iBacon Beacon? Hillshire Brands increased sales intent 20x with Beacon Program
Hillshire Brands, distributors of cured meat products, recently partnered with BPN and inMarket to try an experiment with iBeacons. Using beacons and geofencing technology, the company pushed information about Hillshire products and promotions to consumers as they entered a store. They found iBeacons were a wild success. Hillshire Farms released the following information this morning.
The campaign, which leveraged new beacon technology to speak to consumers on their personal devices as they entered a store, delivered a 20x increase in purchase intent by those exposed to messaging, which is a 500% increase over the CPG average for mobile ad engagement. This data is consistent with a previous inMarket study, released in June, that showed consumers are 19x more likely to engage with an advertised product in-store after receiving an in-store engagement.American Craft also experienced a 36% increase in brand awareness and a lift in overall sales. The campaign, which ran from April-June 2014 across the top 10 U.S. markets, achieved 6,000 in-store engagements in its first 48 hours.
The test was started after a study showed Hillshire's ideal customer base were less likely to bring in and redeem traditional print coupons. Eager to gain that extra sale-motivated business, Hillshire's iBeacons pushed a number of promotions directly to the mobile devices of consumers. Among the promotions were the promise of extra reward points or coupons for their purchases.
Given the success of the program, Hillshire Brands is looking to extend the beacon program campaign to its Jimmy Dean brand later this fall. We're moving into a magical world of technology, where the iBeacon starts to help you earn cheaper real bacon. The savings will be paid for by having to have ads forcibly sent to your phone. Progress is bittersweet and savory.
