With NFC technology, China’s location-based services leader is on the move
Jiepang trials NFC-enabled mobile marketing and payment services
BACKGROUND
Jiepang, China’s fastest-growing location-based service provider, is seeking to grow its user base and strengthen customer loyalty for its “roadside network,” a highly engaged mobile community that is one million strong – and growing.
CHALLENGE
The company already offers social networking and marketing promotions to its users. In fact, 100,000 of them use Jiepang applications on their iPhones, Androids and other mobile devices to check in weekly and announce their location to friends and followers, while collecting virtual badges and rewards by visiting special-event pages for some of the world’s leading brands.
Could NFC technology help Jiepang fuel the growth of its SoLoMo (social-local-mobile) business strategy by offering real-time marketing promotions and contactless payments?
SOLUTION
Jiepang is currently conducting trials of NFC-enabled marketing services using UPM BullsEye™ and UPM MiniBlock™ NFC tags. It gave 1,500 NFC-tagged key chains and cell phone stickers to attendees at Beijing’s third annual Strawberry Music Festival to check in at booths for five different restaurant bars and obtain virtual badges and discounts.
Jiepang also conducted a demo with Nokia at the @Smartphone Apps Expo Asia in Hong Kong on June 17-19, 2011. The company is now preparing for a larger-scale mobile commerce trial.
SUCCESS
Jiepang is gaining valuable experience with NFC technology, which provides real-time insights into user behavior that can be used to structure new services and strengthen loyalty. That will enable the company to rapidly roll out new NFC services when the market takes off. Jiepang’s partners, who include more than 300 global companies such as IKEA, Nike, Louis Vuitton, McDonald’s and Starbucks and tens of thousands of local businesses, are standing by, ready to dial up their marketing pitches to tech-savvy customers and their extended communities.
With NFC technology, the sky is the limit for boosting revenues – as long as you can connect with customers standing just four centimeters away.
