Wi-Fi Marketing is Gaining Popularity

Marketers use all possible information transmission channels for advertising purposes. Wi-Fi technology has not escaped this fate.

A market is literally growing before our eyes that uses Wi-Fi technology to introduce potential service consumers to advertising messages. It is now possible to speak of distinguishing this type of advertising as a separate type of internet promotion.

One indicator of the rapid growth of this segment is the increase in the number of companies offering Wi-Fi marketing services online. Over the past year, the number of offers on the internet has almost doubled. So, what is the essence and advantages of this type of advertising?

Types of Wi-Fi Marketing

Today, the market offers two main types of services in the field of Wi-Fi marketing, depending on the technology of their presentation in terms of capturing the target audience.

1. The client / potential consumer of advertising connects to a Wi-Fi point themselves.

In this case, it is necessary for the user to connect to Wi-Fi, i.e., to conduct an authorization session.

The first touch is possible at the pre-authorization stage, when advertising is shown, for example, in video format.

The next advertising medium is the authorization interface itself. It can, for example, be designed in corporate style, with navigation made to evoke strong associations with the promoted brand.

Next, the client enters the internet, and here classic forms of online advertising, such as banners, are targeted at them.

Authorization via social networks is possible, which allows using them as platforms for showing ads and also increasing the number of active followers of one's accounts.

Furthermore, this type of Wi-Fi marketing allows conducting online surveys, collecting references and statistics based on them, adding navigation maps for the location, and so on.

Pros: Higher degree of audience targeting, variety of ways to deliver advertising messages in original and non-standard forms.

Cons: Smaller audience reach, working only with "own" customer base, data collection in one location, some types of authorization are paid for the Wi-Fi network owner.

2. The client / potential consumer of advertising moves with a gadget where Wi-Fi is enabled within the range of a radar that collects unique device identifiers (MAC addresses).

Then the collected addresses are uploaded to a server into the user's personal account for further targeting on internet advertising platforms.

As of mid-2019, ad placement is offered on the following platforms:

- Yandex (YAN),

- Facebook,

- Instagram,

- My Target,

- Mail.ru,

- VKontakte,

- Odnoklassniki.

Thus, authorization of the owner of the electronic digital device on the Wi-Fi network is not required; capture occurs automatically. The radar's range is approximately 50 meters, although some sellers talk about coverage of up to 100 meters in radius. It is difficult to establish an exact boundary, and it is largely determined by the nature of the space organization where the radar operates.

Filtering of the obtained data can be carried out according to various criteria, including the criterion of the nature of appearance in the radar's coverage area (frequency), time spent, distance to the radar itself, which occupies a central place in the coverage area.

Moreover, the collected users, based on the Look-alike technology on Yandex and My Target platforms, can become the basis for building an expanded segment of similar users.

Pros: Data collection in different locations (when using a mobile radar), working with a wide potential customer base, large audience reach.

Cons: Lower degree of audience targeting, formats for delivering advertising messages are limited by the standard requirements of the platforms.

Areas of Application for Wi-Fi Marketing

On the website of any company offering services in the field of Wi-Fi marketing, the idea of the universality of this tool is conveyed to the potential client in one way or another. Case studies are posted confirming that this format of working with advertising is especially relevant in B2C with a focus on the service sector, but can also be widely used in B2B markets.

In fact, the tool is quite broad-profile, but much depends on which type of Wi-Fi marketing is planned to be used.

If the client authorizes on the Wi-Fi network, then this method of collecting user data is more in line with the interests of the B2C sector with a high level of repeat purchases and great importance of personal recommendations. It is important that the client spends enough time in the Wi-Fi coverage area. The hospitality sector meets these requirements (hotels, restaurants, etc.), services of transport companies (airports, railway carriers, air carriers, etc.), as well as certain types of services where the client spends a lot of time waiting (e.g., auto services, clinics).

Stationary radars collecting MAC addresses of the target audience are more focused on places with large crowds of people, where points of providing various kinds of services or trade zones are compactly represented, which do not so much compete with each other as provide a comprehensive service upon visit. These include, first of all, shopping malls, entertainment and sports complexes, universal business centers, and so on.

Mobile radars for collecting MAC addresses are most aimed at satisfying the need to obtain information about competitors' customer portfolios. Such radars need to be placed in their area of activity, periodically moving between points. It is more difficult to establish clear industry priorities here, but this is, first of all, the sphere of trade, provision of services to both individuals and legal entities, certain types of production, and so on.

Mobile radars are also appropriate for use at exhibitions and other places of temporary concentrated gathering of one's target audience. The modern price level for Wi-Fi marketing services makes it accessible even for small businesses, so having a mobile radar at one's disposal when visiting exhibitions is a fairly simple and effective tool for collecting information about clients for conducting targeted advertising campaigns.

To simplify a bit, working through authorization is optimal for interacting with one's own customer portfolio, using a stationary radar is for mutually beneficial cooperation in attracting customers to one location, while using mobile radars is for competitive struggle.

Key Points for Launching Wi-Fi Marketing

First, you need to choose the type of Wi-Fi marketing that is optimal for a particular sphere; moreover, it is possible to use their combinations, for example, work with clients authorizing on the network according to the first scheme, and collect MAC addresses from the rest, but such situations are still more of an exception to the rule.

Then you need to determine the service provider. There are many offers on the internet now, differing in price and conditions, but the functional characteristics of the service itself are quite universal for all sellers. You can select a package according to your specific tasks, with the main parameter affecting the price being the period for which the service is purchased.

Many companies previously worked only on the condition of purchasing a radar from them, but now this is not necessary in most cases. They will even advise you which device and where it is better to purchase, which external battery is best suited for a mobile Wi-Fi radar, and so on. If you don't want to spend time on this, saving 3-5 thousand rubles one-time, you can buy it immediately as a package.

Perhaps the key point is working with the collected audience of addresses, if we are talking about the option of using radars. This requires the presence of a qualified marketer who, having received access to the personal account, can competently develop an advertising campaign, form advertising messages, design them, control the work of performers (creatives, designers, etc.), and then exercise operational management of the campaign itself. Furthermore, it is necessary that this channel of advertising impact be integrated into the overall strategy of the organization. This approach allows achieving a synergistic effect.

If the marketing staff is not fully staffed, and the Wi-Fi marketing project is limited in time, then it is advisable to involve an outsourcing company that can ensure results based on existing experience.

Additionally, such marketing agencies may have a permanent personal account and a mobile radar, which they will sublease to the end client. Due to the absence of constant costs for equipment acquisition and a long-term license (which is cheaper per month), this option will provide significant cost savings.

Finally, a marketing agency specializing in conducting such events will draw up a plan for placing the radar and will control its transportation and trouble-free operation, which can be difficult to do on your own. It is much easier for professionals to think through the scheme of placing the radar so that it quickly and effectively collects the customer base of competitors.