GranataPet Snack Check
A small German pet food company got clever in March, using the Foursquare API and the principle of Pavlov’s conditioning. GranataPet installed 10 billboards in Munich and Berlin, and when a user checked in to the billboard on Foursquare, it “dispensed” dog food into a dog bowl on the ground for four-legged friends. How does it work? Checkins are noted on a distant server that is connected to a black box within the billboard that controls the dispenser — when the server registers a checkin, it dispenses a sample of food. Sounds tricky, but each billboard costs just 350 Euro to install, says Dominik Heinrich, innovation director at Die Zietspringer, a division of Agenta that created the campaign.
Thanks to classic conditioning, the dogs became the target consumer and would pull their owners back to the billboard day after day in order to get the free food. The campaign was inexpensive and clever, and it empowered the dogs to have a say in what they eat.
Success Metrics: The 10 billboards averaged 118 checkins each on the first day, and Heinrich says Munich pet stores sold 28% more GranataPet during and 10 days after the campaign than prior to it. Because of the campaign’s success, GranataPet will install 100 billboards by the end of the year, with five in each of 20 cities. Sales of GranataPet are 14% higher than they were last year, and pet store requests to carry the product are 38% higher.
Lesson: A little innovation goes a long way. Plus, a quirky campaign like this has a tendency to go viral, which spreads awareness of your brand even farther.
http://mashable.com/2011/07/13/foursquare-marketing-campaigns/
