How can we encourage people to read more media content? Teenagers in particular don’t spend much, if any time at all, reading traditional media and newspapers. Although they’re almost constantly online, it is rather difficult to lure them back. The Turin-based startup Quibee came up with a solution.
The company specializes in proximity marketing and provides media content in pre-defined spaces. That means that a beach bar owner can let his visitors enjoy free media content when they are present in a certain area.
Proximity entertainment allows businesses to select the size of premises, e.g. a beach, stadium or a shop, where users can read any given content using the Quibee app. The startup developed a platform called Hooney that directs digital content inside a defined physical space. Companies using the reading service have a chance to send targeted content directly to their user’s devices.
Quibee’s Dual Business Model
Quibee is on one hand a SaaS iBeacon platform helping its clients interact with their customers directly. It helps them to engage with them by sending coupons, for example, or by using gamification to offer discounts.
On the other hand, Quibee is also a content delivery platform which provides entertainment for its customers through iBeacon technology. The owner of a place who subscribes to Quibee will receive a Quibee iBeacon that is able to create a digital area with 200 sqm. As long as the readers stay inside the area, they can enjoy free content.
When a user walks past an area where an indoor positioning system is set up, the beacon automatically notifies the user. Businesses can choose an action that will only activate when users are in a given parameter. This is where companies can get creative and provide a wide range of personalized experiences for the user and new ways to address their target audience.
Quibee partnered also with Moby Lines, the Italian shipping company that operates ferries and cruise-ferries. Its passengers can enjoy daily newspapers and magazines published by the RCS group from the convenience of their smartphones and tablets.