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Three mobile web marketing tips for the holiday shopping season August 27, 2010

Posted by StrategicGrowth in local marketing strategies, marketing strategies, mobile, mobile coupons, Mobile Marketing.
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3 comments

Bryce Marshall, Knotice

The ways shoppers make purchasing decisions in retail stores are undergoing a seismic shift. The shift is not driven by changes retailers are making to in-store promotions, store layout, retail design or packaging, however. It is driven by shoppers who have discovered that their mobile device offers a comprehensive tool set for making informed and confident decisions on what products to buy, which to pass on, or where else to make the purchase.

At the beginning of 2010 Motorola released the results of a fascinating study conducted during the 2009 holiday shopping season. Among the insights was one particularly interesting nugget: Worldwide, 51 percent of shoppers used their mobile device to help make an in-store purchase decision. The adoption rate of mobile devices generally — and smartphones specifically — continues to grow at a torrid pace. It’s common sense that mobile devices will be more vital to shoppers during the 2010 holiday season. In fact, using the mobile tool set to help make purchase decisions is no longer an emerging shopping behavior. It’s established shopping behavior.

Many of the most-trusted marketing tactics cannot adapt to the mandatory mobile contexts of time and place. And those trusty tactics cannot get down to specific increments of minutes and seconds — or meters and footsteps — like mobile interactions can. For consumers, the mobile Web unlocks the power to interact with, find, or demand the content they want at exactly the time and place they want it. The mobile Web fills the gap between layers of static, broadcast or stationary media. It fills the gap between the online and offline experience… and between Web stores and physical stores.

Here are three smart mobile Web tactics retailers can use now, and for the busy 2010 holiday shopping season. 

1. Provide the best of online in the store.

This is the clearest and most immediate opportunity for a lot of retailers, manufacturers and packaged goods providers. Consumers want the kind of detailed information found online to help make informed purchase decisions. For example, one large manufacturing company is making the great content from its website available to the in-store shopper via the mobile Web. The goal is easy access to the right amount and type of content. Not providing all of the information available on the product, just the right information to help a customer decide against a competitor’s product or prevent them from walking out of the store because of a lack of information.

The mobile Web, apps and SMS are great ways to get valuable content in the hands of in-store shoppers. Mobile solutions do not eat up valuable in-store shelf space and are more scalable and cost-effective than interactive solutions like kiosks, computers and video displays. Mobile solutions are perfect because the shopper provides the hardware.

2. Provide the tools to search, find, and motivate.

Right now consumers leverage mobile devices to search for information or make purchases while they are on-the-go. They seek convenience when busy or a diversion from boredom. They want smaller and smoother interactions. On-the-go shoppers have simple needs: Find a retailer, know what to buy, know it will be convenient, use a coupon. Apps and the mobile Web fill a potential gap in traditional media scenarios because with mobile search, location data, driving directions and coupon delivery, every shopper has the tools to locate and buy.

3. Embrace cross-channel behavior, don’t fight it.

A traditional failure by hybrid retailers, one that drives customers crazy, is the counter-intuitive division between online and physical retail operations. The organizational limitations of the retailer prevent a brand from embracing consumers’ cross-channel preferences. Right now many consumers use the traditional Web to research products, or create a shopping/wish list, all while intending to buy at a retail store. They use online tools but don’t buy online. Marketers can embrace this online-to-offline migration by creating mobile solutions that combine virtual and physical experiences in a consumer-centric mashup. For instance, allow online browsers to create a mobile cart or shopping list, then forward it to a mobile device via SMS, or access a shopping list via a personalized mobile Web page or app. Shoppers can quickly reference product information, SKUs, pricing and store location information — all of which ensures a seamless and profitable cross-channel retail experience.

On-the-go shoppers are looking for information right now. They are ready to make a purchase decision right now. They simply crave convenience, direction and purchase confidence. Deliver these experiences in every mobile interaction and your shoppers will be grateful now, and this winter when it counts the most.

Bryce Marshall is the director of strategic services for marketing firm Knotice.

Excellent Example of Mobile Marketing Integration into a Multi-Channel Brand Campaign June 11, 2009

Posted by StrategicGrowth in mobile, Mobile Marketing, Strategic Growth Concepts.
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One of the best ways to utilize Mobile Marketing is to incorporate it into a multi-channel campaign strategized to maximize the brand’s exposure to its target audience.  Mobile Marketing is a cost-effective method of dramatically increasing consumer interaction with a brand as part of the overall campaign strategy. 

The following is an excellent example of a comprehensive campaign strategy which maximizes the effectiveness of Mobile Marketing as a way to enhance the overall effectiveness of the brand’s total campaign.  As you review, please note the integration of the various channels and the way each element of the campaign continues to “build” to encourage continued interaction with the brand.

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Oberto beef jerkey targets alpha-male demographic via mobile

By Dan Butcher; June 10, 2009

Oberto targets alpha-male demographic via mobileOberto beef jerky

Oberto Sausage Co. is promoting its beef jerky with a multichannel campaign that relies heavily on mobile to get its target demographic to interact with the brand.

The company developed a promotional platform for its Oberto Beef Jerky products, including in-store, on-pack and mobile elements, as well as a promotional Web site at http://www.ultimatealphazone.com. The site provides an interactive environment for the brand’s male target audience.

“Our target guy is regularly plugged into what’s happening in the world around him,” said Ryan Post, senior brand manager for Oberto, Kent, WA. “He uses mobile technology to maintain a healthy balance between family, friends, sports, exercise, culture and his career, getting the info he wants when he wants it.

“From checking his mail on his mobile phone when leaving the gym in the morning to looking up sports scores and texting his friends to find out where happy hour is, an ‘alpha’ manages his life on the go,” he said. “We saw mobile marketing as an integral part of our latest campaign because it connects to the daily lives of our customers.

“Plus, Oberto is all about having fun, so the ability to playfully taunt ‘sidekicks’ on the go is right in line with our campaign and a fun, engaging way to let guys know what we are all about.”

Oberto beef jerkey targets alpha-male demographic A mobile call-to-action on an Oberto Beef Jerky in-store display

The promotion allowed consumers to register for sweepstakes and send taunt calls via IVR and the Internet to their friends, calling them “sidekicks.”

The mobile two-way “Taunt Call” IVR campaign lets consumers send unapologetic claims to their friends, and “sidekicks” can send props or insults—“smacks”—back to their friends to continue the conversation.

Oberto’s in-store call-to-action at the point of sale reads “Text / Taunt / Win, text ‘Alpha’ to 433339 for a chance to win and taunt a friend.”

The point-of-sale includes shipper header displays and on-pack stickers with the mobile call-to-action.

The first sweepstakes offered prizes such as a Nintento Wii, an Apple iPod touch, an air hockey table, a Home Depot gift card and a Blu-Ray player.

A second sweepstakes is offering a branded leather chair, two cases of Oberto Beef Jerkey and gift cards from various retailers such as Fathead.com.

Oberto claims that it has received more than a quarter of a million sweepstakes entries to date, and many of those consumers opted in to the brand’s SMS database.

The beef jerky brand touts the Ultimate Alpha Zone promotional micro site at http://www.ultimatealphazone.com/index.html as a place where “guys can be guys.”

There is another Oberto campaign portal, created by another vendor, at http://www.eatlikeanalpha.com.

Throughout the year, “man room” elements will be added to the site for consumers to engage with to earn extra sweepstakes entries and build their “alpha” status for more digital rewards from the brand, such as ringtones and wallpapers.

Visitors can also set up a taunt call to a friend to send smack talk and spread the word about the promotion.

During the second phase of the promotion, Oberto launched a loyalty program “Order of the Alphas,” where consumers were encouraged to log in and register to increase their “Alpha” status for digital rewards and exclusive Oberto content.

Once the user becomes a loyalty member, their engagement activity is tracked and rewarded with loyalty points.

A rotating leader board on the home page highlights Oberto’s top alphas daily.

The loyalty program and Web site will be refreshed throughout the year to highlight a partner promotion, introduce new prizes and interactive features.

Oberto and its vendor developed an integrated campaign strategy by using mobile, online and in-store POS and on-pack stickers.

“To engage consumers with the brand, we built the Ultimate Alpha Zone, where visitors can experience the brand online, in-store and via their mobile device”.

“The campaign’s objectives are to increase consumer awareness of the Oberto brand and its Eat Like An Alpha campaign, drive increases in market share and drive sales velocity.”

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If you would like to learn more about Mobile Marketing and how it can help your business, visit our website for more information or contact us thru our website or via email at info@strategicgrowthconcepts.com.