iPass

Creating an impact with interactive content

Storytelling works better when it’s not just words. If you can go beyond the infographic, the stock image or the corporate video you can reach new levels of audience engagement. iPass, the world’s largest commercial Wi-Fi network wanted to do just that.

Objective

Demonstrate the transformative power of Wi-Fi connectivity by engaging prospects, iPass customers, partners and key players in the technology industry with the iPass website.

Story

iPass wanted a hard hitting campaign that would open the doors to meetings with prospects and potential partners and lead to long-term business relationships. iPass didn’t just want to be on the map, it needed to become the map. To counteract the domination of cellular technologies as a friction-free solution to business or consumer connectivity, Spark suggested a map that would show the growth of Wi-Fi hotspots. The ambition was to create a mechanism that would deliver the message that Wi-Fi = iPass and Wi-Fi = improved productivity to both the media and the wider business community. Spark worked with an analyst house to build live content in the form of a map that provides a continuous data resource for journalists, analysts and other influencers on the growth of Wi-Fi hotspots and also proves the business case for Wi-Fi.

Results

While the map is a valuable piece of content for iPass, featuring prominently on the website, the primary motivation was heavy-hitting media coverage. Spark has delivered this in top-tier business media such as The Economist, Wired, BBC News Online, and The Independent. The Economist led with a near perfectly messaged subhead: "As Wi-Fi hotspots proliferate, who needs cellular wireless?" Global coverage topped 100 pieces in a broad range of business, enterprise IT, mobile, telecoms and business travel publications. The online impact was huge - traffic to the website increased by 300% and it provoked extensive social media conversations. Backlinks from influential media such as the BBC significantly contributed to SEO. The industry’s leading body, the WBA, congratulated iPass on making Wi-Fi data so accessible and engaging. The campaign contributed to over a dozen meetings with key targets, many of which resulted in long-term business relationships.

  • Evergreen content
  • 300% increase in web traffic
  • Economist coverage