Brief:
- Beauty brand Shiseido is promoting a duty-free store at Hong Kong International Airport with mobile push notifications that alert travelers to nearby deals. The airport authority's "HKG My Flight" mobile app shows a Shiseido splash ad on its landing page as travelers open the app to get real-time flight information, airport navigation help and free Wi-Fi, according to a press release.
- When app users stroll near the duty-free shopping area, a beacon signals a push notification to their mobile phone to connect potential shoppers to the brand's campaign website. People who fill out a registration form can then receive free product samples at Shiseido's duty-free counter.
- Smartphone users who don't have the app can scan a QR code on Shiseido's digital billboards at the airport to access the campaign website. Airport Authority Hong Kong partnered with outdoor ad agency JCDecaux Transport on the online-to-offline (O2O) campaign.
Insight:
Shiseido's O2O promotion of its duty-free store demonstrates how a brand can integrate mobile technology and outdoor ads with an in-store experience. By gathering the contact information of shoppers through the registration card on the campaign mobile site, Shiseido can extend its airport-based campaign to additional marketing channels throughout the world after the cards are completed. The campaign likely will help Shiseido stand out among the numerous retailers in the airport's sprawling duty-free area, which has a daily captive audience of thousands of travelers looking to kill time while waiting for a flight.
The beauty brand's campaign also combines out-of-home marketing with a smartphone activation, another growing trend among marketers. Delta Airlines and Equinox Fitness ran an OOH campaign last summer that used real-time flight data to urge international travelers arriving at Los Angeles International Airport to "sweat away" their jet lag at the luxury gym. YouTube this month launched a campaign that urges fans of pop singer Ariana Grande to visit specially marked billboards throughout the U.S. and Canada and scan the board with a smartphone to unlock special content.
Meanwhile, these "brick-and-mobile" marketing strategies like Shiseido's have become more prominent as brands and retailers seek to provide a more seamless experience between the online and offline worlds. The percentage of shoppers who use mobile devices while they're in stores grew to 71% this year from 62% in 2017, according to a Salesforce survey. Brick-and-mobile shopping is even more popular among younger adults with 83% of people ages 18 to 44 using mobile devices in stores. Sportswear giant Nike and beverage maker Dirty Lemon are among the brands that have integrated advanced mobile tech into their stores stores.