BEACONS: ‘the cookies for the real world’

MARKETING TRENDS OBSERVATORY

BEACONS

¿What are beacons?

The beacons are small gadgets that incorporate a transmitter feeded by a battery. They are connected to smartphones, via Bluetooth, through specific apps. As we will see in the following pages, this technology has already been made a reality and has multiple applications.

These devices are connected through the Bluetooth signal, do not need internet connection nor GPS, so they allow geolocalization in closed spaces without mobile coverage. Besides, the geolocalization they offer within their range (70 meters) is more accurate and of higher quality than their technological competitors.

19% of mentions we found in the social

media define the term “beacon”

Image: www.estimote.com

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BEACONS

36% of conversations

consider beacons as a trend that will shape

the future of marketing

¿What are beacons?

Image: www.estimote.com

Have you ever heard somebody talking about beacons? We have analized how Internet users talk about this new technology in the Social Media. First of all, it is important to take into account that individuals talk about it as a future trend for marketing purposes.

Is it a hype, a trend or a fad? Will beacons be implemented in the points of sale? What other possibilites do they offer? Only time will tell, though we have some clues that can guide us.

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BEACONS

A rising trend…

0

2.000

4.000

6.000

8.000

10.000

12.000

14.000

1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51 53 2 4 6

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB

2014 2015

Pilot program in the San Francisco airport to guide, using beacons, those who suffer sight impairment

Controversy about the installation of beacons in the Manhattan public phone boxes

Guide of the 49ers stadium through beacons

New update of Bluetooth (4.2) is announced

Facebook tests beacons

Mentions Tendency - 4 -

BEACONS

Conversations which take place in two ecosystems…

The conversation about beacons revolves around marketing topics. In this ecosystem, this technology is understood as a new trend that has a great potential and can be used as a bridge between the online and offline worlds. It is considered, among others, as ‘The Future of Shopping’ or ‘the most important retail technology since mobile credit-card readers’.

Another kind of conversations, less common but also relevant, are those produced in ecosystems specialized in technology. In these spaces, developers talk about the advantadges and disadvantadges of beacons. They mention specifications, doubts or technical problems.

66,5% 28,9%

4,6%

MARKETING TECHNOLOGY

OTHERS

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BEACONS

57,4% positive

conversations

37,2% neutral conversations

5,4% negative conversations

And most of them are admirers…

We assessed a representative sample of conversations about beacons, taking place in the whole world from January 2014 to February 2015

What is evident is that marketers talk, and a lot,

about this new technique. And almost always in positive

terms.

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BEACONS

Subjects summary

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Future Trend

Experiences

Beacons sellers promotions

Definition

Data confidentiality, transparency

Associated statistics

Developers technical comments

Events

Cross-channel strategies

Incentives given to consumers to use beacons

Beacons vs other nearables

Beacons penetration

Intimidation

Economic data

Social Media that use beacons

Fight against showrooming

Use through smartwatchPositive Neutral Negative

Summary of subjects analyzed and explained

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BEACONS

Specific applications The Social Media talk about the following practical

applications…

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46,5% 34,1%

29,9% 29,1%

23,6% 15,8% 15,6%

12,1% 9,9%

8,7% 5,9%

4,8% 4,4%

3,2% 2,6% 2,4%

1,8% 1,0% 1,0% 0,8% 0,8% 0,8% 0,6% 0,6% 0,4% 0,4% 0,2%

Discount advisesContents to specific targets

Consumer behaviourGuides for visitors

Handless paymentsInformation about products

Internet of thingsAirport information

Interact with elementsLoyalty points

Information about shopsConsumer interaction

Consumer reviewsPurchase gamification

Click-and-collect serviceFind lost objects

Grocery list redactionPinpoint the salesperson

Satisfaction surveysRecipes

AutomobilesPlayers statistics

Money withdrawalClock in/clock out sheets

Acces controlDevolutionsGeofencing

BEACONS

Discount advises The retailer advises the consumer about discounts or coupons.

Contents to specific targets The retailer sends ads or contents to the user.

Consumer behaviour Gathering of information about the consumer behaviour inside the shop.

Guides for visitors Maps that show the visitor how to move inside a building.

Handless payments Trade operations through the Bluetooth signal.

Information about products Information about certain products displayed when the consumer is near them.

Internet of things Applications that connect, through Bluetooth, the Smartphone with different objects.

Airport information Airport usage. It allows to check-in, gives information about doors, delays...

Interact with elements Similar to the QR code, beacons allow to interact with elements (paintings, sculptures…).

Loyalty points The retailer offers loyalty points in exchange for the consumer use of the application.

Information about shops Users receive information about the closest retailers.

Consumer interaction The consumer receives greeting messages when he or she is placed in the geofenced área.

Consumer reviews The user, trough the Bluetooth application, has acces or can create product reviews.

Purchase gamification The purchase experience becomes a game. It includes contests.

Concrete Applications Applications description

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BEACONS

Click-and-collect service The retailer prepares the product bought online by the consumer when he or she enters in the geofenced area.

Find lost objects It allows to pinpoint those objects that have a beacon installed.

Grocery list redaction The consumer can create a list of the products he or she wants to buy.

Pinpoint the salesperson The client can know where to find the salesperson in a certain retail area

Satisfaction surveys The retailer sends satisfaction surveys to the consumer.

Recipes The applications suggests cooking recipes to the consumer.

Automobiles Geofenced billboards addressed to the drivers, parking spaces location…

Players statistics In sport events, the visitor can receive statistic information about the players.

Money withdrawal The user can withdraw money from an ATM through the Bluetooth signal of beacons.

Clock in/clock out sheets It allows to know when a worker enters/leaves the working place.

Acces control It allows to know where long queues are created, which areas are more congested…

Devolutions It allows to make a product devolution very fast.

Geofencing Using a billboard, transmission of a customized ad sent when the consumer enters a geofenced area.

Concrete Applications Applications description

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BEACONS

Beacons: beyond retail

71%

22%

17%

14%

11%

7%

5%

4%

4%

3%

2%

8%

Retail

Airports

Sports stadium

Museums

Restaurants

Events

Hotels

Department stores

Shopping malls

Banks

Automobiles

Others

This graphic shows, according to the comments found in the Social Media, different establishments where beacons can be installed.

It is not only retailers that can benefit from beacon technology

Imagen: www.estimote.com

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CONVERSATION AND INFLUENCE MAP

BEACONS

Profile 2 Profile 1

Conversation and influence maps

Once studied the content of the conversations, we have analyzed the structure of the networks. Through this analysis we got to know those users who stand out in the conversation (influencers) and the different ecosystems that appear in the network (clusters). This analysis allows us to know much better the social ties underlying the conversations.

The analysis is based on Twitter. Why Twitter? Because its users spread mass media messages and, at the same time, these mass media spread the contents created by individual users. Twitter therefore works as a channel through which small message seeds naturally emerge as social trends. In so doing, those small seeds become trees.

To produce the conversation and influence maps we analyzed the different interactions among users. In this way, the users naturally generate conversation ecosystems. In each of them we pinpoint the leaders (influencers), i.e. those users who have been quoted in most conversations.

Cluster and main influencer

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Talks to

BEACONS

Conversation and influence map

@estimote

@gimbal

@kontakt_io

@mediapost

@mobilemktrdaily

@mcommercedaily

@ibeaconsblog

@businessinsider @techcrunch

@venturebeat @gigaom

@nytimes @marketingland

@siecledigital @wsjd

@jdnebusiness

@sai @phunware

@bi_advertisement @mashable

@thedrum

@econsultancy

@harvardbiz

@locationinsider

@usamp

@adobemktgcloud

@thenextweb

@emarketer

@mubaloo

@verge

@marketinguk

@wsj

@puromarketing

@glimwormit

CORPORATIVE GROUPS

MARKETING

TECHNOLOGY

BOTS CLUSTERS (SPAM)

NOT ANALYZED

BEACONS

@bof + 114 · UK

Influencers by country

@sai + 1.130 New York

@harvardbiz + 317

Massachusetts

@techcrunch + 246

California

@Dusanwriter +135 · Canada

@thedrum + 139 · UK

@locationinsider + 57 · Germany

@freddewachter + 63 · Belgium

@glimwormit + 54 · Netherlands

@esti_wojtek + 92 · Poland

@innoquant + 58 · Spain

@lemondefr + 174 · France

@pollyran + 101 · UK

@puromarketing + 48 · Spain

@PlotProjects + 32 · Netherlands

@itpocket + 39 · Belgium

@easymobilad + 84 · France

@beacongalaxy + 82 · France

@tadajewski + 36 · Polond

@hotsuite + 57 · Canada

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@raypoynter+ 14 · UK

@michellebruno +15 · Utah

METHODOLOGIC ANNEX

BEACONS

Methodology Technical details

340.823 mentions TOTAL OF MENTIONS ANALYZED

900 mentions CODIFIED SAMPLE

Stratified random sample by date and media (aggregators, Blogs, Facebook, Forums, News media, Twitter and other platforms) SAMPLE DETAILS

Any language written in the latin alphabet MONITORIZED LANGUAGES

Manual coding, based on a pre-established codebook. 6 different variables have been coded: sentiment, ecosystem, subject, concrete applications, kind of retail and size of the company. CODING

Aggregators, Blogs, Facebook, Forums, News media, Twitter and other platforms ANALYZED MEDIA

From 1st January 2014 to 14th February 2015 MONITORIZED PERIOD

SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING

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ABOUT US…

AT EMPIRICA INFLUENTIALS & RESEARCH WE COMBINE MARKET RESEARCH TECHNIQUES AND SOCIAL MEDIA INTELLIGENCE.

WE BRING TOGETHER EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE, NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE METHODOLOGIES.

www.empiricaonline.com @Empirica_IR

Xavier Guiteras: +34 931 875 084 xavier.guiteras@empiricaonline.com

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