10 Mindblowing Beacon Case Studies

10 MINDBLOWING M-COMMERCE | iBEACON CASE STUDIES

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THE BASICS
OF BEACONS
BEACON:
SIMPLY PUT,
IT CONSISTS OF TWO PARTS:
A BROADCASTER (BEACON DEVICE)
AND A RECEIVER (SMARTPHONE OR WEARABLE).
WHAT IS A BEACON?
Very much like a lighthouse broadcasts light, a Beacon is a transmitter that
broadcasts signals at set intervals so that smart devices that are near in
proximity can be disrupted and react accordingly. Beacons utilize Bluetooth
Low-Energy (BLE) wireless technology and are ideal for places like airports
where precise GPS and Wi-Fi can be intermittent and inaccurate.
BLE – WHAT’S THAT?
BLE is a type of Bluetooth technology that is low energy, hence the name-
Bluetooth Low Energy. BLE communication comprises of advertisements of
small packets of data, which are broadcasted at regular intervals through
radio waves.

MIGHTYMEDIAGROUP.COM.AU


BLE broadcasting is a one-way communication method; it simply advertises
its packets of data. These packets of data can then be picked up by smart
devices nearby and then be used to trigger things like push messages, app
actions, and prompts on a smart device. BLE technology is ideal for
contextual and proximity awareness. A beacon’s typical broadcast range is
between 10-30 meters. Some places advertise beacons as broadcasting up
to 75 meters. They measure that in an ideal setting where the signal will
experience nothing being in the way. 30 meters is the most ideal broadcast
range and is perfect for location tracking and awareness.
The most practical and amongst the smallest are the GEMtot USB beacons,
which are powered by a USB port. As the power source is consistent, there is
never a risk of signal decline due to decline in battery life. USB Beacons allow
for quicker discovery by smartphones and other Bluetooth-enabled devices.
IBeacon is Apple’s implementation of Bluetooth low-energy (BLE) wireless
technology to create a different way of providing location-based information
and services to iPhones and other iOS devices.
The iBeacon became relevant when Apple released the iOS6 update back in
2014, therefore, iOS devices including iPhone 4s or later, the iPad (third
generation and onwards) iPad mini and iPod touch (fifth generation or later)
are also iBeacon enabled. Chances are if you own a smartphone less than



three years old, your device is compatible with iBeacons, and in itself is a
beacon. It is worth noting that the same BLE technology is compatible with
Android 4.3 and above.
There was once a notion that in order for beacons to talk to smart devices, a
mobile application had to be the intermediary. Apps were expensive to
development for campaigns, and travel retail brands were not empowered to
deploy these types of digital initiatives.
This made the use of beacons out of reach for many travel retail brands. The
brands had to then depend on stakeholder partners such as airports to
somehow create a scenario or opportunity for digital disruption.
THANKS TO GOOGLE, THE APP
NOTION IS NOW A MYTH!
Google's introduction of the Physical Web and open source interaction on the
web was its touché to Apple's control and how we accessed information.
Google deployed a system that now allows anyone to interact with any
device at any time. The Physical Web enables interaction when native apps
just aren't practical, such as for travel retail brands or specific seasonal
campaigns or activations. Source: GITHUB
Google’s game change – the Physical Web icon –
where this symbol is displayed, there is a signal
being emitted that a smart phone can receive and a
URL transmitted, without the requirement of a costly
mobile application.
Physical web objects require Eddystone BLE
Beacons. These beacons broadcast a specific URL
and link to a location on the web.



An example could be a LACOSTE display poster that transmits a link to the
new advertising video, brand page on Facebook, a quick survey, or content
page about a new product.
BEHIND THE TECH CURTAIN:
HOW BEACON & BLE TECHNOLOGY WORK
TOGETHER
When an iBeacon is broadcasting, it is sending a message or an advertising
packet package of data that consists of four main components.
This is done using a numerical string of data called a UUID (Universally Unique
Identifier): The UUID contains 32 hexadecimal digits, split into 5 groups.
A UUID typically looks like this: 3f6889380-4d6g-55e5-a6h8-9991q6b7c72z
The UUID serves as a way to identify a beacon device in terms of
manufacturer, application, or owner. It allows an organization to distinguish
beacons within its network from all the other beacons sharing the same
proximity that are not controlled by the same owners or broadcasters.



Confirming what beacons are and how they work with the Apple iBeacon
framework, let’s explore how BLE technology is being used in the real world…
CONNECTING THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY DOTS:
ONLINE AND OFFLINE
By using beacons in this unique way, airlines, airports, travel retail brands and
retailers can create contextually relevant and highly personalized shopping
experiences for connected travellers.
By leveraging this low-tech technology, consumers are able to combine
online and offline shopping and brand experiences giving them the best of
both worlds.
Diagram 1: The Omni-Channel Journey

OFFLINE
physical
location
Digital
ONLINE
attraction
Resulting
action
OFFLINE



HOW CAN
iBEACONS
BE USED
EFFECTIVELY?
IMPLEMENTATION SCENARIOS
The scenarios for where iBeacon can be implemented
are numerous and only limited to a marketer’s creativity.

Here are some practical ways to use beacons to enhance customer
experience and facilitate m-commerce:
Retail: Seduce, inform, retarget and enable m-commerce, the sky is the limit
really as beacons can be used throughout the consumer journey to educate
and personalize shopping experiences, especially if contextual messages can
be targeted through the use of loyalty data.
Transportation: As passengers depend on their mobile devices to keep them
connected on the move, beacons are extremely useful in airport, bus and train



stations, and cruise terminals. Passengers in all of these locations would be
able to benefit from contextually relevant information to assist in way-finding,
distance to gate or lounge, and to alert of potential bottle necks or delays that
could occur at security check points.
Service Industries: Imagine being in the car park of your local shopping mall.
As you near the entrance, your smartphone receives a notification that your
favorite sushi train restaurant is offering $3 all you can eat plates between
1pm – 3pm, and it just happens to be lunch time. Restaurants and cafes can
use beacons much like retail environments. Beacons can be used to greet
customers and entice them with offers.
Restaurants could also incorporate the use of beacons to distribute
information about wait times and even have people sign up for the waiting list
directly through a dynamic web page.
Home Automation: As more and more household appliances are enabled
through the Internet of Things (IoT), beacons could sense your arrival home
and open a series of apps that control security, ambient temperature and turn
on your favorite iTunes playlist. Smart phones can talk to smart houses
enabled by Beacons.
Education: Beacons can enhance the visitor experiences in museums and
exhibits. Instead of scanning a QR code to hear the audio playback, a beacon
could prompt your device and deliver links to rich media content that explains
what your are viewing in real life.
Entertainment: Anywhere there is a crowd, such as sporting venues, there is a
great opportunity for beacon implementation to enhance visitor experience,
sell merchandise, or deliver that strategic offer of 2 for 1 hotdogs when you
are 20 meters from the concession stand.
Theme Parks: Beacons could also be very useful at theme parks to help
guests way-find to specific rides and attractions and customize a day based
on the type of tickets purchased enabled through an application. Beacons
could alert thrill seekers of wait times for rides, closures, minimum height
requirements, and the location of mascots available for photo opportunities.
Trade Events like TFWA: Beacons can even be used to create interactive
games such as scavenger hunts, promote trade floor happenings and



serendipity, and create personalized experiences based on previously
articulated interests. (vendor, supplier, media, visitor).
Beacons could also be used to remind conference attendees of micro-events
and deliver links to satisfaction surveys, or prompt registration for future
events. Beacons could also promote future events based on where the
delegate is in the conference. If a delegate is entering a session on
Governance, it could push a notification of a future training workshop and a
link to enroll.
AND FINALLY…
10 MIND-BLOWING CASE STUDIES
1.ACCOLADE WINES HARDYS TRAVEL RETAIL |
SYDNEY AIRPORT
Accolade Wines hired Mighty Media Group to help deploy an
omni-channel digital activation to coincide with a category stage
(feature tasting stand) inside the new Heinemann Tax & Duty
Free Store airside at Sydney International Airport.
Mighty Media Group ran digital display ads and short video ads
on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Chinese social
website and travel related platforms to raise awareness. We then
leveraged a mobile microsite to articulate a sweepstakes offer



and invited interested wine-drinking travelers to download an
“invitation” in the form of a pass that was then saved to their
mobile wallets in smartphones.
Mighty Media Group then placed
beacons just after the airport customs
and security checkpoints where
travelers with the pass would be alerted
that the sampling booth was near by
through a locked screen notification,
WITHOUT A MOBILE APPLICATION!
The beacons delivered locked screen
messages in English and Chinese
respective to the pass that was
downloaded.
MMG set the iBeacons to remind
consumers of the offline retail purchase
location.
MMG also sent GPS trigger messages isolating points along
the consumer journey through the airport and included
contextually relevant message to give engaged connected
travelers surprise and delight, wishing them well as they
arrived in the airport, soothing them after customs and
security, and finally reminding them of the location of the
tasting bar based on where they were standing in the duty-
free store, after customs. This increased unit sales nearly four-
fold.

Source: Mighty Media Group



2. SXSW 2016

In 2014, SXSW - One of the hottest interactive, film and music
festivals in the world, first deployed beacon technology at their
Austin based convergence for geeks and it was very well
received. This was before the iWatch had launched so
interaction was completely beacon and application centric.
In March 2016, the official SXSW mobile application was again
powered by iBeacons this year but this year delivered much
richer engagement. SXSW had clearly moved from experimental
to focused on their beacon strategy to engage conference
attendees.
SXSW-ers who downloaded the iOS version of the SXSW app
saw significantly improved registration experiences by getting an
alert containing their Registration QuickCode when they entered
inside the Austin Convention Centre and in proximity of the
registration areas. They also placed 50+ beacons at various



event venues in and around the Austin Convention Center
allowing SXSW to welcome attendees to sessions, encourage
them to join discussions about a session within the SXSW app,
and to see which other attendees were at that session and view
tweets related to that session. Source: Umbel
3. LORD & TAYLOR | HUDSON’S BAY
Just as the iWatch was being released, the Hudson’s Bay
Company rolled out beacons at 130 Lord & Taylor and The Bay
stores in the U.S. and Canada. They deployed this using Swirl, an
iBeacon marketing platform that integrates with Motorola
Solutions MPact platform.
This was not a great stretch for the retailer as it was already being
used by brands like Timberland and Kenneth Cole for tailored in-
store experiences.
L&T installed beacons in merchandising areas to send shoppers
location-aware, targeted notifications, branded content and
personalized offers.



Hudson’s Bay Company was one of the first major department
stores to do this in such a large number of stores across North
America.
Source: Umbel

4. HILLSHIRE BRANDS | GROCERY STORE

Hillshire Brands implemented iBeacons in 10 U.S. cities to help
them track a shopper’s journey through the aisles of a grocery
store to then send discount coupons or ads for their craft
sausages when the shopper approached that section of the
store. The ads and coupons were delivered via apps like
Epicurious (a recipe service) and Hillshire says shoppers were
“20 times more likely to buy” its American Craft sausages when
they received such tailored communications.
Source: Umbel



5. JAPAN AIRLINES |TOKYO AIRPORT TO IMPROVE
BUSINESS PROCESSES AND OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY
Japan Airlines started an iBeacon trial in 2014 at Tokyo’s Haneda
Airport to improve efficiency in their operation and manage staff more
effectively. Gate agents, counter check in staff, and handlers were
equipped with smart watches allowing the company to locate staff
members and assign specific tasks to them.
Their ground staff received updates on relevant information and flight
status updates in real time. The airline used beacon technology to
actually improve business processes instead of using it to send offers
and product info to customers.
Source: Umbel



CLICK THE VIDEO TO WATCH

6. NIVEA USES IBEACONS TO HELP PARENTS KEEP
TRACK OF THEIR CHILDREN AT THE BEACH
Probably the cleverest use of beacons for safety is this terrific
activation by skin care brand Nivea.
Nivea launched their StickNFind application to help parents
keep track of their children when they’re at the beach.
Subscribers of Veja Rio magazine in Brazil were included an ad
and a detachable water resistant bracelet with the magazine.
The activation was both simple and elegant. Each bracelet
contained a small beacon. By wrapping the water-resistant
bracelet around a child’s arm and downloading a Nivea app,
parents could define a safe area at the beach for the child. When
a child wanders outside the safe zone, an alarm would go off to
alert parents on their smartphone.
Source: Umbel



WATCH HERE

7. STARWOOD HOTELS | KEYLESS HOTEL ROOMS

Starwood Hotels & Resorts is running an iBeacon trial in 30 of its
hotels and resorts that helps concierges greet guests who arrive
by name, accelerates the check-in process for frequent guests,
and lets housekeeping know when guests have departed their
rooms.
Further, in a new one-of-its-kind pilot program, Starwood guests
at two of their U.S. hotels will be able to walk into a hotel, avoid
the check-in process, go straight to their room and open the
room door via keyless entry activated on their smartphones.
For an activation of this capacity (m-commerce and mobile
payment), the guest must have a partner app installed and



turned on. As each mobile phone has a unique IP and identifier,
the app and guest room became configured and the room could
be accessed and opened by simply tapping or gesturing with
their device once they arrive at the door.
Source: Umbel
8.AMERICAN AIRLINES | WAYFINDING AT DFW

In 2014, Dallas Fort Worth Airport (DFW) was one of the first
airports to adopt a beacon strategy in partnership with American
Airlines.
A small group of customers who have the American Airlines app
got notifications to help them navigate the airport better and
have a better access to information including information like
distance to gates, boarding times and the closest security
check lines.



Why?
“65% of our passengers at
DFW arrive at the gate early
because they are often
‘nervous’ about whether they
are at the right gate.” Phillip
Easter, Director of Mobile Apps and
Wearables (AA)
“They’re sitting there early, so
with the iBeacon technology I
can tell them what’s around.
This will make it easier, it will
be less hassle, less stress and
allow customers to explore. I
can let them know if they are
at the right gate or the wrong
gate, and how much time it
will take to get to their
departing gate.”
Imagine the
impact of less
stress on duty-
free shopping?

M-Commerce Facts:
• 85 of the top 100 Brick &
Mortar retailers are
planning to adopt
beacon technology by
the end of 2016.
• Business Insider expects
beacons to have a direct
influence over $44 billion
in US retail sales in 2016.
• The mobile web will drive
m-commerce, not apps.
• 8 out of 10 minutes of
app time is spent solely
on an individual’s top 3
apps (Facebook,
Instagram, WhatsApp,
WeChat?)
• M-commerce is expected
to grow at a rate 300%
faster than traditional e-
commerce.
Source: PRNewsWire,
MooveWeb.com



9. EVENTS: MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL (MLB)
In March 2014, Major League Baseball rolled out iBeacons in 28
of its 30 ballparks across the U.S. and saw fan check-ins more
than double this season after they began pushing merchandise
coupons and seat upgrades via their app, using Bluetooth. This
is a true m-commerce play.
IPhone owners who downloaded the MLB application could
check-in at games to receive special offers and content.



iBeacons were strategically placed at all of the fan entry and exit
points of the ballparks. The number of beacons varies by
stadium, depending on the number of entry and exit points. Their
application works on both iOS and Android devices and also
offers venue maps, concession stand info and video clips of
game replays.

10. VIRGIN ATLANTIC | LONDON’S
HEATHROW AIRPORT FOR PREMIUM PASSENGERS

Touted as an innovator in the airline industry, Virgin Atlantic
began an iBeacon trial in the Upper Class Wing at London’s
Heathrow Airport in May 2014.
Virgin’s premium passengers were able to receive personalized
notifications and offers via their iPhones. At the beginning of the
trial, Virgin used beacons to alert customers to have their
electronic boarding passes ready when they were close to a
private security check, and to send tailored offers like
commission-free currency exchange deals to passengers in the
departures section of the airport.
Virgin also used beacon tech to let passengers know about in-
flight entertainment specials before they boarded the plane, and



to let their staff know when temperatures dropped on outdoor
decks of their airport lounges so they could give blankets to
passengers. Source: iBeaconNews
CONCLUSION:

In 2014, Mighty Media Group presented to key Travel Retail, Brand and
Retail stakeholders at the Trinity Forum in Taipei a keynote titled “WTF –
That’s the Future Disruption in Travel.” In this lecture, we predicted that
consumers would become more comfortable and sophisticated with m-
commerce, and readily adopt the convenience, immediacy and
serendipity that personalization would provide them.
We further predicted that beacons would be widely deployed in retail
scenarios, and identified that there was a genuine opportunity for brands
to leverage on mobility for consumer engagement.
With the Google release of the Physical Web, allowing consumers to
merely tap to connect, the expensive intermediary – the mobile application
– is now no longer required.
The Apple Wallet, a repository for electronic boarding passes widely
accepted today by travelers, offers a treasure trove of possibilities to
connect to traveler devices and push notifications and offers in real time,
without an application.
Having an M-Commerce
strategy enabled by
beacons is now
accessible and affordable.
The time is now!



ABOUT MIGHTY MEDIA GROUP PTY LTD
Mighty Media Group (MMG) is a full service digital, mobile and social
agency specializing in developing web and mobile applications that
positively disrupt connected travelers, from WeChat games to omni-
channel campaigns that span online, on mobile, and to the Zero Moment
of Truth – the retail sales floor.
Established in 2004, we are strategists, customer experience architects,
designers and developers who are incredibly passionate about the mobile
landscape.
We can help you optimize your retail space, attract new customers, and
drive revenue.
We’re an award winning agency, and humble but proud to have worked
with great companies including Club Med ESAP, Sydney Airport, Accolade
Wines/Hardys, JR/DutyFree, Socatec, Cebu Pacific Air, and Oakwood Asia
Pacific Hotels. We’re highly regarded in the travel sector.
If mobile seemed out of reach because of the app myth, or if you are
planning a campaign, product launch or activation, talk to us.



THANK YOU.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Stephenie Rodriguez
CEO
Stephenie.Rodrigeuz@mightymediagroup.com.au
+61 41608 9000
@DigitalGodess on Twitter

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