Thousands of Ariana Grande fans will move to hotspots across the UK to unlock VIP prizes in a mixed reality campaign launched this week to mark the release of her new album, ‘Sweetener’.
As artists look for new ways to connect with their fans, Island Records have partnered with location-based experiences platform Landmrk, to raise awareness of Grande’s latest album by directing fans (or Arianators) to hotspots in their closest city.
Upon arrival to dedicated hotspots (found at www.unlockthesweetener.com), fans will need to decipher a code using both a local billboard and their phone, before entering it into the platform to have a chance of winning prizes such as: exclusive tickets to her UK tour, Sweetener fan CD boxes, merchandise, posters and location-specific selfie-filters.
The platform will also create virtual billboards in addition to the physical ones – merging Out-Of-Home advertising with a mobile experience. This will allow fans to enter the competition wherever they may be.
Claire Mas, Head of Digital at Island Records, said: “We are constantly looking at ways to engage super fans in a way that makes them feel involved in the campaign rather than purely pushing content at them. This is a great use of technology to merge both a digital and physical experience and also encourage UGC content that then spreads the word organically.”
Tom Nield, Co-founder of Landmrk, said: “Landmrk’s platform truly shines when powering experiences for entertainers that have large amounts of committed fans. Our technology allows the creation of personalised experiences for dedicated fans in their locality, whilst simultaneously delivering measurability and insight to marketing teams.”
