Chiquita Bananas? recent campaign with Universal Pictures? Minions film resulted in a 50 percent return rate to the image recognition-enabled content, as well as a 10 percent uptick in subscriptions to the brand?s mobile-optimized newsletter.

The dual campaign, developed in conjunction with FunMobility, enabled consumers to use their smartphones to scan Chiquita Banana stickers to unlock digital content such as mobile postcards, sweepstakes and other prizes relating to the Minions film released this summer. The average visitor engaged with more than 10 activities on the mobile destination, proving that gamification with relevant incentives continues to be a top-tier tactic for marketers to leverage.

?This campaign was successful because it delivered measurable sales results, contributing to a 8 percent increase in sales, and 10.9 percent decrease in cost-per-sale,? said Jin Kim, director of business development at FunMobility, San Ramon, CA. ?Consumers turn to mobile for two things - immediate results and leisure.

?Encourage that behavior through instant gratification and gamification, and advertisers should see improved results.?

Tasting success

Chiquita Bananas was able to unpeel significant consumer outreach and engagement with the campaign, which was undoubtedly aided by the blockbuster Minions film release. However, the sheer ease at which users could access the mobile content likely played a starring role in the campaign?s success.

Fans who downloaded the FanFun application onto their smartphones could visit any grocery store where Chiquita Bananas are sold and snap an image of the branded stickers. Up to 32 stickers could be scanned for a chance to receive instant win prizes.

The visible packaging on the banana bunches makes it simple for grocery shoppers to spot. Consumers with children in tow may also have scanned the stickers and handed their phone off in a bid to entertain the kids while in-store.

The target audience of mobile-savvy mothers was responsible for 75 percent of on-site usage and traffic.

The campaign?s eight week results show a 50 percent return rate, which proves that the mobile games are engaging and fun enough for users to want to play again. One in five unique visitors chose to receive rewards, which typically offered a power-up or extra points to use in another game.

?Gamification strategies are a great way to use image recognition software to heighten brand interaction, especially when combined with cool things you can win,? said Marci Troutman, CEO of Siteminis, Atlanta. ?But image recognition campaigns can be just as relevant when not designed in a game.

?It really depends on the product, customer, brand and campaign goals. In the case of Chiquita bananas, a gaming strategy fits the right consumer base and the right product merchandising placement (Minions), plus it is fun to chase the collection of Minions!?

Driving further engagement
The campaign ensured that consumers will continue fostering a relationship with the Chiquita Bananas brand. Approximately 10 percent of users were swayed to sign up for Chiquita?s revamped, interactive newsletter, also powered by FunMobility.

The average session length, which clocked in at four minutes and 36 seconds, was enough to persuade some consumers of the additional fun content they could receive from Chiquita in the future.

The highly interactive and social nature of the material within the FanFun app also grabbed consumers? attention. Users could play games including ?Minion Matcher,? ?Banana Shot Arcade? and ?Sticker Showdown? while waiting in line at grocery stores or trying to pass time during a lunch break.

Fans of the Minion characters could also send family and friends a branded greeting card from the mobile-optimized minionslovebananas.com site.

Image recognition is typically an optimal call-to-action for many mobile campaigns, as it does not take much time to scan a picture with a smartphone to receive content. The technology is gaining considerable traction among food and beverage marketers.

This past May, Heineken tapped augmented reality mobile application Blippar for a new campaign that offered consumers a look at beer?s ingredients by asking users to snap a photo of a Heineken bottle to unlock exclusive content and create selfies to share across social media (see story).

?The Minions movie has done north of a billion in gross revenue from theater ticket sales worldwide so far in two and a half months,? Ms. Troutman said. ?This franchise is beloved by people everywhere, parents and children alike.

?It seems like such a natural fit to have an interactive mobile activity to advertise the Chiquita Banana brand relationship.?

Final Take
Alex Samuely, editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York