By James Blackman
British car brand Land Rover has utilised Sigfox connectivity in an interactive marketing campaign to encourage UK drivers to book a test drive. The campaign saw a 10-fold jump in responses compared with regular print marketing, and a 24-fold return-on-investment for the car maker.
Sigfox operator WND UK was engaged on the project, to promote Land Rover’s new Range Rover Evoque model, by UK printer and print marketing firm Ebi, after it had tested and rejected a SIM-based mobile technology for the solution.
Ebi sent out 5,000 personalised, targeted direct mail packs that incorporated vehicle graphics, specifications, and a replica of a vehicle’s ‘start/stop’ ignition button containing a Sigfox sensor. Recipients were able to book a test drive by pushing the ‘start/stop’ button in their marketing packs, which issued an instruction to dealerships over the Sigfox network.
WND UK said the response rate was an “unprecedented” 48 per cent, and compared to an “industry standard” of five per cent. The campaign saw one in 50 recipients purchasing vehicles – 100 car sales, in total – and a 24-times return-on-investment. Ebi gave recipients the option of returning the packs, allowing for their re-use.
Ebi wanted to enable people to instantly communicate with Land Rover without having to download an app or scan anything. After ditching cellular in favour of Sigfox, the company ran 2,000 tests in various buildings, including in apartment blocks, windowless rooms, public buildings and houses.
The test results returned a 98 per cent success rateusiness development director at Ebi, Luke Thomas said: “We initially developed prototypes using mobile devices and SIM cards, but it became apparent that a mobile network was not going to be within budget or technically feasible. WND UK’s Sigfox network looked like the ideal solution, but we had to ensure it was fool-proof before we submitted a proposal to our client.”
He added: “We have plans to introduce this concept to more direct mail and in-store clients. We are working to make it cost-effective for a wider range of products – not just high-end cars. Combining digital with physical channels is a marketing game changer and this technology does it beautifully.”
Chief executive at WND UK, Tim Harris said: “Ebi’s application of Sigfox’s technology demonstrates superbly the way our low-cost, highly reliable IoT network opens the door to novel applications.”
The campaign has picked up awards from the Direct Marketing Association. https://enterpriseiotinsights.com
