Context
Globus is an almost 100-year-old brand, which is well-known mainly in Central and Eastern Europe for its shelf-stable products like canned vegetables. When they contacted us they had two big challenges, the brand image was quite old-fashioned and they couldn’t reach the younger generations. However, they developed a new product range, named Globus Vital, aiming at a younger target group. Globus was looking for a new approach in how they can launch their new portfolio in the market targeting lower age groups and generate sales in a category that isn’t known about innovations and big marketing campaigns. We thought that it would be a great idea to make something special and to bring life into a somewhat boring category!
The idea
We immediately knew after our first meeting with the representatives of Globus, that we will do something unique, which was never seen in the Hungarian market before. We knew, that for facilitating sales, we’ll need motivation from the customers. Now, it was clear for us, that we’ll have to build our campaign around giveaways or some kind of a contest.
Next up, we conducted our market research and what we have found is, that
the majority of these contests are based on unique codes hidden in the
packaging or on the receipt that the participants have to upload to a microsite
for instant prizes or they acquire a chance for winning the grand prize in the
end lottery. We found this solution to be a bit lackluster, so we didn’t want to
follow this methodology.
Talking about fun and excitement; the idea of creating a game popped up! We
started to think about how we can create an actual game around a physical
product. We ended up with augmented reality. This way we connect a virtual
game with a product that actually exists. We got on track and started to
develop a concept, where the customers can play with the cans on their
smartphones and participate in a contest with others in augmented reality. The experience itself is a simple basketball-like game where they have to throw vegetables into the can collecting as many points as possible in under 60 seconds.
Okay, it’s a good start, we are supporting the sales with a never-before-seen
contest and we have a game that can actually interest our younger target
group. The final thing, make a buzz and let our audience be aware of our actions. As it’s a new concept, we wanted to educate the people how they can play. We knew that we needed a bigger frame, as the cans are small. Citylights seemed the best choice since we have the space to explain how the game works. People are standing around them, waiting for the public transport, so they have a few minutes for a quick game in the hope of winning as they could run for the main prize without buying a product. Also, we used social media channels for advertising and better targeting with an educational video about the augmented reality contest.
Learnings
Contests can be enjoyable and people are open to spend a few minutes for fun.
The joy and the excitement of the game bring us together even in this
quarantine-filled period. Also, from the producer of the product’s point of view, an augmented reality contest makes no complexity but keeps the same sales supporting skills as other contests. Even an old-fashioned brand and a quite boring category, like canned vegetables can become more lively and can
provide solutions even for the younger generations if the marketing communication is reaching them.
Written by Benedek Juhász
