Tuning In To Innovative Marketing
As we look at the ways technology effects commerce and marketing, we always expect to see advancements from the latest and greatest to steer the way toward innovative brand marketing. But what if we haven't been utilizing older technology to its fullest?
This has proven to be exactly the case with Radio Frequency Identification Marketing (RFID)! Brands are becoming increasingly aware of its potential and that there are many ways for RFID to be implemented into your next marketing campaign. In this blog post, Hollywood Branded examines and discuss 3 examples of using older technology to market effectively today with RFID.
RFID In A Nutshell
In case you missed our last blog covering RFIDS- Using Technology You Have To Increase Sales, we'll dive into a quick recap so that you can finally join in on all of those RFID talks your coworkers are having.
Radio frequency identification uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects.
Similar to the concept of a barcode scan, RFID digitalizes this into a process where people locate an individual or an item beyond its product type. It can also locate products that cannot be directly seen, locate up to thousands of items simultaneously, and locate and identify items which are at only a few centimeters or several meters away from each other.
Ready for an exhaustive list? The benefits of radio frequency identification are endless. Basically, RFID can help with:
- automating the inventory and asset-tracking in a lot of industries, from healthcare to manufacturing and retail
- identifying every product, its source and origin
- cutting the usage of counterfeit products in the supply chain
- setting the shopping experience on another level when it comes to consumers
- making the process of returns and fewer out-of-stock items easier
- providing utmost visibility in the supply chain and reducing the business costs through a new efficient distribution model
- preventing any lost to theft or inaccurate accounting of goods
- improving the security of every item and personnel through advanced cargo monitoring
- locking, unlocking and configuring devices wirelessly
- enabling top-shelf access control in certain areas and devices
RFID improves existing operating systems, removes tedious manual operations, and creates cost effective operations for a plethora of industries from retail to healthcare. Now that you're caught up, let's dive into how RFID can be used for truly innovative event activations.
#1. Battersea Cats & Dogs #LookingForYou Campaign
UK-based Battersea Dogs & Cats Home launched an interactive digital advertisement at Westfield Stratford city shopping center using RFID technology. The program was developed and created by OgilvyOne, an award winning integrated creative network of brand strategists, and Framestore, a BAFTA and Oscar-awarding winning creative production studio. The two teamed up with Exterion Media to produce what they coined the #Lookingforyou campaign to highlight the animal charity’s continued work to regime cats and dogs.
“We all know that homeless dogs follow you around. So we are using technology to create a truly engaging experience at Westfield to help Battersea rehome even more dogs in 2015.”
- Emma de La Fosse and Charlie Wilson, joint chief creative officers, OgilvyOne UK
#2 Grolsch Swingtop Challenge Campaign
Marketing agency Life created a stellar new experiential division, Life Experience. Their debut project featured a multi-channel campaign for the lager brand Grolsch known as the “Swingtop Challenge” and featured a three month roadshow throughout the Southern British regions.
Consumers were invited to take part in the challenge by stepping into a 2.1 square meter interactive game cube. Claustrophobia aside, they then had to open as many virtual bottles of Grolsch as possible in 60 seconds for the chance to score points and win prizes; this included a trip for two to the beautiful and cheese filled Amsterdam, Netherlands.
To play, gamers registered their details with brand ambassadors at the event to receive a branded wristband containing the RFID, which linked to the their personal Facebook page.
"Grolsch is an iconic brand and therefore needs marketing activity which demonstrates its unique and individual style. We’re putting consumers to the test with a fun and interactive game, and the challenge to perfect three of the most famous Swingtop opening techniques; The Swingtop Chop, The Slice and The Booty Pop.
#3 Starhub Online Musical Fitting Rooms
Singapore-based Starhub Online Music store needed a campaign to engage new users, specifically the youth(s). So, they launched a trial promotion that dished out free downloads to these rambunctious teens. Their objective was simple: increase web traffic and music downloads. They needed to stand out in a saturated market keen to handing out freebies and meaningless giveaways.
The solution: creating musical fitting rooms of course! The fitting rooms would suggest songs that suited the style of the clothes being tried on, all powered by specially placed RFID chips inside of the clothes. These chips worked in conjunction to the RFID chip readers that were built into directional speakers placed in the fitting rooms. When the garment was brought into the fitting room, the chip would trigger the reader to play music that matched the style of that specific garment. Implemented into over 42 retail stores with high youth traffic, the fitting rooms quickly became an escape into your favorite music video.
Finally, the reader would beam proximity text messages to the target’s mobile phone, containing information about the suggested songs for audiences to download for free. With a simple click, the young rock stars could be teleported to Starhub’s online music store. Thanks to an average click through rate of 84%, over 29,000 free songs were downloaded and paid music downloads increased by 21%. By combining music and fashion with RFID technology, Starhub managed to create a hyper personalized experience that became their most successful youth promotion campaign.
Conclusion
RFID continues to prove to be an exciting technology that can greatly enhance brand visibility in supply chains, tool tracking, and access control applications. As costs for RFID tags continue to decrease, and phone manufacturers incorporate NFC capabilities into their products, RFID continues to be embraced within advertising campaigns, products, and event activations across the world. Hopefully, after reading this blog, your marketing efforts have been advanced in some small way. Everyday, new and exciting technologies present an endless array of strategies for your agency to employ. Now get out there and innovate!
Want to know our findings on the best ways to target consumers to appreciate you placements? Check out the survey here: Product Placement Survey Brands Use Entertainment Marketing Strategies.
And take a look some of our other blogs that talk about best marketing practices for product placement and brand integration partnerships:
- 4 Common Myths About Product Placement Debunked
- 10 Surprising Reasons Why Brands Do Product Placement
- 8 Ways To Use Product Placement Assets To Amplify Your Brand Into Sales
Are you interested in integrating your brand's product with a celebrity but simply don’t know where to start? There is more to product placement and celebrity endorsement partnerships than you may think and we are here to help you become better educated about the key tactics to best fit your brand. Download our Product Placement 101 Infographic today to start learning more!
