Proximity marketing: a new generation of content and services set to radically change every aspect of marketing. Macy’s, Fox, McDonald’s, North Face, and even in Italy, Grandi Stazioni and SEA: the revolution has already begun, are you ready?
The principles of Gamification are reflected in digital couponing, proximity marketing, and real-time CRM systems that engage customers in a dialogue, generating value and mutual understanding between brands and consumers. According to Juniper Research’s report “Mobile & Online Coupons: Redemption, Loyalty & Consumer Engagement 2015-2020,” there is an anticipated surge in the number of coupons distributed annually via beacons (small devices that transmit information through Bluetooth Low Energy technology), which will rise globally from the current 11 million to a record 1.6 billion by 2020. All of this aims to implement solutions based on a new form of dialogue between the environment and users, customers, or potential customers.
Some numbers? The U.S. retail chain Macy’s has already installed over 4,000 beacons in its network of stores; Proxama, a UK-based operator specializing in mobile payment services, has distributed beacons in taxis and buses after working with shopping malls and airports in the UK, leveraging moments when a commercial message can become an enjoyable entertainment experience to capture potential customers’ attention. Similarly, Fox, promoting the animated film Kung Fu Panda 3, used 500 London buses, where users could interact with exclusive movie content by connecting to the beacons and using the Shazam app.
This is already a revolution underway in the Italian market as well, where travel retail is highly responsive to the trend. The Italian road to proximity marketing also involves a range of established solutions supported by a developing ecosystem. For example, Pass2Ngage is AdKaora’s platform, which manages events, couponing, loyalty programs, and marketing activities based on the digital interaction between places and people via mobile wallets.
The most innovative brands (McDonald’s, North Face, Pernod Ricard, Mattel, Timberland) have already started experimenting with this solution, focusing not only on proximity marketing but also on driving store traffic and developing a real CRM (Customer Relationship Management) via mobile.
The ongoing challenge is to transform a pioneering approach into a new discipline that could revolutionize not only advertising but also customer relationships and business models themselves.
Proximity marketing is just getting started… and are you ready for the next step? Keep following us!
