Online Marketing News, , , , , , , , ,
proximity_marketing

Over the past few weeks we’ve largely used #ClickZChat as a chance to delve into the pros and cons of content and social, but this week we thought we’d cast a wider net and look at how new technologies are changing the way we deploy marketing campaigns.

Can proximity marketing live up to its initial promise, and if so, why aren’t we all doing it already?

As usual we asked our Twitter followers three questions on the subject:

Q1: Is hyperlocal important, or just another add-on for marketers?

To begin with, we wanted to gauge the market. Do marketers see localisation as a big opportunity, or is it just another new, shiny thing for us to cram into an already packed schedule?

I usually try to leave my own comments out of these posts, but just so you know which way I’m leaning on this:

And it seems I’m not the only one who thinks that increased relevance is the way forward.

Review-generation business GradeUs believed that increasing personalisation would be essential for businesses that wished to differentiate themselves in the future:

However, SEO and UX developer Sarah Johnson did point out a possible barrier to entry: Cost. Small businesses need an incentive before they will deploy beacon networks in-store:

Q2: What are the main barriers to adoption for proximity marketing?

Speaking of barriers to adoption, we wanted to know what was stopping businesses from investing in such a potentially valuable space:

Our own @LinusGreg was quick to point out the often murky legal ramifications of location marketing. Who owns data, and how can you get customers to opt-in? No one likes the idea of being spammed as they walk down the street.

However, a number of our followers felt that these were just teething issues. As with any new channel, there is always a hierarchy of experience, which affects initial adoption rates:

This chart is from our new State of Mobile Advertising report, which is free to download. 

Q3: What great examples of proximity marketing have you seen?

So far it seems that these issues are not stopping larger players from experimenting, with proximity tech being used for everything from retail to immersive theatre. We wanted to know what was already happening in the space to inspire marketers.

Here are couple of great examples that you provided:

The Meatpack Hijack

An old but highly relevant example. According to creators GranjaCreativa:

“Using GPS tracking technology, Hijack was able to recognise our sneakerheads entering the official store of one of the brands sold at Meat Pack and triggered a special notice with a promotion that gave you the chance to earn your discount. How? The discount would start at 99% and it would decrease by a percentage with each second that went by.”

HIJACK – MEAT PACK GUATEMALA – from GranjaCreativa on Vimeo.

Papa Johns: Using location data to improve cross-channel attribution

1

This hyperlocal campaign combined two of our favourite things: Measurable ROI, and pepperoni, with £2:1 returns across the campaign.

GranataPet’s beacon-driven Dog fitness programme

And for sheer joy/ridiculousness, this is hard to fault:

GranataPet #SnackBall – The beacon fitness eco-system for dogs – not for humans. from MRM // McCann Germany on Vimeo.

Have you seen any unusual or interesting examples of location marketing? Let us know in the comments (And make sure you join us for the next #ClickZChat, every Wednesday at Noon Eastern Time)

Want to know more about beacons and localisation? Check out this post from
from the team at Search Engine Watch contains a number of examples of hyperlocal in action, and our recent round-up of 17 fascinating stats about beacons and location marketing. 

Matt Owen is Head of Social at ClickZ

Related reading

How Schuh uses mobile to increase sales

Mobile is everywhere in our lives and as mobile consumers increase, ecommerce sites need to be prepared. Stuart McMillan, Deputy Head of Ecommerce ... read more

A businessman is consulting a crystal ball to foretell the future.

Real-time data, data from connected everything, actionable vs. big... where is all this big data heading, and what should marketers be aware of this year?

hp

Welcome to part two of a series in which I’ll look at some checkout optimisation basics, features or practices which are likely to ... read more

Instagram marketing chat

We’ve been talking a lot about the importance of visual content recently, so it seemed only right to dedicate a #ClickZchat to ... read more

Let's block ads! (Why?)