used wechat to seamlessly integrate its online and … · used wechat to seamlessly integrate its...
TRANSCRIPT
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HOW
USED WECHAT TO SEAMLESSLY INTEGRATE ITS ONLINE AND OFFLINE PRESENCE.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In 2014, Hungry Lion set out to reset its brand perception by creating a 360 degree campaign that integrated online and offline platforms to drive consumer engagement. The campaign, ‘Lucky Bucket’, was Hungry Lion’s first integrated campaign and consisted of television, radio, digital, PR and ground activations. WeChat was specifically chosen as a tangible online platform that could drive online user interaction to offline brand engagement in Hungry Lion stores. WeChat’s unique tiering system and Official Account functionalities is what drove Hungry Lion’s partnership with WeChat.
The use of WiCodes on the Hungry Lion WeChat Official Account, served as the perfect campaign mechanism to seamlessly integrate all touchpoints, online and offline. This campaign was the first of its kind in South Africa and saw a 37% increase in overall brand engagement, both online and off.
WE KNEW IT WAS THE RIGHT PLATFORM FOR WHAT WE HAD IN MIND FOR THE PERCEPTION CHANGE.- Tashalene Reid
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CHALLENGE
The Hungry Lion brand implemented a new brand strategy that set out to change consumers’ perceptions of the brand. It took two years of planning and, in 2014, the ‘new’ brand was ready to roll-out onto the market. However, marketing manager, Tashalene Reid, knew that, in the ever-changing environment of the consumer and the nature of how marketing has changed, it was paramount that all touchpoints and communication points needed to be integrated.
Consumers can now actively choose what is communicated to them, so the new Hungry Lion brand needed to target users in their digital environment to interact and drive engagement in real-time in stores. The ‘new’ Hungry Lion brand needed to grow reach and awareness amongst South African consumers whilst still keeping a local and authentic theme. Hungry Lion created a voucher system in stores to drive online users to in-store purchasing of products. However, Hungry Lion needed the perfect digital partnership to drive their campaign; a platform that was applicable in real-time and integrated online and offline experiences.
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SOLUTION
To create brand awareness and change brand perception, Hungry Lion sought to create a 360 degree, integrated campaign that included radio, television, digital, PR and ground activations. To translate online activity into real-time, offline activity, Hungry Lion partnered with WeChat to create an Official Account that was interactive and engaging.
With WeChat’s integrated application programming interface, Hungry Lion saw the opportunity to use the digital platform to provide WiCodes and allow users to use these codes to redeem a free product in-store. For users to receive a code all they had to do was follow the Hungry Lion Official Account and upon a welcome message, users would receive a WiCode. Once users redeemed their first code in-store they received a second WiCode and were entered into a lucky draw to WIN R100 000. Marketing manager, Tashalene Reid, said, “What made WeChat unique for us is that it was very different to any other digital platform that we have ever used.” Engagement is intuitive and seamless, “just the engagement on the
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sound of the lucky bucket, for example, is exciting for our consumers. It’s something new.”
This was the first integrated campaign of its kind in South Africa and WeChat was chosen to drive the online engagement of users who were looking to interact with Hungry Lion as a brand and see what promotions they have.
RESULTS
South Africans responded very well to the ‘new’ Hungry Lion brand strategy due to the integrated campaign launch. In the first four weeks of the campaign, over 700,000 WiCodes were issued and the overall brand engagement saw an increase of 37% both online and off.
For more information on how you can set up a WeChat Official Account for your business: CLICK HERE
To view sources: CLICK HERE
For RAW video footage of Tash Reid’s interview with WeChat: CLICK HERE
WHAT MADE WECHAT UNIQUE FOR US IS THAT IT WAS VERY DIFFERENT TO ANY OTHER DIGITAL PLATFORM THAT WE HAVE EVER USED.- Tashalene Reid