Convene - February 2016

4 2 PCMA CONVENE FEBRUARY 2016 PCMACONVENE.ORG
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DATA
Corin Hirsch
In the world of distance running, the UK’s Great Run is huge. The series of events at various locales througout
the British Isles draws hundreds of
thousands of participants each year, the
majority of them running for charity.

With such high engagement, the races boast some big-name partners, too — among them, sportswear giant PUMA, which sees Great Run as an opportunity to connect and communicate with consumers via a branded, on-site presence. “The important factor for [PUMA] was to monitor engagement and reach consumers across social channels,” said Lauren Rutherford, production account director for Innovision, the London-based special-events company with which PUMA partners to create its presence at each Great Run program. “We always look to amplify the work we do via social channels.

However, this was the first opportunity
for social to be as key as retail in promi-
nence and strategy.”

PICTURE MARKETING

Looking for fresh ways to connect with
consumers during the 2015 runs, Inno-
vision turned to Headoo, a French firm
that helped pioneer “picture market-
ing,” which involves using professional-
caliber photos taken on the spot
inside stores and at events to capture
experiences between brands and their
customers — as well as track the data
generated via photo shares. Rather than
use an app, Headoo software works
directly from a device’s camera — or
from a photo booth or tablet — with the
installation of a Headoo email address
to which photos can be sent. The photo
subjects’ email addresses are also
collected, and they are invited to view
their photos on a branded microsite.

“Each client receives a mail back with a link to their photo on that branded page, from which they can share on social media,” said Maia Fontaine Leonard, vice president of Headoo.

People invited to view their own photos do so 95 percent of the time, according to Leonard. As they share them with others, the originating store or event can track not only social-media traffic but 70 different metrics about both visitors and the campaign itself, from the name, gender, age, and ZIP code of each visitor to key influencers, banner click-through rates, word clouds (derived from photo comments), and cost-per-impression comparison.

U.K. retailer Marks & Spencer was an early client, as were opticians, corporate events, and galas. By the time Innovision signed on for PUMA’s Great Run presence, Headoo’s client list included Mitsubishi, Google, Dove, Barclays, and Peugeot.

‘I WAS THERE, I DID IT’

For the 2015 Great Run events, Innovision set up PUMA retail spaces that Rutherford describes as “custom-built popup shops situated at a key point near the finish line.” At three events, Innovision also installed “strong brand imagery” that included a race-clock screen — and an enormous image of Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt — in front of which racers could have their photos