By and large, businesses have shifted resources from live events to virtual events while simultaneously ramping up digital marketing efforts. At Captello, we’ve also made the shift.

We’ve re-imagined what our solutions used to engage people would look like if they were not running on a tablet or big screen at live events and used in digital marketing campaigns instead. This line of thinking compelled us to truly make our games run universally, on any platform – be it a mobile device or a desktop browser. As customers pushed us to create solutions that bridged physical and digital worlds, new ideas prevailed. As a result, we introduced our latest capability, called Waypoints. 

You might think of a Waypoint as a check-in, a pitstop, an indicator, a marker, etc.

They are used as a way to discover things you might be looking for. In essence, they are QR codes, branded to your liking, that can be placed like easter eggs in any location you want. I know all of our Pokémon GO fans can relate!

At a live event, imagine an event organizer sending an attendee on a self-guided tour to visit various stops. Each stop having its own branded QR code, collecting data, and keeping track of every time you visit. In the digital world, the concepts are similar. Place Waypoints anywhere you want, across all of your digital marketing assets, and run creative competitions awarding people when they achieve certain thresholds or complete your “course”. 

Regardless of where Waypoints are used, they maintain a “touchless” experience – something important in 2020 and beyond. Each interaction with a Waypoint is done on the user’s personal device.

Whether you’re running a live event, digital marketing campaign, or combining both concepts, here are 5 ways to boost event and digital marketing using Waypoints:

Launch a Contest Over a Webinar Series

We’ve seen more and more companies deliver educational content, conferences, sessions, etc. over webinars. Zoom has made this process incredibly easy. Their software is so intuitive that it’s a snap to launch a virtual meeting or hold a webinar of any kind. It’s so trivial that combining multiple webinars into a series makes a lot of sense. With any webinar, whether it’s a series or single event, you have attendees that join early, occasional breaks, and intermissions. These “moments of silence” are great opportunities for Waypoints. 

There are a few common problems with webinars though. Companies struggle getting attendees to come back as well as sit through an entire event. Waypoints serve as an opportunity to drive repeat attendees and encourage viewers to stay tuned in. They can be inserted before, during, or after the event. As Waypoints are scanned, points are awarded. When strung together in a series of webinars, attendees are encouraged to participate in all of your events. Possibly even more important, attendees might have to wait until the end of your webinar before they see the Waypoint. It incentives them to hang on. This encourages attendees to be loyal, participate in your events, and not drop off early! 

Run a Competition Using Email

Start a competition using email campaigns. Instead of sending out your standard email templates, consider linking email campaigns together using Waypoints, and form a competition spanning weeks or even months. Make your Waypoints a focal point for each email. This encourages readers to look forward to your emails, engage further, and drive more opens/clicks. Waypoints can be combined with Leaderboards. Each time a user scans a Waypoint, award them with specific points. Accumulated points hit the leaderboard, in real-time, for all to see. Announce the winner, who is the top person on the leaderboard, at the end of your email campaigns and give them a custom prize or digital gift card – all of which are managed in the Waypoint platform.

Host an Intra-Website Exploration

My kids enjoy Easter for one reason: they love finding the eggs! Treat Waypoints like easter eggs, and your website like your front lawn. Spread your Waypoints out across your website. Place them in areas where you want to lead your visitors. Announce the competition on your homepage or with a personalized popup (we have a solution for that). Users can scan each Waypoint/egg with their mobile device, claiming points on each scan.  Once users cross a specific threshold, they become eligible for a prize. Automated rules run in the background and manage what actions to take when users get to a certain point. This gamified form of learning will help make the most of your website content. 

Connect Digital and Physical Experiences

If you have any type of physical presence (brick and mortar store, trade show booth, etc.), it’s likely there will be a digital component paired with your live experience. It’s kind of like cheese with wine, salt with pepper, socks with shoes – some things just go better together. When people leave your physical location, you want their experience to continue, not come to an end. For that reason, Waypoints are an excellent way to connect digital and physical experiences. Display a Waypoint in a plastic stand, on your countertop, inside your countertop, inside your storefront window, wherever you want in your physical location. Use this Waypoint to collect information from the user that’s pertinent to your business and/or campaign. The information can be used to enrich your database and/or help segment your database for targeted marketing. Once you have their information, use Waypoints in email, landing pages, and other digital marketing efforts to target them and bring them back to your digital content for further engagement. Trigger actions like coupons or other incentives once they engage on your digital channels. 

Hold a Scavenger Hunt

Hide branded Waypoints and provide tips to your users as they seek out each Waypoint. When they check-in to each Waypoint, have them play a game, reward them with a prize, or provide them with a tip for the next item in the scavenger hunt. 

Benefits of Using Waypoints to Boost Marketing

Although I’m convinced there are more, we see three main benefits of using Waypoints:

1. Build brand loyalty
2. Increase engagement
3. Deliver entertainment value

Using Waypoints will keep your prospects and customers coming back, engaging more, and having fun in the process. We’re confident Waypoints will help you drive more sales and increase brand awareness and customer loyalty. Join us in a new generation of marketing – powered by Waypoints. 

We’re curious: what use cases do you have for Waypoints? I’m sure we’re merely scratching the surface. Let us know here!