Introduction
To market to consumers on their mobile phones effectively, you need to figure out how to convey your brand as a useful service. Brands that share common themes with cell phones -- mobility, convenience, instant gratification, timeliness, social connection -- have been quick to crack this code.
Let's take a look at a few verticals that are making it work.
Consumer packaged goods
Consumer packaged goods (CPGs) companies have long known that product packaging can be a powerful vehicle for a brand impression and consumer engagement. Mobile turns the package impression into an interactive exchange between the consumer and the brand. CPGs are using mobile marketing to increase sales with mobile coupons and contests by promoting text-in short codes on the package. They are even using mobile to deepen customer intimacy by inviting them to text in to share their thoughts, their secrets and even their perspectives on imponderables like beauty and aging.
Strategy: Pepsi, Xbox and World Cup
Beverage companies have been one of the first to use mobile with "on-pack promotions." On-pack promotions typically include a code that the consumer can see only after purchase and opening of the product (e.g., under a bottle cap) and invite the consumer to text a unique number to an SMS shortcode for an instant chance to win a prize. In April 2006, Pepsi launched one of the most high profile text-to-win campaigns to date around the World Cup with the "What's In Your Locker?" Xbox 360 promotion. The on-pack promotion -- promoted on hundreds of millions of Pepsi containers and backed by a major TV campaign featuring British soccer stars old and new -- gave customers the chance to win an Xbox 360 every 90 minutes of every day over a two-month period leading up to and during the World Cup.
Results
With millions of entries over the course of the contest period, Pepsi was able to highlight and heighten its sponsorship of soccer during a critical period-- the World Cup. A soccer promotion via the mobile channel enabled Pepsi to connect with its key youth demographics, get more mileage out of sponsorship properties and increase sales of its product. Consumers liked it because they got immediate gratification, something they couldn't have through other media while they were out and about. The theme of instant gratification reinforces a primary attribute of the beverage.
Support from product packaging and TV ads
Quick-serve restaurants
Possibly the perfect medium for driving traffic into fast food restaurants, the mobile phone brings, well, mobility, but also time and location targeting and high access to the youth demographic. It is no surprise that Burger King and McDonald's have pioneered a number of mobile marketing programs.
McDonald's mobile offers
McDonald's rolled out a direct response marketing campaign aimed at driving localized retail traffic during the traditionally slower late evenings with a series of weekly mobile coupons for late-night offers. Consumers could sign up for mobile coupons on the company's Late Nite Lounge website. The campaign was also supported by mobile advertising banners running across several popular mobile internet sites, where consumers are targeted by age and location and time of browsing.
Mobile coupons
Results
Click rates for the campaign -- launched exclusively in the New York metro area -- were more than double the industry average. The program received hundreds of opt-ins during the first week, and opt-in growth continued throughout the length of the program.
Mobile coupon and voucher programs can connect directly to the majority of retailers who measure marketing success in store visits and phone calls rather than internet clicks. Receiving a coupon on your phone is a time saver, and convenient compared to getting the scissors out with the Sunday paper.
Again, the medium reinforces the brand message: quick and convenient.
Entertainment
"American Idol" taught Americans how to text message. Now it seems that every reality show has a mobile voting mechanic as a means to reach beyond the screen and engage with viewers. Networks are also using mobile to drive "tune in" first by enticing viewers to interact, and then by reminding them to watch.
A&E's bountiful campaign
A&E tapped into the power of mobile to promote one of its most popular shows, "Dog the Bounty Hunter," and found that mobile programs drive short and long-term viewership, network loyalty and word-of-mouth exposure. "Dog the Bounty Hunter" is a series about the adventures of real-life bounty hunter, Duane "Dog" Chapman. Chapman is famous for bringing more than 6,000 fugitives to justice and also for his unique sayings, or "Dogisms." For example, according to Dog, "To be a winner, you have to know what losing feels like."
Viewers of "Dog the Bounty Hunter" were able sign up to receive weekly messages from Dog on their mobile phones and also send in their own shout outs or "Dogisms" by texting into a short code. Consumers benefited because they got time-targeted reminders that their show was about to begin. This is a great example of conveying your brand as a service.
Mobile messages
Results
Qualitative research conducted during the mobile campaign revealed that mobile marketing not only drove "tune in" for television programs but also increased brand perception of both the show and the network.
- 62 percent of participants said they are watching "Dog" more as a result of the text message campaign
- 65 percent said they would watch more "Dog" in the future due to the text message campaign
- 66 percent said they would watch A&E more in the future due to the text program
- 93 percent will recommend the network to their friends
Travel and hospitality
When it comes to the hotel industry, a little loyalty and a lot of convenience go a long way. Progressive hotel groups are building mobile programs that extend the power of the internet to the customer's pocket. It's easier for the mobile consumer to manage the craziness that often surrounds a travel experience. Indeed, hotels and mobile phones share the same core audience-- the mobile consumer.
Mobile possibilities
Imagine on the day of your reservation receiving a confirmation text message from your hotel providing you with the hotel's address and local phone number and a link to the hotel's mobile internet site where you might find directions, hours and an outline of the hotel's amenities. After your stay, you might even have the option to earn extra loyalty points by responding to a text message survey asking you to rate your stay.
Such a program fosters loyalty and also preempts calls into customer care centers by providing the traveler with the information he needs when he needs it. And the consumer views it as a unique value-added service from the brand.
Financial
European and Asian financial institutions are using mobile to send account balance and other alerts as a value-added service.
A leading retail bank recently charged a friend of mine $40 for two overdrawn checks (she didn't know that her husband had written a large check for a vacation rental). She was livid that her bank would stick it to her for this first time transgression after 10 years of loyal business. She asked me for banks that offer text alerts, and is seriously considering switching brands. Rather than charge consumers for such a service, savvy marketers are realizing that this is a perfect opportunity to convey their brand as a service and make their customers' lives better.
Banking on-the-go
Alert services typically are configured and managed on a website and, like packaged goods, often include room for the brand to upsell services like auto loans
Conclusion
More than traditional media, in mobile marketing what's good for the consumer is good for the brand. Consumers are ready for your brand to get with it and offer value rather than the same old brand bludgeoning job. Effective marketing on the personal device, and more generally to today's fickle consumer, requires nothing less.
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