In what is reportedly the first interactive media marketing campaign of its kind, Pioco has wired thousands of hotspots in and around the Olympic stadiums, hotels, restaurants, clubs, cafes and other leisure venues of Beijing and Shanghai to broadcast Coca-Cola Bluetooth video commercials to Bluetooth-enabled cell phones.

 

The setup is such that when anyone with a Bluetooth-enabled mobile enters the Pioco hotspot they will receive a message querying about whether they would like to download content from Coca-Cola.

 

Pioco specializes in solutions for the out-of-home advertising space. The company, which is headquartered in Shanghai, with offices in Beijing, GuangZhou, Hong Kong and Taipei, has initiated a new form of business-to-consumer (B2C) interactive communication strategy, supported by Bluetooth broadcasting of media, set graphics, sound, text, video and animation.

 

Pioco says it provides advertisers with accurate statistical feedback and scientific data analysis by tracking the unique Bluetooth ID of consumer devices.

 

"We've been working with Coca-Cola for about two years now, and the campaigns have returned great results," said Steve Chao, co-founder and CEO of Pioco. "In previous campaigns, we've seen conversion rates closer to 35 percent. At events that prompt participants to enable their Bluetooth devices -- as will be the case with many Olympic hotspot locations -- we've seen conversion rates up to 65 percent."

 

Pioco has covered International Trade Center, Financial District, Zhongguancun commercial district, Wangfujing shopping street and Xidan shopping district, Dongzhimen transportation node, Xizhimen subway area and other transportation hubs around Beijing with the Bluetooth hot spotlight.

 

Coca-Cola has stated that they strongly believe this type of campaigning will reach consumers even more intuitively than traditional forms of media like television, online outlets, magazines, out-of-home and other print media.

 

Michelle Yang, Media Director for Coca-Cola China commented, "Pioco has already enabled us to reach millions of consumers in hundreds of Chinese cities via Coke's Olympic Torch Relay Truck in preparation for the summer Olympic Games. We're projecting we'll reach millions more local and visiting international consumers over the course of the games."

 

Coca-Cola's relationship with Pioco marks the first time in Olympic history that a brand has used Bluetooth media for its marketing campaign, the company said.