MOBILE MARKETING: MESSAGE ON THE MOVE

Marketing Direct 05-Nov-07

More engaging and appealing mobile technologies could threaten to usurp SMS as a response mechanism, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. David Murphy reports.

While most of the noise in the digital direct space in recent years has been focused on email, there has been another quiet revolution taking place. Look at ads in print, outdoor, on TV and on direct mail pieces, and you can't fail to notice the growing use of SMS (short message service) shortcodes as a response mechanism.

SMS is familiar to consumers and easy to use. For these reasons, more brands have brought it in to their direct marketing armoury over the past 18 months, particularly as a response mechanism. But as SMS starts to establish itself in the DM arena, its position is being challenged by new mobile technologies, which promise to make mobile more appealing to direct marketers as a response mechanism.

Last year, ethical water company One distributed five million bottles of its water with packaging containing a 'qode' mobile barcode developed by US firm Neomedia Technologies. When the barcode was photographed with a cameraphone equipped with the qode application, it loaded a mobile internet page with information about the brand on the mobile phone.

CONSUMER AWARENESS

The film industry is also harnessing these new technologies. When Mr Bean's Holiday was released in March, the film was promoted using 'Snap Happy' visual recognition technology from marketing agency Magnet Harlequin. Consumers who saw a Mr Bean poster with the Snap Happy logo, could take a picture of the poster using their mobile and send it as a picture message to a dedicated number. The Snap Happy technology, which does not require an application to be downloaded to the phone, automatically identified the type of handset the consumer had and offered them free Mr Bean ringtones, wallpapers and video clips.

It's early days for these applications to be adopted by the DM industry, however, and there are few signs that these features are being used for any kind of relationship building. In this respect, it appears that SMS still reigns supreme. Mobile marketing agency Incentivated runs many SMS-based relationship marketing campaigns for customers ranging from health clubs to airlines. The service it operates for British Airways, for example, sends customers a text to let them know if their flight is delayed or cancelled, so that they don't waste time hanging round the airport. According to Incentivated commercial director Robert Thurner, SMS's popularity comes down to levels of consumer awareness.

"Of those responding to shortcodes on a regular basis, 30 per cent do so because they understand what they are," says Thurner. "It's a quick, reliable and proven response path, and by using different shortcodes and keywords in different media and channels, mobile makes traditional media fully accountable. By using a different keyword in each paper, they can see which one is performing best."

Incentivated is also using SMS to boost response rates from direct mail campaigns. A 300,000 mailer campaign for Mars' Pedigree Complete for Small Dogs brand offered three money-off coupons, redeemable over a three-month period. As an added incentive to respond, recipients were offered the chance to text to win a year's supply of dog food and one of three digital cameras. During the first four weeks of the campaign, 6,655 unique texts were received, representing 2.2 per cent of those sent the mailing piece. Customers who texted in to the competition were 4.6 times more likely to redeem the vouchers included in the mailer than those who didn't.

Reach is another factor in SMS's favour. Tim Carrigan, chief executive of mobile response specialist Ad.IQ, says that for activity such as the Government's 'Stop Smoking' campaign, where there is a remit to reach as many people as possible, SMS has been one medium of choice.

"If you are trying to attract hard-to-target, lower socio-economic groups, SMS makes a lot more sense because it is the most widely adopted technology," says Carrigan. "We are fairly sceptical about some of these newer mobile technologies because we can't see that they are addressing a real problem."

Nick Gillett, managing director at Tangent Labs, says the fact that SMS is the "lowest-common denominator" of mobile marketing should be seen as a positive, rather than a negative. He believes that barcode technologies present a technical problem, in that people need to download the software, or it needs to be present on the handset, which, in few exceptions, is not the case. He adds that the need to download the application means that only a small number of people will do it.

AN ENGAGING EXPERIENCE

This may be partly a question of time. Eighteen months from now, barcode readers may be as common on a mobile phone as a camera is today. Even so, some believe that when SMS is usurped, it will be by something much less glamorous.

"The biggest threat to SMS is Instant Messaging (IM) on the phone," says Douglas McDonald, client services director at mobile agency Sponge, which was behind a Walkers Crisps 'text & win' campaign in 2005. "If you're running a text & win campaign, a massive proportion of the cost is in the sending of the SMS messages. If you can do that via IM, the costs go away and you would achieve the same end."

In the meantime, perhaps not surprisingly, brands that need to be seen at the cutting edge of mobile technology are pressing ahead anyway. Mobile agency Enpocket, which was recently acquired by Nokia, has been running a picture messaging campaign for Vodafone based on its sponsorship of the McLaren F1 team. Posters showed a picture of Lewis Hamilton and four smaller photos of children. Consumers had to choose which of the pictures showed Lewis as a child, snap it with their cameraphone and send their choice in to Vodafone for a chance to win tickets to a Grand Prix.

"It's a much more engaging experience than sending an SMS," says Enpocket client services director Rebecca Jones. "It's not surprising that the operators and handset makers should be keen to embrace these new response mechanisms, and other brands will come on board in time."

Sony also used mobile image recognition technology to promote the PSP game, Gangs of London, last year. 20:20 London put together a complex campaign for the launch, involving email, mobile, press and outdoor advertising. The mobile element centred on 'gang' logos, which were featured on print and billboard ads. When these were photographed with a cameraphone, a clue was sent back to the handset to help the consumer solve the mystery of a missing diamond. 20:20 creative partner Peter Riley says the agency will definitely use the technology again.

"We have another brand looking at it right now," he says. "If I was a consumer, this is just the sort of campaign I would like to get involved in, so it was no surprise to us how well it went down."

Mobile could soon be on many more advertisers' radar. In the meantime, some in the industry are calling for a sense of perspective. "The mistake people make is trying to overblow its significance," says Paul Berney, managing director of Response Mobile, a marketing agency. "Mobile is there to extend and enhance what other channels can do."

It seems that the key to making a success of any "new" channel, is to use it seamlessly with the old ones and let the consumer decide which one is for them.

POWER POINTS

- Mobile barcodes and image recognition technology are slowly coming to the fore.

- Mobile should be used in conjunction with other channels.

- The biggest threat to SMS is Instant Messaging.

CLIENT QUIZ

The future of mobile as a direct channel

FRANCES DOVEY, INTERACTIVE AND EMERGING MEDIA MANAGER, CADBURY

- Have you used mobile as a DM channel?

Cadbury was one of the first companies to use the text mechanic for a 'Txt 4 Gold' promotion during the Commonwealth Games in 2002. We also used the text mechanic earlier this year as one element within the Cadbury Creme Egg campaign. Consumers could text certain keywords, which were advertised on outdoor posters, the website and postcards, to download a game to their mobile phones.

- Is its use likely to increase?

We believe we should offer our consumers as many ways to interact with our brands as possible. Mobile is just one way to do this. In a world where we all expect immediate access to and response from information, mobile can deliver this, enabling consumers to interact wherever they are. We're also always looking at new technology that can improve communications.

MARK HOWES, MANAGING DIRECTOR, AXA DIRECT

- Have you used mobile as a DM channel?

We are not currently using mobile at all in direct response terms. Where we have used it, however, is around the claims process, on the service side, to keep customers informed on the progress of home and motor insurance claims. This is where we see the opportunity in the short term, as much depends on how rapidly the technology is adopted by the consumer.

- Is its use likely to increase?

Some people talk about mobile as a bridge between the offline and online worlds, allowing consumers to respond to an ad via SMS when they are away from their PC, but we have not used mobile in this way yet. Much comes down to the profile of your customers, and ours are only just getting used to online. They don't tend to be early adopters.

HARRY SPELLER, WEB ANALYTICS MANAGER, VISITBRITAIN

- Have you used mobile as a DM channel?

It is difficult to justify spending on mobile because of our international coverage. Each country has different levels of mobile usage, so while using mobile would make sense with savvy users in Japan or South Korea where mobiles are an important aspect of daily life, it becomes difficult to use mobile as a medium in other regions that are not as advanced.

- Is its use likely to increase?

This will no doubt change in the next few years. Phones such as the Nokia N95 and the Apple iPhone will change the dynamics of phone usage. We're seeing trials of various technologies such as 2D barcodes and geo-location systems in the UK and these will only grow in popularity. Once critical mass has been achieved in terms of these technologies, we will get involved.