September 28, 2006
Marketers Take A3 Approach
Marketers are looking to take their promotional programs and sales OTT (over the top) with ad campaigns delivered to individual cell phones using text messaging.
The medium and message delivery is a natural as it allows marketers to reach consumers A3 (anytime, anywhere, anyplace) on a platform that is increasingly being perceived as an essential tool for living by large segments of the American population.
Gerry Purdy, an analyst for Frost and Sullivan, is sold on cell phone text messaging as an advertising medium and he told The Associated Press product marketers and their agencies are only getting started.
“Probably the most important medium for advertising in the 21st century is going to be the cell phone, not print media, not billboards. It’s just a matter of time; there are just too many of them,” he said.
As cell phone use has increased, so has text messaging. Today, 95 million Americans are considered active text messengers, according to the Yankee Group.
Laura Marriott, executive director of the Mobile Marketing Association, said contests and sweepstakes consumers enter by sending a text message have been the most popular of cell phone promotional programs.
Companies such as McDonald’s, Burger King, Procter & Gamble, General Motors and CBS have all run programs where consumers could participate by sending a text message entry.
On Tuesday, an independent retailer in the Washington, D.C. area, Chevy Chase Supermarket, began offering shoppers a new service that sends them text message alerts through their mobile phones alerting them to special sales, store events, etc.
Kevin Kirsch of Chevy Chase Supermarket said in a press release, “Shoppers can now get instant savings without carrying a card, and receive just-in-time shopping information about new products, events, sales and promotions on their cell phones. And down the road we expect to add mobile payments to the mix as well.”
Discussion Question: What do you see as the potential for using the cell phone as a means to deliver marketers’ advertising and informational messages?
If consumers like the answer to the WIIFM (What’s in it for me?) question, then the approach will work. If it doesn’t, marketers will find consumers tuning
them out PDQ.
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Ben Ball is “on the ball” with his response! It is quite interesting that most of the other responses thus far are negative. It seems that only Ben was following his company’s motto of “Consumer Driven — Customer Focused.” In our free market economy, what is being thrust upon consumers that they are not choosing to accept? Anytime, anywhere, anyplace is not a marketer’s dream. It is a consumer’s reality… perhaps not for our generation but certainly for the next.
Despite the fact that text messaging is a more expensive option than placing a call due to cell phone providers bucket voice plans, it is rapidly being adopted by the 18-34 demographic. Why? They see value in using the service.
Several large multinational companies have adapted campaigns from abroad to North America. American Idol Season 5 relied heavily on text messaging to interact with their audience — about 40 million text messages were received by viewers. This is up from 7.5 million during American Idol 2. The American Idol viewer is growing up and will eventually become a target segment for “traditional” marketers. The Apprentice had an episode where the task was to develop a text messaging campaign for Gillette Fusion.
Privacy concerns? Is anyone a member of Orkut, Linkedin, MySpace etc? There is a tradeoff between keeping yourself isolated and sharing information so that you can receive MORE information. To address privacy and spam concerns, adherence to the Consumer Best Practices Guidelines for Cross-Carrier Mobile Content Services, published by the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) can be a requirement.
I have received shopping lists, phone numbers, local weather conditions and even driving directions via SMS. Sending opt-in advertising and other informational messages is a logical extension. Marketers would like to target customers more precisely than ads on television, online or in print.
Several examples include Virgin Mobile’s Sugar Mama service where Virgin Mobile customers get a free minute of airtime for every minute they spend watching ads, filling out surveys or answering questions via text message. The Army is using text messaging campaigns to get young recruits.
Potential applications:
– real-time customer feedback at movie theatres
– informal poll results during elections (warning – may be less accurate in Florida)
– ads that “wake up” and buzz you as you walk by
– restaurants can text lunch specials as you walk by
– grocers can send electronic coupons with bar codes that can be swiped by the cashier
– amber alerts for missing children
– excerpts from novels can be viewed and then ordered via SMS
I believe the consumer backlash to this new marketing initiative will be very strong. Think about how many ad messages you get on your land line when you go home, and multiply that many times over. How many consumers really want to be bombarded by cell ads throughout the day? There will be a strong reaction from the majority of cell phone users to “opt out” of cell advertising overwhelming their cell phones and smart cell service providers should be prepared on how to handle this customer service issue now, or fear losing cell customers who won’t tolerate mass marketing on their cell lines….
Here’s the facts for those who care:
Recruitment in these programs is voluntary. No spam here. These are people who want to participate in these programs. Second, every message has an “opt out” option and less than 1% opt out. In order to make this medium work, you need to understand the users.
Key factors for success:
– Targetability (consumer specific capability)
– Relevance (I want to participate, give me my deals)
– Immediacy (rainy day specials)
– Ease of use (no clipping or misredemption)
Let’s review this in 6 months…
Cell phone text messaging, like any new ad medium, has tremendous novelty at first, which enhances audience attention. As more advertisers adopt the medium, the clutter becomes overwhelming and productivity crashes. The first people to run TV infomercials, in the late 1940’s, reaped a fortune. The next 10,000 TV infomercial advertisers found high costs and minimal sales for the most part. The first few spammers got rich easily. Today’s spammers find it much tougher to make a profit. And when will the Do Not Call laws get extended to include text messaging?
As media proliferate (A3) there is a need for increasing understanding of its impact, for weal or woe. There are three stages to this impact.
1. Accurate measure of exposures. This refers to counting the number of people actually reached. In the present example, surely you don’t want to count all the messages that got automatically shunted to the trash bin, do you? Bear in mind that this is NOT an idle question, since those selling the media will want to include those in the count – it’s the bane of the media metrics business.
2. Accurate measure of the mental response of the target to the exposure. Did the media actually penetrate the brain? Simply being present in the fog of the environment (exposure) does not guarantee that an impression will occur. Exposures and impressions are NOT the same thing. The first is objective, the second is subjective.
3. Accurate measure of the consequences. Did additional sales occur (and at what rate relative to the exposures and impressions) and what are the accumulating consequences – better SPAM detection/elimination, disgust with the supplier of the media suppliers, etc.
This is a general paradigm, whether you are considering cell-phone media, TV, movies, in-store or any other media being woven into the consumers life.
So, on the one hand privacy fanatics like me who just do not give out their number to anyone less than essential and certainly not to any organisation that might possibly want to sell me anything, can avoid being targeted. On the other hand, all those cool people who love having tailored contacts and knowing everything there is to know all the time wherever they happen to be and whatever they happen to be doing, will just lap this up. Win win or what? Just one other question – do American cell phone providers still charge for receiving calls and text messages? This could be the deal breaker but even then I doubt it for the hip ones.
If you’ve seen recent television commercials from ATT touting a “three screen” media environment, you may be aware that marketers are looking for ways for their messages to follow consumers from the home screen (TV) to the work screen (PC) to the out of home screen (digital signs) to the screens in their pockets (cell phones, PDAs and iPods).
It’s the new marketing journey, from awareness to affect to activation. (My version of A3.)
As one of my intro to marketing students commented in class the other night, this seems a lot like “stalking.” She got a good laugh with that remark, but only because it rang true.
Integrated marketers, be warned: You can wear out your good will if you handle this wrong. Don’t make your prospects fear and resent your brand. And for goodness sake, don’t try to make me pay the cell phone company for receipt of your ad messages.
Although it is true that we get bombarded with internet advertising, telemarketing and spam, the next generation and the generation after that, are clearly using the cell phone as one of their primary entertainment vehicles. I believe that the generation of 16 – 30 year olds will take to this form of targeted advertising and will manage it to their liking/desires. They process these rapid messages and respond or disregard, faster than the over 30 consumer. This is the text messaging, picture sharing, music downloading, phone customizing consumer and their phone is our TV.
The cell phone, as an advertising vehicle for the over 30 generation will not be as strong, as the cell phone has a different usage pattern for these consumers. They see the phone as a tool for life simplification versus entertainment.
My first impression…”I hate this idea almost as much as I hate it when I get the messages. “
My second impression…”My kids probably think this is really cool.”
Conclusion…Adoption will be largely generational. The advertiser’s biggest worry is that the generation making the anti-spam laws right now is the one that will hate them. They may well get legislated out of business before they get started.
The key here is how we use this new media…will we take the “Find and Sell Me” approach of the past 75 years of marketing or evolve it to the “Know and Help Me” approach? If we are putting together helpful, valuable messaging that people want and control, they will embrace it. If we take advantage of them and bombard them with more clutter that they have to screen out, we will put them off. It’s that simple.
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Ben Ball is “on the ball” with his response! It is quite interesting that most of the other responses thus far are negative. It seems that only Ben was following his company’s motto of “Consumer Driven — Customer Focused.” In our free market economy, what is being thrust upon consumers that they are not choosing to accept? Anytime, anywhere, anyplace is not a marketer’s dream. It is a consumer’s reality… perhaps not for our generation but certainly for the next.
Despite the fact that text messaging is a more expensive option than placing a call due to cell phone providers bucket voice plans, it is rapidly being adopted by the 18-34 demographic. Why? They see value in using the service.
Several large multinational companies have adapted campaigns from abroad to North America. American Idol Season 5 relied heavily on text messaging to interact with their audience — about 40 million text messages were received by viewers. This is up from 7.5 million during American Idol 2. The American Idol viewer is growing up and will eventually become a target segment for “traditional” marketers. The Apprentice had an episode where the task was to develop a text messaging campaign for Gillette Fusion.
Privacy concerns? Is anyone a member of Orkut, Linkedin, MySpace etc? There is a tradeoff between keeping yourself isolated and sharing information so that you can receive MORE information. To address privacy and spam concerns, adherence to the Consumer Best Practices Guidelines for Cross-Carrier Mobile Content Services, published by the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) can be a requirement.
I have received shopping lists, phone numbers, local weather conditions and even driving directions via SMS. Sending opt-in advertising and other informational messages is a logical extension. Marketers would like to target customers more precisely than ads on television, online or in print.
Several examples include Virgin Mobile’s Sugar Mama service where Virgin Mobile customers get a free minute of airtime for every minute they spend watching ads, filling out surveys or answering questions via text message. The Army is using text messaging campaigns to get young recruits.
Potential applications:
– real-time customer feedback at movie theatres
– informal poll results during elections (warning – may be less accurate in Florida)
– ads that “wake up” and buzz you as you walk by
– restaurants can text lunch specials as you walk by
– grocers can send electronic coupons with bar codes that can be swiped by the cashier
– amber alerts for missing children
– excerpts from novels can be viewed and then ordered via SMS
I believe the consumer backlash to this new marketing initiative will be very strong. Think about how many ad messages you get on your land line when you go home, and multiply that many times over. How many consumers really want to be bombarded by cell ads throughout the day? There will be a strong reaction from the majority of cell phone users to “opt out” of cell advertising overwhelming their cell phones and smart cell service providers should be prepared on how to handle this customer service issue now, or fear losing cell customers who won’t tolerate mass marketing on their cell lines….
Here’s the facts for those who care:
Recruitment in these programs is voluntary. No spam here. These are people who want to participate in these programs. Second, every message has an “opt out” option and less than 1% opt out. In order to make this medium work, you need to understand the users.
Key factors for success:
– Targetability (consumer specific capability)
– Relevance (I want to participate, give me my deals)
– Immediacy (rainy day specials)
– Ease of use (no clipping or misredemption)
Let’s review this in 6 months…
Cell phone text messaging, like any new ad medium, has tremendous novelty at first, which enhances audience attention. As more advertisers adopt the medium, the clutter becomes overwhelming and productivity crashes. The first people to run TV infomercials, in the late 1940’s, reaped a fortune. The next 10,000 TV infomercial advertisers found high costs and minimal sales for the most part. The first few spammers got rich easily. Today’s spammers find it much tougher to make a profit. And when will the Do Not Call laws get extended to include text messaging?
As media proliferate (A3) there is a need for increasing understanding of its impact, for weal or woe. There are three stages to this impact.
1. Accurate measure of exposures. This refers to counting the number of people actually reached. In the present example, surely you don’t want to count all the messages that got automatically shunted to the trash bin, do you? Bear in mind that this is NOT an idle question, since those selling the media will want to include those in the count – it’s the bane of the media metrics business.
2. Accurate measure of the mental response of the target to the exposure. Did the media actually penetrate the brain? Simply being present in the fog of the environment (exposure) does not guarantee that an impression will occur. Exposures and impressions are NOT the same thing. The first is objective, the second is subjective.
3. Accurate measure of the consequences. Did additional sales occur (and at what rate relative to the exposures and impressions) and what are the accumulating consequences – better SPAM detection/elimination, disgust with the supplier of the media suppliers, etc.
This is a general paradigm, whether you are considering cell-phone media, TV, movies, in-store or any other media being woven into the consumers life.
So, on the one hand privacy fanatics like me who just do not give out their number to anyone less than essential and certainly not to any organisation that might possibly want to sell me anything, can avoid being targeted. On the other hand, all those cool people who love having tailored contacts and knowing everything there is to know all the time wherever they happen to be and whatever they happen to be doing, will just lap this up. Win win or what? Just one other question – do American cell phone providers still charge for receiving calls and text messages? This could be the deal breaker but even then I doubt it for the hip ones.
If you’ve seen recent television commercials from ATT touting a “three screen” media environment, you may be aware that marketers are looking for ways for their messages to follow consumers from the home screen (TV) to the work screen (PC) to the out of home screen (digital signs) to the screens in their pockets (cell phones, PDAs and iPods).
It’s the new marketing journey, from awareness to affect to activation. (My version of A3.)
As one of my intro to marketing students commented in class the other night, this seems a lot like “stalking.” She got a good laugh with that remark, but only because it rang true.
Integrated marketers, be warned: You can wear out your good will if you handle this wrong. Don’t make your prospects fear and resent your brand. And for goodness sake, don’t try to make me pay the cell phone company for receipt of your ad messages.
Although it is true that we get bombarded with internet advertising, telemarketing and spam, the next generation and the generation after that, are clearly using the cell phone as one of their primary entertainment vehicles. I believe that the generation of 16 – 30 year olds will take to this form of targeted advertising and will manage it to their liking/desires. They process these rapid messages and respond or disregard, faster than the over 30 consumer. This is the text messaging, picture sharing, music downloading, phone customizing consumer and their phone is our TV.
The cell phone, as an advertising vehicle for the over 30 generation will not be as strong, as the cell phone has a different usage pattern for these consumers. They see the phone as a tool for life simplification versus entertainment.
My first impression…”I hate this idea almost as much as I hate it when I get the messages. “
My second impression…”My kids probably think this is really cool.”
Conclusion…Adoption will be largely generational. The advertiser’s biggest worry is that the generation making the anti-spam laws right now is the one that will hate them. They may well get legislated out of business before they get started.
The key here is how we use this new media…will we take the “Find and Sell Me” approach of the past 75 years of marketing or evolve it to the “Know and Help Me” approach? If we are putting together helpful, valuable messaging that people want and control, they will embrace it. If we take advantage of them and bombard them with more clutter that they have to screen out, we will put them off. It’s that simple.