Santa could be the biggest thrill for all
children all year.
In 2018, Myer had developed a similar
campaign with baubles that would
predict if a person had been naughty or
nice. Myer launched a $20 Christmas
bauble which connected via the app and
Bluetooth feature, that makes the bauble
glow green if you have been good and
red if you have been bad. The data was
then transmitted real time on OOH
billboards and across social channels.
The campaign was pegged on the iconic
Santa personality who knows if you have
been good or bad. The baubles sold out in
11 days as the Christmas best seller that
year, retailing for triple the price on eBay
thereafter and driving purchase of other
products on the site and in-store.
This is a good example of a brand that
really understands how to tag on the
emotional meaning of a season while using
innovation to connect with its customers.
While a price reduction is good, easy
and drives volumes, most brands will
then sit back and wonder how to retain
customers through the first quarter of
the year because they did not make a
real emotional connection with their
customers when they had an opportunity
to. With a drop-in price for the season
offer, the product could unintentionally
be positioned to suit an impulsive need
meaning that once the season is over, so
is the need for the product.
For Myer, it is their hope that with Global
Positioning Bluetooth-enabled stocking
campaign, their sales would go up during
Christmas and they would also rake in
the season profits. Additionally, they are
building a connection that will last with
the children and families for a long time.
A special emotional warmth and surety
that they will get their Christmas gifts
from Santa regardless of where they are in
the world. This is the kind of comfort that
any parent would want for their children
this season. Myer’s also wins because it
provides an opportunity to develop a
similar product for any season - Easter,
for the tooth fairy and birthdays, making
it easy for Myer to carry this campaign all
year round.
The other commendable thing about the
campaign would of course be the use of
artificial intelligence pegged on an API
(Artificial Program Interface). The use
of Bluetooth and an app that offers more
than a single solution to the users. The
08 MAL33/19 ISSUE
A more tangible use
of AI and technology
will transform mar-
keting
campaigns
not too long from
today. The novelty
of these campaigns
will then be the hook
and will be support-
ed by TV, OOH, dig-
ital and print. It’s a
good time to begin
to think how your
brand will partici-
pate in this new era
of marketing.
platform easily allows parents to know
exactly what to get their children for
Christmas based on the wish list available
on the platform from the online store
where children can select gifts from. The
children would be tracking the platform
to follow Santa’s journey on Christmas
Eve and having the gift coming from the
store would also make it easy to reassure
the children that Santa will be showing
up. It would also relieve the parent of
having to worry about the children asking
for a ‘gift from outer space’, finding it on
any online platform and having to ship it.
While a lot of brands speak about
integrating AI to their campaigns, not
many brands have been able to bring
the human element into the product and
technology. As brands commit more and
more to listen to their customers and
offer simple solutions that meet their
customer’s needs, technology will be the
solution to this problem. Technology
will also be the future of marketing.