International insurance specialist Hiscox launched a location-based public wi-fi campaign targeting small businesses. Paola Bonfanti reports
Marketing to busy professionals on the go is becoming more lucrative thanks to advances in technology. One organisation leveraging such opportunities is Hiscox – an international specialist insurer. Keen to grow its customer portfolio for small business insurance programmes, Hiscox launched a location-based marketing campaign – made possible by collaborating with its media and buying agency Crayon Ci, location-based mobile media channel JiWire, and digital agency Florish. The campaign integrated with Hiscox’s other outdoor advertising activity to truly tap into the power of on-the-move marketing.
The wonder of wi-fi
The innovative wi-fi element of the campaign was made possible through JiWire, which works with BT Openzone to deliver targeted third-party ads in public wi-fi areas throughout the UK. Crayon Ci mapped the locations of Hiscox’s outdoor ads to JiWire’s wi-fi advertising inventory. Business people who logged on to public wi-fi in the vicinity of one of Hiscox’s posters, were shown a correlating digital ad with clear call-to-actions, to encourage them to request a Hiscox insurance quote. Hiscox adverts were also displayed on the wi-fi login pages at the point-of-connection to give Hiscox plain visability prior to users commencing online activity.
Robin Trust, head of media planning at Crayon Ci, explains, “JiWire’s unique platform has a number of advantages over traditional media. It is more effective than traditional advertising because the marketing messages can be served before the user even connects to the Internet. The specific wi-fi locations we booked with JiWire ensured we were targeting the small business audience, many of which are on the go, traveling to and from meetings and accessing the Internet via their laptops, mobile phones, iPads and other devices during the course of the day.”
During the the campaign, demographic targeting was employed using wi-fi user profiles and venue type, such as airports, stations, hotels and business hubs.
Online and outdoor synergy
The wi-fi campaign enabled Hiscox to achieve a successful synergy between online and outdoor marketing activity. It also proved a success with click-through rates, which were five times higher than the company’s average rate for traditional online display ads.
Annabel Venner, marketing director at Hiscox, says, “During the last year we have accelerated our online presence with targeted advertising campaigns.
The success we achieved with JiWire demonstrates the potential of marketing through this channel. The advertising campaign was innovative and bridged the gap between outdoor and digital planning to effectively engage our audience.”
Peter Jones, joint managing director of JiWire Europe, adds, “Hiscox took a highly innovative approach with financial services advertising. It has proven to be a very effective medium to reach its target market and delivered consistently high engagement, share of voice and click-through rates.”
Following the campaign’s positive outcome, Hiscox and Crayon Ci are now evaluating other media opportunities from JiWire. These include sponsored wi-fi sessions that can deliver an even higher level of brand engagement in exchange for free wi-fi access.
