In an age where most people are fixated with the 4 inch retinal digital display in front of them rather than a newspaper, many traditional advertising methods are experiencing less engagement with the consumer, meaning traditional advertising needs to work harder in order to generate sales and revenue growth for businesses.
As the famous WanaMaker quote goes, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half”. The rapid rise in digital marketing (such as WiFi sponsorship) has undoubtedly been fuelled by the world recession, and the pressing requirement for businesses to ensure a return on their marketing investment.
As a result, the UK national newspaper report has seen an average of 6% decline in print sales (Year on Year 2011-2012)*. The radio industry has seen a steady decline in listenership of 7.8% over the past 10 years**.
With the introduction of Sky+, TiVO and many other set-top boxes that allow catch-up, on-demand and recording, unless brands pay big bucks to advertise during the commercial breaks of popular TV shows, TV advertising is becoming easier to avoid.
Digital is the front runner, with major brands focussing their attentions on social media campaigns to create top of mind awareness, paying for sponsored posts to appear in peoples Facebook and Twitter feeds.
Traditional sponsorship opportunities have also been hit hard by this need to show a clear return on investment. It’s no longer enough to assume that the prominent placement of your logo has had a residual effect on people’s propensity to buy. Businesses want proof.
Today’s leading brands are also keen to present their personality – encouraging and joining in the conversation to create real engagement and amplifying a customer’s lifelong loyalty to the brand.
Enter a new breed of sponsorship and advertising hybrid, in the form of a Purple WiFi hotspot.
If you wanted to target specific groups of people, for example pub-goers or football fans, shoppers or people in the market for a new appliance, Sponsorship of a Purple WiFi hotspot in a chain of pubs, a football stadium, concert venue or white-goods retailer would allow you to engage with these individuals.
The sponsor message is the SSID and POS visuals promoting your brands WiFi. Often the first thing seen when someone arrives in a venue is that there are wireless networks available on their device, your brand name on their screen.
Secondary to this, when connected to the WiFi the user is exposed to the brand on the splash page they see when accessing the system, here there is the ability to place sales messages too. Then during the process they connect with the brands social media and are asked to post an optional message to their chosen social media timeline, which promotes the brand to their friends and family.
Once signed in, they’re redirected to a website of the sponsor’s choice. This could be their homepage, their Facebook page or a specific landing page designed to engage with the consumer.
As well as all of this exposure, you will also capture some demographic information about them, including their age, location, email address and gender thus understanding your customer base better. The brand then has the opportunity to engage further, through email marketing or sharing vouchers or promotions, straight from the WiFi management dashboard ‘The Purple Portal’.
All measurable, significant returns on the small investment required to provide a service which has become as essential as toilet facilities within most business open to the public.
For a demonstration of the system, or for more information, please call James Dale on 0161 870 0191.
Source;
* ABC
** Ofcom