Go to your back office. Or to your IT corner. Or to that door that is being held ajar by a little black box. See that little black box, it’s called a modem. And it is sending messages to customers that are at your doorstep. What is yours saying?

Like millions around the world, my new phone has internet capabilities which means that I am now exposed to hundreds of wireless connections. Here are some of the more interesting ones this month:

And my personal favorite…

These are funny for a home set-up (unless you are being watched by the Department of Child Services). However, if you are a business these just won’t look good. Additionally, if you are a nonsical mix-mash of numbers, code or the name of your service provider or modem then you won’t be recognized.

McDonald’s Australia have just finished rolling out free Wi-Fi to the majority of their stores this week. Not only does this encourage customers to eat more and stay longer, it also alerts them to when a McDonald’s is on the area. Strolling through the CBD I was checking email on my phone and my phone automatically prompted me to join a new network:

Not only did I now know that there was a McDonald’s in the area but that I could also access free Wi-Fi there. Great. Starbucks are also offering this service but it is not as accessible or widespread as McDonald’s. My understanding is that free Wi-Fi is comon practise in the US and UK.

I was lead to a great campaign from a cafe chain in Holland called CoffeeCompany via Angus Whines. They found that there were plenty of people using their free Wi-Fi but not necessarily ordering more. So they started to use their Wi-Fi name to encourage more purchases with messages such as “Mmm…YummyMuffinOnly2Euro”, “BuyaLargeLatteGetBrownieForFree” and “BuyCoffeeForCuteGirlOverThere?”. Essentially, it was their own Twitter broadcast to deliver information and inspiration for their customers.

A similar Wi-Fi execution has been carried out by rental car company SIXT in Hamburg airport. Finding it difficult to get through the hire car clutter at airports they installed their own free network for people to log into. They wrote marketing messages as the names of their networks with lines such as “Stop Surfing. Start Driving!”, “The SIXT airport special:” and “A BMW 3 Seriesfrom 159 Euro”. The headlines then take users to a home page with a full screen marketing message. Launched in September last year, it was so successful that it is now in airports in Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt and Berlin.

So, there’s three examples of Wi-Fi being used brilliantly. It’s simple and free. Don’t just tell your clients to change though – do it yourself. Instead of being “SpeedModem476″, anounce to those at your door that you are “BloodyCleverMarketers”.

Email me screenshots or let me know of any great Wi-Fi names you come up with or come across. I’ll follow up with the best examples.

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