Creative use of location-based marketing. Can local brands do this too?
"Surprise" is one of the most effective ways to get a message across, and this can be achieved today using "Location-based" marketing which is a novel way of using technology to get in touch with an audience at a particular venue location, then combined with shareable "video” content the reach can be further extended to much bigger groups. A winning formula that recently used this application was the Volkswagen campaign in Hong Kong which garnered 20 million views on YouTube in less than 10 days.
So, how can local brands use these elements in developing branding or marketing campaigns?
1/ Surprise is one of the effective ways to arouse interest. Of course there are many others such as the use of emotions like fear, love, empathy, humor and guilt. Design a creative story based on one of those approaches which can move people emotionally, making sure that the feelings induced align with the personality of the brand while developing the campaign.
2/ Location-based marketing is not difficult to create today particularly in a market such as Hong Kong, a small contained environment. The art in applying this method is giving good reasons to connect the brand with people. Sending a coupon or promotional message based on proximity can be worthwhile , or engaging people through participation in an event, sharing the agenda of a conference, signing up for queuing all attract attention. However brands can improve the management of the timing and frequency of these messages and actions to ensure they are accepted and don’t disturb people. A better way of using it is to get your customer’s response to give a “Yes” or at least a “No”. In this way you can begin to build your prospects database from every campaign.
3/ Today video content is one of the major marketing requests from clients. How to create content about an event that can go viral, or for a new product launch or for brand building? There is no absolute answer but certainly, most of the successful videos that have gone viral have a strong creative story-line plus effective planning to make it a sure viral starter in order to get the snowball effect going. Constantly invest in providing talking points or shareable videos for customers. A content plan is a good way to kick-start an effective marketing communications strategy.
Finally, since Hong Kong is a market that has one of the highest levels of mobile penetration, as well as advanced technology infrastructure, media and social channels are all available so it is a healthy battlefield for small brands. This means local enterprises can create impactful campaigns without massive marketing investment. The real challenge is about having a long term view of brand building with constant investment in offering differentiated products and services that value.
Contact us at www.cheerbox.com.hk if you want to discuss further how location-based marketing can work for your brand.
