Brand uses GPS to bring prizes to winners’ homes

In most promotional contests involving giveaways, winning consumers must typically reach out to the company involved to claim their prize. Turning that paradigm on its proverbial ear in Brazil, Unilever detergent brand Omo is using GPS to bring prizes to consumers at home. The promotion, called “Try Something New With Omo,” aims to get consumers talking about a new stain-fighting formulation of the product, which already accounts for half of Brazil’s detergent sales, AdAge reported. Toward that end, the company has hidden GPS devices in 50 detergent boxes throughout Brazil. Each device gets activated when the box is removed from the supermarket shelf, causing Bullet—Omo’s promotions agency—to send a team into action tracking the box all the way to the purchasing consumer’s home. Dedicated teams are in place in 35 Brazilian cities, equipped with the technology needed to zero in not just on houses but even on specific apartments. Winners receive a pocket video camera as well as an invitation for a day of outdoor fun at Unilever’s expense, according to AdAge. For consumers living in high-crime areas—which could make them unwilling to open the door to Bullet’s reps—the team can cause the GPS inside to start beeping for verification; in addition, each winning box includes an explanation. Finally, in a nice nod to the mapmania trend, the promotional website will be updated to include a map showing roughly where winners live as well as video footage of the giveaways. With a cost of less than USD 1 million for the technological component, the promotion ends Sept. 19. A video by Bullet shows how the campaign was developed: All of which proves once again that with each new technological innovation comes new ways to engage and delight consumers. Time to put GPS to work for *your* playful brand…? (Related: Visitors to South Africa guided by GPS-driven audio tours — Contest replaces ad campaign for Nissan launch.) Spotted by: Advertising Age via Parul Rohatgi