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To engage consumers with the Heineken brand and its sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour, Amsterdam-based agency Lost Boys international created a dynamic mobile game for football fans around the world: the Heineken Trophy Hunt. The agency partnered with Dutch mobile tech startup Repudo, whose technology lets users drop off and pick up individual virtual “objects” – trophies in this case – from real world locations with their iPhones. By integrating Facebook, Repudo and Apple’s iOS, the team built an innovative mobile campaign that inspired people to hunt down trophies across the globe. LBi’s Strategy / Account Director, Emmelien Kneppers, sat down to tell us more.
What insight sparked the idea for the Heineken Trophy Hunt?
In today’s digital world, more and more content is available and accessible every day. With the press of a button, we can instantly share content with the world. As a result, it’s getting much more difficult to offer something new, unique and individualized. By creating scarcity with Repudo, we were able to tap into a wealth of new marketing opportunities. Imagine a virtual treasure hidden somewhere in your city; but there's only one, so you have to be the first to arrive to get it. Repudo’s technology bridges the real and virtual worlds in a fun and simple way.
How exactly did the campaign work?
Heineken gave its fans the opportunity to be part of the UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour by joining the competition, which was centered on the brand’s international Facebook page. Fans played the game by picking up virtual trophies from real world locations using Repudo’s technology on their iPhones. These fans really had to get involved and hit the streets to take part in the campaign. Repudo adds another dimension to communication; leaving and picking up a message from an actual physical location involves real effort from both sides. We “dropped” trophies all around the world. Each trophy was unique, so once a fan picked one up, it was gone and no one else could get it. Fans then had to leave two more trophies for two additional friends, who they invited through Facebook. This built sharing into the game, as you could only participate if your friends also picked up their trophies. Once they did, you were entered to win a chance to travel to Switzerland and Malaysia on the UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour, presented by Heineken.
Repudo’s technology was key to the campaign. Were they closely involved as partners as well?
We believe in bringing teams and expertise together to achieve the best results. Repudo pitched this technology to us, and together we came up with the concept of the Trophy Hunt. Innovation is very important to Heineken. This was the first time anyone had used this technology in a campaign like this. The close collaboration between agency, client and technology partner was absolutely key to the campaign’s success.
How was Facebook integrated into the campaign?
Fans had to sign up for the Trophy Hunt with an iPhone app using Facebook. This enabled people to invite friends and share content quickly and easily. With Facebook on mobile, the mobile and social worlds are totally integrated. Plus, Facebook develops more than just web-based services – Facebook campaigns can also work very successfully on other platforms.
How do you think about building mobile brand experiences for clients, and how do you see this area evolving?
Given the explosive growth of smart phone penetration – now up to 40% in developed countries – consumers are always “on.” As a result, the mobile-based business opportunities have grown exponentially. We are seeing a natural evolution where the boundaries between online and offline are disappearing.
We’re convinced that mobile has a very specific set of characteristics whose relevance and importance will only grow. The fact that you can access every type of content has a huge impact on any kind of business, from retail to entertainment, whether it is B2C or B2B. Brands need to think about which role mobile plays when adding mobile social services to the mix. The mobile market evolves very rapidly— the best way to learn is to get started.
Emmelien Kneppers is Strategy / Account Director for LBi Netherlands.
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