"Pssst...hey you...yeah you...the one sitting at your computer reading Emdashery...have I got a book for you!..."
Maybe someday you'll hear a voice like that marketing a new book. Marketers are starting to use an innovative speaker system that sends sound in a narrow beam directly to the ears of individual consumers. You might be shopping the aisles of your favorite store and a voice just for you will say, "Pssst..."
The audio spotlight device, created by Watertown firm Holosonic Research Labs Inc., has been used to hawk everything from cereals in supermarket aisles to glasses at doctor's offices. The messages are often quick and targeted -- and a little creepy to the uninitiated.
Court TV recently installed the audio spotlight in ceilings of bookstores to promote the network's new murder-mystery show. A voice, whispering, "Hey, you, can you hear me? Do you ever think about murder?" was beamed toward customers as they browsed the mystery section in several independent bookstores in New York.
Creepy? Uh, yeah. This might be a good idea for the mystery section, but the mental health section? Not so sure.











