Pernod Ricard UK tested iBeacons for the first time at its annual Summer Party June 12 at the LookOut in Hyde Park. The premium wine and spirits company, which includes brands such as Absolut Vodka, Perrier-Jouët champagne, Malibu rum, and Jacob’s Creek wine, hosted the invitation-only party for 250 customers, business partners, journalists, and suppliers. To demonstrate how it is integrating digital innovation into its marketing efforts, the company worked with Zappit to create a custom mobile app and coordinating iBeacon engagement strategy for the party.
“Beacons are currently receiving a lot of attention from retailers and brands … as the industry aims to understand how the technology can best be implemented to increase footfall and drive sales by engaging consumers with highly relevant content on the path to purchase. We felt the forum of our Summer Party would be an ideal opportunity for us to showcase the new technology,” said Patrick Venning, marketing director of Pernod Ricard UK.
Prior to the event, organizers instructed guests to download the app, which was available for iOS and Android. The night of the party, as guests arrived within about 65 feet of the event venue, a beacon triggered a message to those with Bluetooth and location services enabled that included their event ticket and directions to the specific location within the park. The app also showed guests the name and photo of their party host, which was one of 50 Pernod Ricard UK employees assigned to personally welcome and assist guests. At the same time, the system triggered a message to the host that the guest was arriving, so the host could greet them at the entrance. To accommodate guests that did not download the app or did not have beacon-compatible phones, staff processed their check-ins on a tablet app, which then alerted the hosts.
“It definitely smoothed out the whole registration process,” said Kerry Fraser, event solutions manager for Zappit. "There were no queues. This was a fairly small event, but having the availability to do something like this at a large event is a great way to represent a brand and a company as forward thinking and bold enough to use this technology."
Additional beacons placed around the venue triggered a variety of experiences throughout the evening. In one, guests received a notification to make their way to the main bar to experience a “Malibu Pina Colada moment.” As they arrived near the bar and within range of the beacons, a coupon appeared in the app inviting them to try one of four drinks that were not on the regular party menu. To customize the experience, Pernod Ricard UK had provided Zappit information in advance regarding which coupon each guest should receive based on their personal preferences.
“The whole idea was to create something fun and exclusive,” Fraser said. "Their audience was a lot of retailers, and beacons are becoming popular within the retail world, so it was a way to showcase how brands can be pushed to mobile phones in a very targeted way." The app also included recipes for the cocktails and tasting notes and other information about the featured brands.
Of the 250 party guests, 144 downloaded the app and 96 of those used it for check-in. The company is now exploring how to implement iBeacons across its brand portfolio.
