Be Tom Cruise next time you go to Glasgow Airport.

‘Hello Mr. Yakamoto and welcome back to The Gap.’

So says one of the sales messages sent straight to Tom Cruise’s character John Anderton’s eyeball in Minority Report.

(Luckily it’s not his eyeball; he’s on the run and has stolen someone elses.)

Remember the scene? Tom walks through a shopping center and all of the stores send ads direct to him via an implant in his eye.

Well science fiction has become science fact, in the shape of Proximity Marketing.

For one of our clients, Glasgow Airport, we partnered with Airspace to develop GLAextra, a personalised shopping app.

(Luckily it involved no ocular manipulation whatsoever.)

Using cellular Bluetooth technology and beacons positioned around the terminal, it sends relevant push notifications to travellers phones alerting them with information, deals and offers, as they move through the airport.

So say if I’m early for my morning flight and I pass Mozzo coffee shop, I’ll get an invitation to have a breakfast coffee.

As a little sweetener, it adds a treat too, a free shortbread finger.

So far it seems to be a hit with travellers and airport customers alike, but this foray into Proximity Marketing got us thinking.

Ask any marketing man on the planet and they’ll tell you the holy grail of turning mass communication into a personal one-to-one sale, is the future.

But is that future bright?

Or is it another insidious way to sell me stuff I don’t want or didn’t ask for?

For start, should my company invest in this?

Well here’s something you already know.

Your customers are not paying attention to you; they are paying attention to their phones.

When they walk down the street they are on their phones, when they eat your food or try your clothes, they are on their phones.

So it’s probably the best place to talk to them.

If you don’t use it, your customers probably will.

Three quarters of UK marketers are planning to invest in Proximity Marketing solutions this year.

The most important thing about this personal marketing technique is just that, getting the personal touch right.

You know where I am, but do you know what I want?

Do you know how to speak to me?

Tone of voice and getting the right content is vital.

If your human touch becomes heavy handed you will lose them.

Allowing customers to opt in or out of this service so they don’t feel trapped, is a good idea.

Vouchers and offers to make any message more palatable, is an even better one.

A 2 for 1 pizza deal is great, but how about a pizza recipe and, oh, a movie ticket offer to enjoy after the pizza?

Yum Yum.

If Proximity Marketing is the future, the trick will be, if you want to have a one-to-one chat with me about buying something, make your sales patter irresistible.

Otherwise, as Mr. Cruise will tell you, it’ll be Mission Impossible.