Travel application Airside Mobile is leveraging contextual- and location-based push notifications to drive direct downloads among Android users in several major airports and inform them of experiences in their vicinity.

Airside Mobile is leveraging sensor beacon solution Bluvision?s Nearby Notifications to prompt more airport travelers to download its app and interact with various in-terminal experiences. Once an individual walks by a Bluvision beacon, the device will send a push notification to his or her Android smartphone with an invitation to download the Airside Mobile app directly from the Google Play Store, thereby simplifying the user experience.

?Since Nearby removes the app dependency, this gives consumers and business more choices in what the use and how they communicate with each other,? said Matthew Johnson, chief technology officer of Bluvision. ?It's no longer the battle for getting the app installed to send push messages about deals of the day. 

?Nearby addresses the biggest obstacle to beacon adoption,? he said. ?The battle for mobile activation has been made significantly easier via beacons.

?Previously, in order for a consumer to receive a beacon content, they must have a native app installed.  However, now you can use Nearby notifications to deliver time-relevant messages to consumers with or without an app.?

Flying in more convenience
Bluvision deployed its sensor beacons near arrival and departure areas in San Francisco International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport and San Jose International Airport, and configured the devices to broadcast Eddystone UID signals when a traveler walks by a beacon.

This will trigger the beacons to send that individual a Nearby notification on his or her mobile device that invites him or her to download the Airside Mobile app. The notification also enables the Eddystone UID broadcast to bring the mobile user directly to the Airside Mobile app's install button in the Google Play Store.

This action simplifies the user experience, since the traveler will not need to search within the Google Play Store to locate the app. Instead, he or she can accept the Nearby notification?s suggestion to download the app, which seeks to reduce wait times for consumers in airports and fuel more speedy transactions at in-terminal restaurants and stores.

?Airside Mobile is a project where Bluvision, Airside and Google partnered to beaconize several major airports to Broadcast Nearby Notifications,? Mr. Johnson said. ?These beacons where placed in key locations where a traveler will most likely use a mobile passport.  

?A user would have a quick and easy way shortcut via a Nearby notification to open the passenger?s mobile passport or to install/enroll,? he said. ?This initiative was all about making a passenger?s life easier in line at the airport. 

?This message about the mobile passport would appear in on the phone's lock screen or in the Nearby header notification on the home screen.?

Fueling app adoption
Proximity-driven experiences are often times enhanced with the use of beacon technology, particularly when deployed in locations with heavy foot traffic. Bluvision is able to serve mobile users with direct calls-to-action to download apps via URLs or links to the Google Play Store.

While this strategy may be beneficial for brands with significant audiences, it can also be leveraged by small to midsize businesses, many of which do not have the time or budget to support native apps.

These businesses can now tap beacon technology to drive traffic to their mobile sites.

Additionally, many push notifications are compatible with iOS platforms only, which could alienate brands? Android customers.

?Nearby Notifications is now a part of Google Play Services and being installed across past, current, and future Android versions,? Mr. Johnson said. ?This exponentially increases the global audience size for beacon driven experiences.  

?If you install a beacon, you can start driving traffic today.?