Early Proof That Geolocation Marketing Will Succeed
Intro
Last week we facilitated a campaign featuring a partnership between the NBA’s New Jersey Nets and the geolocation service, Gowalla (Update: please note that the New Jersey Nets are a VaynerMedia client, and VaynerMedia co-founder Gary Vaynerchuk is a Gowalla investor and advisor). Through the campaign we distributed 250 pairs of tickets as Gowalla virtual items in targeted locations (sports bars, outdoor parks, gyms) for the New Jersey Nets v. Charlotte Bobcats basketball game on April 12th. Users that found these virtual tickets were able to redeem them for actual Nets tickets at the arena’s box office.
Why
We saw this campaign and case study as an opportunity to demonstrate the power of geolocation for the marketing of unused and/or expiring inventory – especially for live events. We believe that any live event (including a sporting event) can utilize geolocation to move consumers to a venue, increasing brand exposure and helping drive business independent of ticket sales. This campaign also gave Gowalla the opportunity to provide their users with a unique reward (tickets to a live event) and user experience (winning tickets to a live event by checking-in on Gowalla).
Results
In an article titled, “Gowalla Will Try To Trick People Into Attending Nets Games” author Jay Yarow stated that “… If this stunt helps bring fans in, it would good for Gowalla. It would show that it can move consumers.” Could Gowalla move consumers? That was the biggest question surrounding this campaign, and it is our belief that Gowalla can move consumers. In this case study, we will detail how, against various hurdles / challenges, 15.2% of Gowalla winners attended the game.
The Future of Geolocation Marketing
We believe that this example is only the beginning of brands utilizing geolocation for the marketing of their live events and/or expiring inventory. Imagine the opportunities for:
Not only do these campaigns drive direct (and future) business, but these campaigns also introduce brands to new consumers and increase brand loyalty with existing consumers.
The Case Study
We have provided a full download of the case study VaynerMedia prepared after realizing the success of this campaign. The case study expounds upon many of the ideas above and will give you a much deeper look into the initial brainstorm, pre-campaign buzz, implementation, execution, and analysis of this geolocation campaign.
Below you will find the New Jersey Nets and Gowalla Campaign Case Study.
UPDATE! Now available on slideshare:
Author: Sam Taggart and AJ Vaynerchuk
Add your comment!
Hi Sam & AJ,
Keep wondering how my first blog post ended up being about social media? I blame @GaryVee (but in a good way : ) & this case study started me off…… (this is my 2nd comment & my virgin blog)
It's quite long so I put it here.
http://www.linkedin.com/groupAnswers?viewQuesti...
Hope you have time to read it,
thanks Daniel
http://www.HappinessEvangelist.com
Daniel, nice job on the blog post. I think what you're doing is fantastic: thinking out loud about the opportunities that exist within social media. Now that you've started the blog, keep on bringing up topics that are important & interesting to you! Continue to add to the conversation!
Thanks for the kind words Sam : ) I also just read this too that makes interesting reading & shows what you guys are doing is so new it doesn't even rate a genre/type yet to most big businesses!
Global Social Media Checkup http://ow.ly/1D3eX Really good read : ) thanks @heleana_quartey
Baby steps in the UK too (Premier Football & FourSquare should & will be a winning combination, just not yet)
http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/37022/Man-City-v...
Baby steps is right! It's very early on in the location-based “game,” so I think even these results should be seen as a nice win! Thanks for passing that article along.