Playing the City 135While the campaign was essentially transitory, running only as long as the
exhibition itself, there was one element that visitors could keep: a free virtual
human die for their iPhone.
Results
Over the three-week period of this highly localized online campaign the
website recorded more than 15,000 page views, with visit durations for users
from Frankfurt coming in at more than four minutes. During the same period
the iPhone dice tool was downloaded more than 6,500 times.
Lessons
Running a digital campaign spanning a very tight time window to drive people
to participate in a real-world local event is a very different proposition to har-
nessing ongoing online marketing techniques to build traffic, reputation and
authority for an enduring website. One of the reasons we’ve included ‘Playing
the City’ in this book is that it demonstrates how digital, when applied crea-
tively, can work at a very local level to engage audiences and enhance partici-
pation. It demands a different approach, something a bit different that will
capture the audience’s imagination instantly.
While a very short, highly localized campaign like this one is never going to
match the huge numbers that a sustained digital marketing push can some-
times yield, with an understanding of your audience, the right digital channels
and some creative thinking you can create a campaign that delivers genuine
value for the target market and, as a result, for your business/client/event.
Marketers, don’t be dissuaded from dipping into digital to help your local mar-
keting efforts and to promote transitory events. It’s not always about generat-
ing big numbers, it’s about generating value. What constitutes ‘value’ in your
particular case depends on your circumstances – but do explore the potential
of digital channels to deliver.