Brands are becoming increasingly
adventurous in their use of mobile applications and location-based
marketing technologies. Last week, Barry M and Impulse followed trend
with the announcement of a location-based marketing campaign, which
take advantage of the social networking site Facebook and the Barry M
mobile application.
Under the campaign, co-branded handbags
containing both Impulse and Barry M products will be placed at
different locations across the UK. The target audience (16-24 year
old women) will then be encouraged to engage in a kind of “treasure
hunt”; using GPS technology, social networking sites and the Barry
M app to locate the handbags. Since the number of goodie bags is
limited, this treasure hunt has a competitive edge as well and we
look forward to checking out the photos of young women fiercely
fighting their way to get their hands on these cherished prizes (I
personally have a bit of a Lynx-ad image in mind, but let’s see
what happens!)
This campaign is a great example of
using – and in this case merging – social networking sites,
mobile marketing and location-based marketing techniques. Whilst many
companies now have an app of some sort, too many of these are of
little use and benefit to the customer, discouraging them from
engaging with the brand in this potentially powerful way.
But now Barry M is ensuring that its
mobile application offers a tangible benefit to customers, thus
strengthening the role of this particular channel in the customer
relationship.
Mobile marketing is not the only sphere
of digital that often falls short on engaging customers. Facebook
pages with hundreds of thousands of fans have often been seen as
proof of consumer brand engagement and a successful end in itself,
rather than as a springboard and opportunity to reach out to this
keen audience.
Impulse and Barry M are making the most
of their online presence and encouraging their customers to use the
digital relationship to receive a fun and rewarding off-line
experience. In doing so, they are creating a powerful multi-channel
brand experience – precisely what brands should seek to do in this
day and age.
