Gizmondo gaming console will carry highly targeted Smart Adds
A handheld gaming device due to go on sale next month will carry a new direct advertising medium called Smart Adds.
The Gizmondo, which can play games, music and films, send text messages and take pictures, will also show television-quality ads.
The ads can be time- and place- sensitive, so advertisers can target consumers at relevant times. For instance, restaurants will be able to send Smart Adds to users in a particular area highlighting any lunch and dinner specials.
Targeted advertising based on age and gender can also be used and the Gizmondo will be able to direct users to their nearest stockist using the GPS facility.
Head of Smart Adds at Gizmondo, Peter Lilley, says: “We’re conscious of the fact that people will be buying it for its functions and not the ads.
“We want to make sure they enjoy the ones they receive so we’ll be picky and 18-year-old boys won’t receive ads for housewife-type products.”
About 20 leading brands are already believed to have signed up to the Smart Adds scheme and 1.2 million Gizmondos have been ordered ahead of its launch at the end of September.
Tiger Telematics, of which Gizmondo Europe is a subsidiary, is taking on the likes of Sony and Nintendo with the device.
The ads will not interrupt the user’s activity on the console, and users will also be given the option of receiving Smart Adds when they first turn on the machine.
