In a very short time, we have come to rely on our mobile devices for most of our daily activities; communication, news, entertainment, banking, shopping.
We literally have the world at our fingertips.
With so much information readily available to us in a matter of seconds, our attentions spans are a little shorter than they used to be. While it is easier than ever for us to access information, it is just as easy to switch off when something doesn’t hold our interest.
So traditional marketing is no longer an effective way for retailers to get a message across. It takes a bit of creative thinking to make an impression on today’s average consumer. There is plenty of digital technology out there to help brands engage with their customers, you just have to know how to use it.
Here are some of my favorite campaigns by retailers who have embraced social media, augmented reality and live streaming to engage their audience and influence sales.
American Eagle
American Eagle teamed up with Shopkick, a company at the forefront of shopping apps, to introduce an iBeacon system into one hundred of their stores. iBeacon is an indoor positioning system created by Apple which uses low-powered transmitters to identify a phone’s exact location.
When a Shopkick user enters an American Eagle store, the iBeacon system automatically notifies them of special promotions or must-have products. Eventually, these iBeacons will be throughout the store, so that customers will receive notifications about deals in the department they are standing in.
This campaign is still in its early stages, but I think it’s an innovative concept and I look forward to seeing the results.
Lego
Lego recently introduced augmented reality kiosks in their retail stores. Customers simply place a box for sale in front of the kiosk to reveal a 3D model of what they can make from the contents.The model can be rotated and even includes little Lego men opening and walking through doors, and aeroplanes taking off and landing. This is a very clever campaign; once kids see their model come to life, there is no way they will let their parents leave the store without a product in their hands.
IKEA
Gone are the days when you had to imagine how a piece of furniture would look in your house. IKEA’s new interactive catalogues make the process of choosing furniture a lot easier. Their augmented reality app allows customers to view the products in their own home with the furniture they already have.
Customers simply place the catalog where they would like the furniture to sit and the app measures the size of the catalog in comparison to their room and surrounding objects, ensuring the product appears to scale on their phone. Then they can take a picture for future reference. The app allows customers to view 90 different products in a matter of seconds, and will save plenty of headaches and return trips to the store.
You can check out the app in action in this IKEA promo video.
Marc Jacobs
Marc Jacobs took social engagement to the next level with the Daisy Marc Jacobs Tweet Shop, a pop-up store in Manhattan during New York Fashion Week. Rather than sell products, Marc Jacobs used the store to showcase the new Daisy fragrance.
Visitors were directed to tweet or share photos of the new line and include the hashtag #MJDaisyChain to spread the word. In return for their social shares, they received gifts from the store including purses, perfume and jewelry. This resulted in over 13,500 mentions on Twitter and over 4,300 mentions on Instagram; an extremely successful campaign which increased brand recall for the company.
The Iconic
At this year’s Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival, online retailer The Iconic launched a clever concept called “Shop the Show”.
A video of their runway show was streamed live to their website, allowing viewers to immediately purchase products seen on the catwalk. They then partnered their live, ‘shoppable’ streaming with 3 hour delivery in Melbourne and Sydney, so customers received products the day they were launched. SMS delivery alerts and live countdown app tracking connected customers with the brand giving them a more meaningful e-shopping experience.
As “Shop the Show” was the first of its kind in Australia, the results were always going to be of interest and this innovative campaign was considered an instant success. 500 products were sold within two hours of the show’s completion. Over half of these sales came from mobile shoppers. River Island, the brand featured in the show, was The Iconic’s highest selling brand for that week. This concept made The Iconic the one to watch in digital marketing.
Obviously these retailers have substantial marketing budgets, but what sets them apart from the competition is the thought behind their campaigns. Each one has been developed with the consumer experience in mind; making the act of purchasing easier and more exciting. The combination of the two practically guarantees increased sales and brand awareness; something to keep in mind when planning your next marketing campaign.
Photo courtesy of @scobleizer on Flickr
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