With a little over 4 million beacons deployed globally, 2016 is turning out to be the year of the beacon, just as experts predicted. Unacast’s Proxbook Q1 2016 report shows a steady growth of proximity marketing with 6.2 million proximity sensors reportedly deployed as of Q1 2016, majorly due to the increase in proximity marketing campaigns. It is notable that 5 million of these sensors are beacons. This complements the ABI research forecast that predicts deployment of 8 million beacons by the end of 2016, with a steady growth to 400 million beacons by 2020.
According to Proxbook Report 2016, 6.2M proximity sensors have been deployed as of Q1 2016
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The most exciting news however is that beacon deployments are now growing far beyond retail to gain a strong foot holding in some of the most traditional verticals such as banking, property management, real-estate and so on. It is not only new and innovative use cases that businesses are willing to play around with, but also with the various beacon protocols such as iBeacon and Eddystone. In this blog, we have lined up some of the latest and best beacon campaigns of 2016, so far.
1. Citibank enables cardless entry into ATM lobbies via beacons
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Citibank is currently running a beacon pilot that allows customers at the bank’s smart banking branches in Manhattan and New York to enter ATM lobbies during off-hours without a card using their personal device. On opting in for this service, customers will receive a notification on their device asking if they would like to unlock the door of the ATM lobby. Users can then tap on their screen to transform their iPhone or Apple Watch into a virtual key which can then be used to unlock the lobby’s door and receive 24 hour ATM access.
This enables consumers to enjoy a highly convenient experience by not having to pull out their wallet in a non-secure environment and dismiss any time constraints that visiting an ATM during working hours may otherwise present. Citi customers who opt in will also receive location-based personalized messaging, which includes notifications about events and special offers as well as greetings.
How Citibank leveraged beacons to enable cardless entry into ATM lobbies
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2. Notify Nearby used beacons to increase footfall into brick-and-mortar stores
Over 60 retailers in New York and shopping app, Notify Nearby, recently participated in a campaign that was aimed at increasing footfalls into brick-and-mortar stores by targeting passersby with beacon-enabled push notifications. In their attempt to make these push notifications more contextual and less annoying, Notify Nearby allowed customers to choose the brands that they would like to receive updates on, via the app. Customers who opted-in for the service received the inside scoop (such as coupons, offers, product launches, collaborations and exclusives) on their favourite brands, when they were in the proximity of a retailer. Another important thing to note here is that Notify Nearby leveraged a combination of both geofencing and beacons to offer this enhanced proximity experience.
The campaign went on to showcase some amazing results with 52% of passersby who received the notification visiting the stores and 28% of them making a purchase. At 67%, the campaign saw a notification engagement rate that is six times more than the average for push notifications.
How Notify Nearby leveraged beacons to achieve 67% notification engagement rate
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3. Redfin leveraged beacons to improve property sales
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Redfin, a real-estate broker and an enabler of property sales by owners, recently leveraged beacons to offer enhanced consumer experience by pushing information on interesting properties to potential buyers when they are in proximity to the property. The beacon-enabled app also provides buyers with real-time details about the home they are visiting.
As a part of their beacon campaign, the company chose to turn the iPads used by their agents and homeowners into iBeacons rather than buying custom hardware. These “beacon regions” allow the Redfin app to alert users (when the right parameters match the requirements set by the user) via a push notification that pulls up the house listing that the user is in or close to. Adding to that, the app does not collect any information about house visitors during their interaction over Bluetooth, rather its audience is motivated enough to subscribe their personal information in order to receive tailor-made offers about the desired properties.
How Redfin leveraged beacons to alert buyers on real-time details about nearby properties
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4. Schlafly Beer leveraged beacons to communicate with consumers & drive sales
Image Source: mobilemarketer.com
Schlafly Beer, the largest locally owned and independent craft brewery in Missouri, recently leveraged beacons on beer taps to engage with beer drinkers, via the brewery’s new Brew Finder app, at a key moment – when they are about to order a beer. Customers who downloaded the app on their mobile device received push notifications (on drink specials, tasting notes and new beer releases) upon coming within approximately 30 meters of a beacon attached to a Schlafly tap behind a bar’s counter, as long as the the Bluetooth was activated on their device.
As a part of their first beacon campaign which was launched at the beginning of April this year, the brewery promoted a partnership with St. Louis Earth Day. Consumers who walked into a bar or restaurant with beacon-enabled beer taps with the Schlafly Beer app on their phone, received a notification to “Do Your Part and Have a Pint.” This notification then lead them to a page within the app that shared campaign messaging, including how the brewery would donate $1 for every pint of Schlafly Beer purchased that week.
How Schlafly Beer leveraged beacons to communicate with consumers and boost sales
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5. Mobile Doorman used beacons to improve apartment living
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Mobile Doorman, a Chicago-based company that makes white-label apps that allow residents at apartments to manage deliveries, place maintenance requests etc., recently leveraged beacons in order to help residents live smarter and property owners manage their apartments better.
By deploying beacons in common areas such as the fitness centers or laundry rooms, the app keeps residents in the know-how of how crowded the gym is in real-time and gives them the chance to avoid lines and therefore manage their time efficiently. The beacon-enabled app also provides property managers a better understanding of how residents use the building’s common areas and facilities. This information comes in real handy as it allows property managers to plan smarter when it comes to investing money into the property. For example, placing beacons on the treadmills allows property managers to identify the ones that might need tuneups soonest. Managers could also use this location data to ask specific residents for their valuable feedback on the public facilities that they frequent the most.
How Mobile Doorman leveraged beacons to help residents live smarter
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Some of the other interesting beacon campaigns of 2016 include the use of beacons by Heineken at Coachella and SXSW, for indoor navigation apps in Hong Kong Airport and Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar and for the location of books in Kariru library in Sabae, Japan.
If you are planning a beacon pilot, take a look at the Beaconstac Pilot Kit which includes everything you need to get started. You can set up your own campaign using the pilot kit, without a developer’s help!