Pulling in the punters – literally.

Posted by Stuart Richings on 3 March 2011 | 0 Comments

Tags: science, research, pull marketing

This is still only a radical theoretical idea, but… scientists now say that making a ‘tractor beam’ is perfectly possible using lasers. Smart.

"Light can indeed pull a particle" say these scientists. In fact, according to researchers in China and Hong Kong they’ve already calculated the precise conditions required to create a laser-based "pull", which will be able to ‘draw’ small objects back toward the laser's source.

It can’t be your bog-standard laser beam though. No. That would be too easy, my friends. It has to be a Bessel Beam, which features the precise pattern of peaks and troughs needed to generate the backward force necessary.

So, in the future, could such a “laser beam” (visualizing Dr Evil helps here) be used to pull readers eyes to look directly at your ad space, or pull shoppers feet toward your retail premises? Or even pull their money out of their wallet into the till? Maybe.

Sadly, we can only wait and see if such an obviously highly useful, high precision marketing tool will be available to us advertising and marketing types in the future. Sure as eggs have a short shelf life though, this bright new marketing idea is out there on the horizon. But just how far away is it – light years perhaps?

Pity. It sounds like a whole lot of fun.