide basis / Phase I: installation of 20,000 sensors in advertising media across the country by March 2016 / Ströer makes the Internet of Things tangible

Around a year after the launch of the first public and largest beacon test field in Germany at Düsseldorf main station (DUS Open Playground), the board of management of Ströer SE yesterday came to a decision to be the first company in the world to begin setting up a nationwide beacon network. The plans for the first phase of the rollout call for some 20,000 advertising hoardings, posters and other media at highly frequented transport hubs in Germany to be equipped with the beacons by the end of March 2016. The nationwide beacon network will be expanded to 50,000 advertising spaces by the end of 2016. Ströer will thereby give advertisers the opportunity to become interactive. With some 230,000 POIs in Germany, Ströer is in a position to equip entire cities with beacons, making it easier for companies to give consumers across the country a digital handshake.

“Our pilot project has shown that interest among agencies and advertising entities is huge and that the technology is highly promising. We assume that new wearables will substantially boost the potential for beacon applications once again. A few individual beacon solutions have already been established, but we want to set the standard. With our nationwide and standardized beacon infrastructure which we plan to establish throughout Germany, we are enabling consumers to experience the Internet of Things at first hand. Ströer has the digital portfolio to bring this innovation to the masses. We are also benefiting considerably from our existing OOH infrastructure and are subsequently able to roll out the network efficiently and at unrivalled, minimal cost”, commented Christian Schmalzl, COO of Ströer SE.

The objective of the beacon network is to make the transition between the real world and the digital world as easy as possible. In the past, advertisers have frequently reported that the customer journey through media gaps between the two worlds is detrimental to efficiency. Ströer’s beacon infrastructure enables advertisers to address consumers in a more targeted manner by establishing an effective link between out-of-home media and mobile channels. The huge reach provided by OOH media can be optimally combined with the accurate targeting of mobile marketing. Through a mobile extension of the OOH campaign on their smartphones, consumers can be addressed individually depending on their personal usage behavior, for example by showing them the way to the next store or offering them a personal discount. Commercial customers in particular will benefit from this development, as the mechanics of e-commerce can be integrated into brick-and-mortar stores via iBeacon technology. Beacons push messages to the user’s smartphone via the advertiser’s app as the consumer passes by. By providing time and location-specific additional information on products, special offers or coupons, consumers are addressed directly and can be guided towards the POS.

For the first time, Ströer as an infrastructure provider is utilizing the possibility of connecting the real world with the online world in Germany by using Bluetooth low energy-based technology. Ströer had previously tested the iBeacon technology for six months at the Düsseldorf main station together with Deutsche Bahn as part of a pilot project. The Open Playground provided key insights and showed that out of the station’s daily 250,000 visitors, around 40 percent activated Bluetooth. Philips, L’Oreal, the t8y.com agency, Sparkassen-Finanzportal GmbH and a soft drinks producer successfully used the test field to monitor the success of iBeacon campaigns in their target groups.

Disclaimer

This press release contains “forward looking statements” regarding Ströer SE (“Ströer”) or the Ströer Group, including opinions, estimates and projections regarding Ströer’s or the Ströer Group’s financial position, business strategy, plans and objectives of management and future operations. Such forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Ströer or the Ströer Group to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. These forward looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and are based on numerous assumptions which may or may not prove to be correct. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is made by Ströer with respect to the fairness, completeness, correctness, reasonableness or accuracy of any information and opinions contained herein. The information in this press release is subject to change without notice, it may be incomplete or condensed, and it may not contain all material information concerning Ströer or the Ströer Group. Ströer undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward looking statements or other information stated herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.