• by Phil Leggiere , May 25, 2006

A Dallas-based startup is betting that the best way to reach consumers in the last eight seconds before they decide to make a purchase comes in a cigar box-size unit called ShelfAds.

ShelfAds, marketed by POP Broadcasting, is an embedded system that transmits short ads wirelessly and directly to customers as they browse store shelves. The product, whose technology was designed by AvidWireless, uses an ultrasonic sensor to determine when a person is standing in front of the unit. It automatically plays a 10- or 15-second video with digital sound featuring an animated display of pricing and other pertinent information.

Each battery-operated ShelfAds unit can store up to five ads. Tests began earlier this year at Fiesta Mart, a Texas-based grocery chain, with such participants as Coca-Cola, Colgate-Palmolive, Maxwell House, Tyson, Energizer, and Bush's Beans. According to POP founder-CEO Earl Littman, fast food and sporting chains, cell phone retailers, and auto dealers have expressed interest in testing the units.

Based on the first test of the units in Dallas, Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream Inc. became the first national brand to order the product. The commercial launch of ShelfAds is expected by mid-year.