3 Beacon Campaigns You can Take Inspiration From

Given the fast pace at which beacons are being leveraged across verticals globally, 2017 is all set to be the year in which beacons will enable critical, customer-centric use cases for businesses across the globe. In fact, while a 2014 Business Insider report predicted that a total of over 4.5 million active beacons will be installed by 2018, this number was surpassed by approximately 2 times in Q4 2016. According to Proxbook’s Q4 2016 report, a total of 8,039,500 beacons have been deployed globally by the end of 2016.

Adding on to that, a recent survey of US internet users from TimeTrade found that in contrast to common belief, 49% of consumers are open to the idea of retailers using beacons to monitor their behaviour in-store, as long as it benefits them in some way.

However, even with a good number of consumers having opted in to receive beacon-enabled notifications, sometimes it can be challenging to think of creative and conversion focused beacon campaigns to run. To help you come up with some ideas, we’ve assembled 3 interesting beacon campaigns that you can take inspiration from and put to use in your business today.

1) AMI Entertainment to bring beacons to bars to enhance consumer interaction

(Image Source: geomarketing.com)

As a part of this campaign, Eddystone beacons are being rolled out to 23,000 bars, restaurants, casinos, nightclubs and other venues connected to AMI Entertainment sports and music programming network. Dubbed as inBar, this beacon program is a collaboration between AMI Entertainment and a beacon network that leverages beacons to help brands engage consumers via mobile inside entertainment venues. Instead of merely using beacons to send a push notification offering app users a discount when they walk into a place, inBar will feature a wide range of location-specific mixed media and content.

The possibilities are extensive. For example, patrons can set a favourite song to play on an AMI-powered interactive jukebox that is triggered the second they walk into a bar. Such inBar experiences promise to essentially turn phones into an “AI bar assistant.” Some other “geo-unlockable” second-screen features offered by inBar include:

(i) Providing a “safe ride” deal to users who are in the bar for more than 3 hours

(ii) Offering extra swipes on their dating app

(iii) Providing access to exclusive playlists or AR/camera filters while they are at the bar

(iv) Offering drink specials for checking your fantasy football scores during the game

This beacon campaign is a very interesting take on how Eddystone can be leveraged to enhance consumer engagement.

2) MSC Cruises leveraged beacons to offer a connected guest experience

Image Source: cruiseadvice.com

MSC Cruises, one of the world’s largest privately-owned cruise line, recently unveiled its fleet-wide digital innovation program at ITB Berlin, a popular travel industry trade show. The company worked with tech and behavioural science experts at Deloitte Digital, Hewlett Packard and Samsung to develop a new cruise program, MSC for Me, which leverages VR content, wearables, and beacons to deliver a connected, personalizable, and holistic guest experience.

As a part of this campaign, each guest, once onboard, will be given a connected bracelet that will, in turn, allow them quick access to the ship’s services and will activate geo-located suggestions through 3,050 beacons that have been deployed throughout the ship. Other key features of this new program include:

(i) a digital way finder that offers passengers advice on how to find their way around a 1,000-foot long ship

(ii) a planning tool that will help passengers check in with their mobile device, book trips, seats for shows or best dinner table, before embarking or during the trip

(iii) a digitally immersive virtual reality content that allows passengers to preview their trips

If this program rings a bell somewhere, it is probably because MSC’s approach is quite similar to the Ocean Medallion program unveiled by Carnival Cruise early this year at the CES event. With these two major cruise ship companies coming forward and embracing such IoT driven connected travel driven experiences, the bar is being raised for what consumers will come to expect of travel companies in future.

3) London Heathrow Airport leveraged beacons to offer better PRM services

Image Source: internationalairportreview.com

London Heathrow is one of the biggest airports in Europe, recently partnered with OmniServ, one of UK’s leading airline and airport assistance services provider, to offer improved PRM services using beacons. A highly critical service, given that Heathrow reportedly manages a total of approximately 1.2 million passengers with restricted mobility every year at the airport. In terms of growth, the year-on-year growth of passengers with restricted mobility has roughly seen an 8 percent increase, easily outstripping the overall passenger growth witnessed by the airport.

Given the severity of this issue, OmniServ believes that making use of the latest technological developments such as beacons in personal mobility equipment and special handling can make a huge difference. As a part of this campaign, thousands of beacons deployed at the airport are being leveraged to offer enhanced services and manage the workforce in the best possible manner.

As a result, OmniServ ambassadors are required to carry around tablets with the latest apps. This allows them quick access to a centralized information system which in turn provides the information on passenger flow, queue times, departure and arrival gates, aircraft movements and other operational issues. This way, the ambassadors get to know when a PRM passenger arrives, in real time.

Have you come across any other interesting iBeacon campaign ideas? Let us know in the comments below.

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