Talking Points: Conversation and Technology

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Joss Davidge, Business Director of brand experience agency BEcause, is always on the look out for marketing ideas that get people talking.  This week he looks two examples of how brands are using technology to stimulate or optimise conversation in real-world situations.

The term “social” is on the tip of our tongue for many conversations about how to take a brand experience to another level.  Not just online but in real-world activation too.  Here are two ideas that use conversation as the foundation of the concept, not just for post-experience amplification.

Heineken personalised QR t-shirts

As we roll into the new year and winter is still demanding we wrap up warm, peoples thoughts are drifting towards the summer and, what has now become a summer staple for many, the music festival. At the Open’er Festival last year, festival goers could go to the Heineken U-Code dome and create personalised QR codes, which they could then stick onto themselves for others to scan and read at will.  I have talked about QR codes before in this blog but this is a great example of how Heineken took the technology away from simply showing product information and made it a tool for social interaction.  The concept is closely aligned with the idea that people go to music festivals not only to have fun but to also spark up conversation with strangers.  For Heineken though, it was also a fantastic way to make sure its message “open your world” was seen across the whole festival site.

KLM social seating

The Dutch airline, KLM, is introducing “social seating” sometime early this year.  Passengers will be able to link their seat to their Facebook or Linkedin profiles so that they can be matched to sit next to people with similar interests for more fluid conversation.  This could also be a chance to network and open up otherwise missed business opportunities.  I am aware that KLM enjoys quirky marketing ideas and this may well be another example, but the fundamental idea is interesting.  We now have the tools to optimise, what is famously, a potentially awkward experience.  If this takes off and we start to manage our seating arrangements for all travel will we then miss the gamble of meeting someone influential purely by chance?

Read more BEcause blog posts. Visit their website, and tweet @becausexm.

Posted: January 13th, 2012 | Author: will.armstrong | Filed under: Talking Points | Tags: BEcause, Heineken, Joss Davidge, KLM Airlines, marketing society member, QR codes, Social Seating | Leave a Comment »

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