2027: Marketing Scandals with Bluetooth Light Bulbs.

Back in 2017, Bluetooth light bulb’s were going to be the device. For the time, it was quite the advancement. Sure, there were already Bluetooth equip homes with speakers and surround sound, but light bulbs? The LED light bulb bundled with technology was an idea that was meant to save energy as well as play music.

As it was coming onto the market, energy conscious consumers were early to adopt this product, as it would be a very simple switch. It was cheaper than buying a home audio system and took up much less space. The idea was simple, install the bulb like usual, log on to your phones settings, and connect to the light bulb’s Bluetooth feature. As it was stated in the product manual, it also offered the feature that music could play without the light bulb actually being turned on.

It was an energy efficient, space saving, and affordable product that sought out to have an extensive life. The hope was that as it started out in the United States, it would spread to other countries to create a more sustainable environment. In 2017 there was much controversy about the kind of change needed to be made in order to help save the planet. Creating a more energy efficient light bulb with a longer life span than the average bulb would not save the planet, but it was a start.

Before the product launched in 2017, marketers surveyed potential consumers in order to better the expectations of the product as well as gage how it could be improved before launch. Of one thousand persons surveyed, nine hundred and eight-seven persons had a positive review of the potential technology. Thirteen out one thousand people surveyed showed their discontent with the product.

“There was absolutely nothing abnormal looking about this new light bulb advancement. The only difference was that it could play music, and save energy at the same time, which is something I fully support.”

“My kids really enjoyed the music all over the home when they had friends over. I enjoyed the fact that my electric bill would not be affected!”

“I really did not like it. I think it’s a cool and different concept, but I do not see a need for it in my home.”

“It was okay. I wish there was the option to set the music at different levels in different rooms. It would be nice to be able to use more than one Bluetooth so my husband and I could listen to what we want in different rooms. Maybe one day?”

The research being conducted present day is much different than ten years ago. Researchers are finding out more than they had bargained for, and consumers are filing lawsuits against privacy in their own home. Within the span of ten years give or take, hackers have caught on to the ability to hack into citizens Bluetooth in their home and use it as a spying device. As if hacking someone’s computer or banking account was not enough, now there was no hiding in the comfort of his or her home.

Marketer’s started to catch wind of the hacking going on and pondered with the idea of hiring the hackers. Eventually some of the top marketing agencies in the United States hired hackers on their team to better investigate their target markets. Without thought of legal concerns, marketers were now getting more specific information on there consumers.

In 2024, purchasers of the LED Bluetooth light bulb were becoming suspicious. The consumers were getting mailings, emails that were focusing on issues or topics they had been talking about, but not online. In fact, they were the exact opposite. One customer stated,

“I was getting a little bit wary of what this product was capable of. I did not realize it at first, but after a year I started noticing things. My mother was in the intensive care unit at the hospital and unfortunately, it was getting to the point of talking about final arrangements. I would have family members over frequently and we would talk about how we would move forward with life after she passed. The majority of my mailings were consisting of funeral arrangements and headstone estimates.”

Consumers began speaking to their lawyers about the possible information breach and when enough complaints were filed, there was an open case against the LED Bluetooth light bulb’s and the marketing agencies that were using them against their customers will. What started out as a good idea eventually led to one of the biggest security breaches to this date.