Captive Attention Engagement: A No-Brainer
I’m sitting at my neighborhood Starbucks right now, trying to knock out some work, though I’m having trouble concentrating due to the brassy barista chitchatting with each and every skinny latte-sipping patron. Headphones in and I’m still having trouble focusing on the open Word doc on my laptop screen outlining an upcoming presentation on the intersection of Mobile, Social and Data.
Alright, so I suppose it’s not the barista. Starbucks — I only have your brilliance to blame. I activate my Wi-Fi, open a web browser, and find myself automatically routed to Starbucks Digital Network, what appears to be an exclusive digital entertainment and news destination only accessible via a Wi-Fi connection at Starbucks hotspots. Proximity marketing at its finest.
Sure, it’s a landing page that I can easily bypass, but at a single glance I am immersed in content that appeals to me… for FREE!
“Read books by top authors — free”
“Inspiring free films while at Starbucks”
“Download a new free Pick of the Week song or video”
I begin clicking around and sure enough, I’m taken to a digital bookshelf of first-rate novels, documentaries, musical compilations and magazines to peruse. Starbucks’ very own curated entertainment library — both a valuable amenity for the coffee shop patrons and an alternative monetization platform for Howard Schultz’ ever-capitalizing empire (via paid placement of entertainment properties, ad sales and data capture.)
Think Foursquare and Gowalla define the geolocation revolution? Think again. Exclusive location-based content is the future. Some consider it the next generation of narrowcasting; I feature it in my recently-formulated engagement marketing approach — what I call ‘Captive Attention Engagement’. Why market to consumers when and where their attention is already occupied by something more important? I’d argue that one could have a more immersive (and participatory) brand experience if they were in a quiescent, unstimulated state. Airplanes, airports, doctors offices, trains, the beach, checkout lines, coffee shops. Valuable locations with a high potential for audience activation.
As traditional billboard-style ads lose effectiveness, Madison Avenue continues to panic while the answer remains right in front of them: incentivized engagement. We continue to be bombarded with case studies touting the high effectiveness of branded content distribution and audience participation in the social media and mobile app arenas.
Innovate to differentiate. Develop Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or GPS-enabled content. Create new channels to build brand affinity or to sell product. Drive activation when the consumers have the capacity to be captivated. Starbucks did.
