In a bold (and overdue) move by Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch Wealth Management division, they have decided to target well-heeled baby boomers via SMS text marketing. Advertising agency Hill, Holiday, Boston commented that the $20 million television campaign takes aim at the new concerns of these investors.
Hill, Holiday believes the recession as changed the view of the future for many and Merrill Lynch is embracing it as an opportunity to reconnect. As strong reconnection tool, Merrill is taking a fresh approach with the implementation of mobile marketing.
This is especially great because it is often thought by many business owners that mobile marketing, specifically SMS text marketing, is a teeny-bopper fad (although they themselves text daily). We see many of our clients have tremendous success targeting the 45+ crowd via mobile, whether it be through Bulk SMS, a mobile website, or even mobile application.
Brandweek wrote a great article about this important advertising strategy. The campaign will undoubtedly make an impact in the financial market and will be yet another example of the immense demographic-shattering strength of the mobile phone and mobile marketing.
To read the entire Brandweek article, click here.
To see the full product offerings of Ballyhoo Mobile, click here.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Mobile Giving: Being charitable in a mobile world.
Many mobile industry insiders and novices alike were stunned at the $20 million and counting that has been donated via text for Haitian earthquake relief, marking the largest outpouring of support via mobile device in history, and that’s just to The Red Cross.
The Red Cross is just one of the many legitimate charities that Americans can donate to aid Haiti in its time of need, most of which are offering mobile giving campaigns. Among them are UNICEF, the Clinton/ Bush Haiti Fund, the Salvation Army and the Yele Fund (founded by singer Wyclef Jean).
This burst of assistance via text has aid organizations suddenly very aware of the potential power of mobile giving. It is beginning to be seen as a practical way to reach donors quickly. More importantly, it has made donating to your favorite charity virtually hassle-free, letting people forgo the often timely operation of donating through a hotline or even the web.
This influx in generosity via cell phone has changed the way charities have traditionally viewed texting. Texting in the past has been used as a secondary strategy for non-profits rather than an actual channel like television, phone calls, letters and emails.
Jim Manis, CEO of Mobile Giving said that charities are being educated on how to integrate mobile into their broader donor marketing strategy, with more non-profits learning the value of cross platform integration, in other words integrating mobile giving with television, the internet and print.
The genius of mobile giving lies in the one area that was seen as a drawback to mobile giving in the eyes of most non-profits, the allowance of only micro donations via text.
In this particular economy, The allowance of only micro-donations allows many people who would never think of donating a way to quantify the amount of money they would be donating; the cost of one latte, the cost of one value meal at their favorite fast food joints, etc.
Whatever it is that made people have decide to forgo for just one day in order to donate through texting, it is it has led to record donations and non-profits no doubt are going to upgrade mobile giving from strategic afterthought to viable channel in receiving donations.
The Red Cross is just one of the many legitimate charities that Americans can donate to aid Haiti in its time of need, most of which are offering mobile giving campaigns. Among them are UNICEF, the Clinton/ Bush Haiti Fund, the Salvation Army and the Yele Fund (founded by singer Wyclef Jean).
This burst of assistance via text has aid organizations suddenly very aware of the potential power of mobile giving. It is beginning to be seen as a practical way to reach donors quickly. More importantly, it has made donating to your favorite charity virtually hassle-free, letting people forgo the often timely operation of donating through a hotline or even the web.
This influx in generosity via cell phone has changed the way charities have traditionally viewed texting. Texting in the past has been used as a secondary strategy for non-profits rather than an actual channel like television, phone calls, letters and emails.
Jim Manis, CEO of Mobile Giving said that charities are being educated on how to integrate mobile into their broader donor marketing strategy, with more non-profits learning the value of cross platform integration, in other words integrating mobile giving with television, the internet and print.
The genius of mobile giving lies in the one area that was seen as a drawback to mobile giving in the eyes of most non-profits, the allowance of only micro donations via text.
In this particular economy, The allowance of only micro-donations allows many people who would never think of donating a way to quantify the amount of money they would be donating; the cost of one latte, the cost of one value meal at their favorite fast food joints, etc.
Whatever it is that made people have decide to forgo for just one day in order to donate through texting, it is it has led to record donations and non-profits no doubt are going to upgrade mobile giving from strategic afterthought to viable channel in receiving donations.
SMS case study - Nimnicht Family of Dealerships By Giselle Tsirulnik
January 27, 2010
Name and city and state of marketer
Nimnicht at The Avenues, Jacksonville, FL
Name and city and state of agency or marketing services firm
Ballyhoo Mobile Marketing Inc., Jacksonville, FL
Campaign/program name
SMS Leveraging of Traditional Mediums and Double Opt-in
Duration
Eight weeks
Common short code and keywords used
GMC to 72239, AVENUES to 72239, CHEVY to 72239
Objective(s)
1. Utilize targeted keywords on multiple radio stations to gauge ROI
2. Build a large mobile database for service specials, event pushes
3. Utilize double opt-in campaigns to generate warm leads and thus earn sales
Target audience
Adults ages 18-40 who are open to a new/used vehicle purchase
Strategy
Utilize text-to-win opportunities that fit the car brand on local radio. Examples during the promotional period include:
- A text to win Taylor Swift ticket giveaway to target potential Pontiac buyers on a top rated CHR station
- A text to win GMC Sierra on a local country station
- A text to win Pro Bowl tickets on a local talk radio station
Call to action
Text to Win tags were added to current radio spots.
Tactics
Energetic radio commercials were recorded, which listed the keyword and short code a minimum of two times per ad.
After a significant database was built, an offer was pushed that was valuable only to those people genuinely open to purchasing a new or used vehicle.
These people were then considered tangible leads for the dealership; each was called and personally invited in for a test drive.
Results
The dealership generated 4,000 mobile opt-ins. After the double opt-in request, the program created 370 workable leads (9.25 percent).
In addition, because of the targeted use of keywords and planned promotions, Nimnicht dealer group was able to effectively gauge dollars spent on radio, thus allowing them to plan their marketing more efficiently.
What next
The dealership has now begun to include mobile in its newspaper ads so customers can instantly search their inventory in more depth.
Ballyhoo Mobile Marketing created a template in the software so the dealership can update this weekly with ease.
Additionally, the dealership is utilizing mobile at their upcoming auto show to stand out from other show participants and capture leads.
Lessons learned
The more broad a giveaway’s reach, the more filtering has to be done.
Surprise finding
When the value of 370 double opt-in participants specifically interested in the purchase of a new car was analyzed, the ROI for the campaign (even when combined with radio dollars spent) was extremely high.
Executive’s name, title and company for response attribution
David Nies, CEO of Ballyhoo Mobile Marketing Inc.
Strategy quote from brand executive
“The Nimnicht Family of Dealerships wanted to use mobile to grow a database and reach our customers in the way they communicate," said Lauren Dozier, director of marketing and advertising, Nimnicht Family of Dealerships.
"Utilizing mobile has allowed us to build a stronger and deeper brand relationship with potential new customers," he said. "As an added bonus, we were able to analyze the strength of our radio partners by judging the mobile response, which has helped us plan our marketing more efficiently.”
What challenge did mobile address quote
“Mobile addressed several challenges for us," Ms Dozier said. "First, simple SMS helped us build a one-to-one relationship with both current and new customers.
It allowed us to communicate with them and actively drive sales," she said. "Second, mobile helped us stand out from surrounding dealers; our advertisements stood out, had fresh call-toaction
statements, and generated immediate tangible leads.
Finally, mobile has helped us monitor our advertising and measure each ad’s effectiveness."
Senior Editor Giselle Tsirulnik covers advertising, video, messaging, search, commerce and video. Reach her at giselle@mobilemarketer.com.
Name and city and state of marketer
Nimnicht at The Avenues, Jacksonville, FL
Name and city and state of agency or marketing services firm
Ballyhoo Mobile Marketing Inc., Jacksonville, FL
Campaign/program name
SMS Leveraging of Traditional Mediums and Double Opt-in
Duration
Eight weeks
Common short code and keywords used
GMC to 72239, AVENUES to 72239, CHEVY to 72239
Objective(s)
1. Utilize targeted keywords on multiple radio stations to gauge ROI
2. Build a large mobile database for service specials, event pushes
3. Utilize double opt-in campaigns to generate warm leads and thus earn sales
Target audience
Adults ages 18-40 who are open to a new/used vehicle purchase
Strategy
Utilize text-to-win opportunities that fit the car brand on local radio. Examples during the promotional period include:
- A text to win Taylor Swift ticket giveaway to target potential Pontiac buyers on a top rated CHR station
- A text to win GMC Sierra on a local country station
- A text to win Pro Bowl tickets on a local talk radio station
Call to action
Text to Win tags were added to current radio spots.
Tactics
Energetic radio commercials were recorded, which listed the keyword and short code a minimum of two times per ad.
After a significant database was built, an offer was pushed that was valuable only to those people genuinely open to purchasing a new or used vehicle.
These people were then considered tangible leads for the dealership; each was called and personally invited in for a test drive.
Results
The dealership generated 4,000 mobile opt-ins. After the double opt-in request, the program created 370 workable leads (9.25 percent).
In addition, because of the targeted use of keywords and planned promotions, Nimnicht dealer group was able to effectively gauge dollars spent on radio, thus allowing them to plan their marketing more efficiently.
What next
The dealership has now begun to include mobile in its newspaper ads so customers can instantly search their inventory in more depth.
Ballyhoo Mobile Marketing created a template in the software so the dealership can update this weekly with ease.
Additionally, the dealership is utilizing mobile at their upcoming auto show to stand out from other show participants and capture leads.
Lessons learned
The more broad a giveaway’s reach, the more filtering has to be done.
Surprise finding
When the value of 370 double opt-in participants specifically interested in the purchase of a new car was analyzed, the ROI for the campaign (even when combined with radio dollars spent) was extremely high.
Executive’s name, title and company for response attribution
David Nies, CEO of Ballyhoo Mobile Marketing Inc.
Strategy quote from brand executive
“The Nimnicht Family of Dealerships wanted to use mobile to grow a database and reach our customers in the way they communicate," said Lauren Dozier, director of marketing and advertising, Nimnicht Family of Dealerships.
"Utilizing mobile has allowed us to build a stronger and deeper brand relationship with potential new customers," he said. "As an added bonus, we were able to analyze the strength of our radio partners by judging the mobile response, which has helped us plan our marketing more efficiently.”
What challenge did mobile address quote
“Mobile addressed several challenges for us," Ms Dozier said. "First, simple SMS helped us build a one-to-one relationship with both current and new customers.
It allowed us to communicate with them and actively drive sales," she said. "Second, mobile helped us stand out from surrounding dealers; our advertisements stood out, had fresh call-toaction
statements, and generated immediate tangible leads.
Finally, mobile has helped us monitor our advertising and measure each ad’s effectiveness."
Senior Editor Giselle Tsirulnik covers advertising, video, messaging, search, commerce and video. Reach her at giselle@mobilemarketer.com.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
1 Billion. The number of mobile devices that will be accessing the mobile internet by 2013.
SMS marketing is still king. Not every mobile device can access the mobile internet. In fact, not even close to half of all mobile devices can access the internet. Those who are accessing are worth reaching and those who are not accessing still cannot be missed. This may be the most interesting thing about the mobile industry. And, fortunately, there is great news!
SMS and mobile internet actually compliment each other. Unlike most advertising mediums, both SMS and mobile internet are very affordable, work together seamlessly, embrace 99% of your customers, and can often be handled effortlessly by one mobile company. Only one downside: if you’re not on board yet, you’re late.
Shoppers using the mobile web are big spenders and/or frequent spenders. They are early adopters. Basically, they are customers you love to have. In order to get them, you must cater to them.
Luckily, it’s easy and inexpensive. Find a reputable company to build you a mobile website (not a company that builds PC websites). Put what your customers most want while they are on the go, and you’re already ahead of the competition. The mobile web is affordable, fast, and effective.
Now, how about those hundreds of millions of people using mobile devices but not using the mobile web? They are your customers, also, and their numbers are massive! Thankfully, catering to them is also easy with bulk SMS. Implement SMS marketing and watch them thank you for talking on their terms by spending money with you.
With that many people not using the mobile web yet, shouldn’t you just wait to build a mobile website? Nope! As people gradually (seemingly overnight) make their way on the mobile web, they expect you to be there. You have to beat them there, not follow them. Perception is the consumer’s reality; if they look for you and you are not visible, you are perceived as being irrelevant.
Next steps are simple: contact the owners of Ballyhoo Mobile Marketing at www.BallyhooMobile.com. We will listen to your goals. We’ll then give you a fast, free mobile marketing overview, a custom proposal to fit your needs, and put the ball in your court. Honest, professional work with amazing results.
*headline quote source: IDC, 2010
SMS and mobile internet actually compliment each other. Unlike most advertising mediums, both SMS and mobile internet are very affordable, work together seamlessly, embrace 99% of your customers, and can often be handled effortlessly by one mobile company. Only one downside: if you’re not on board yet, you’re late.
Shoppers using the mobile web are big spenders and/or frequent spenders. They are early adopters. Basically, they are customers you love to have. In order to get them, you must cater to them.
Luckily, it’s easy and inexpensive. Find a reputable company to build you a mobile website (not a company that builds PC websites). Put what your customers most want while they are on the go, and you’re already ahead of the competition. The mobile web is affordable, fast, and effective.
Now, how about those hundreds of millions of people using mobile devices but not using the mobile web? They are your customers, also, and their numbers are massive! Thankfully, catering to them is also easy with bulk SMS. Implement SMS marketing and watch them thank you for talking on their terms by spending money with you.
With that many people not using the mobile web yet, shouldn’t you just wait to build a mobile website? Nope! As people gradually (seemingly overnight) make their way on the mobile web, they expect you to be there. You have to beat them there, not follow them. Perception is the consumer’s reality; if they look for you and you are not visible, you are perceived as being irrelevant.
Next steps are simple: contact the owners of Ballyhoo Mobile Marketing at www.BallyhooMobile.com. We will listen to your goals. We’ll then give you a fast, free mobile marketing overview, a custom proposal to fit your needs, and put the ball in your court. Honest, professional work with amazing results.
*headline quote source: IDC, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
SMS and Mobile Service Revenue Expected to Exceed $1 Trillion by 2013
According to Informa Telecoms & Media, data service will also make up for $330 billion that year. We can tell from numbers like this that mobile is not going away and mobile marketing is still in its relative infancy. Mobile marketing, bulk SMS, etc. has a lot of room to grow and is moving full speed ahead!
We often see marketers hesitant to give mobile a full consideration because, believe it or not, their competitor isn’t doing it. Marketers, especially business owners, will never admit it but they stay in a tight pack with their competitors and once 55% of businesses begin mobile initiatives we will see it spike to 85% or 90%. This is because they then feel the “safety in numbers” which they, again, will stop short of admitting.
The business owners and marketers we see leading the pack in mobile adoption are also leading the pack in consumer loyalty, brand loyalty, and new revenue sales in a down economy. Normally being a bold, fresh, and gutsy business owner takes a significant investment…not with mobile marketing! Mobile marketing pricing is so affordable it is astonishing. We have customers that spend only a few hundred dollars per month and generate ten times that in revenue!
Whether you are utilizing a Text to Win or Text to Vote campaign or conducting a Mobile Survey, you will see incredible power with SMS marketing. To see mobile marketing success stories, mobile marketing case studies, and mobile marketing pricing, visit the Ballyhoo Mobile website. Then call us and we can tell you exactly what a custom plan for you will cost!
We often see marketers hesitant to give mobile a full consideration because, believe it or not, their competitor isn’t doing it. Marketers, especially business owners, will never admit it but they stay in a tight pack with their competitors and once 55% of businesses begin mobile initiatives we will see it spike to 85% or 90%. This is because they then feel the “safety in numbers” which they, again, will stop short of admitting.
The business owners and marketers we see leading the pack in mobile adoption are also leading the pack in consumer loyalty, brand loyalty, and new revenue sales in a down economy. Normally being a bold, fresh, and gutsy business owner takes a significant investment…not with mobile marketing! Mobile marketing pricing is so affordable it is astonishing. We have customers that spend only a few hundred dollars per month and generate ten times that in revenue!
Whether you are utilizing a Text to Win or Text to Vote campaign or conducting a Mobile Survey, you will see incredible power with SMS marketing. To see mobile marketing success stories, mobile marketing case studies, and mobile marketing pricing, visit the Ballyhoo Mobile website. Then call us and we can tell you exactly what a custom plan for you will cost!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
M-Commerce and Smartphone Shopping: What is being searched and where is money being spent?
According to Q3 2009 figures from Compete (www.compete.com), 2010 is the year we will see huge m-commerce growth. Almost two-fifths of smartphone owners report having purchased something nonmobile over their phone in the last six months. The three most common activities on the mobile web relating to m-commerce are looking up shipping information, looking up store locations or hours, and product reviews, respectively. As supported by the rank of these activities, it is found the most common shopping-related smartphone activities are research-based.
Every time we receive data concerning mobile internet usage and m-commerce, we see an increase in both. Just like the traditional internet, we also see most marketers and business owners monitoring use to see if mobile web investment is wise. Mobile phones are not going away and neither is their connection to the web. And as the resolution on mobile screens improves, bandwidths increase, and capabilities expand we will see mobile web use accelerate rapidly. We will additionally see m-commerce grow both in the number purchases made and in the dollar value of these individual purchases. As a marketer or business owner, it is important to start investing in mobile websites and m-commerce now. And it can be done inexpensively! The best steps to take initially are to build a mobile website with the pages people search for while on the go, such as directions, hours, contact information, and product offerings/reviews. One thing to avoid is simply altering your PC website to look “okay” on a mobile handset. It is affordable and much better strategy to build a mobile website from the ground up; it will look better, be easier to navigate, and provide a much better experience for your customers.
Email the owners of Ballyhoo Mobile to see how easily and affordably you can build a mobile website for your company. We can give you a full report and estimate in one day. Email: sales@ballyhoomobile.com Website: www.ballyhoomobile.com
Every time we receive data concerning mobile internet usage and m-commerce, we see an increase in both. Just like the traditional internet, we also see most marketers and business owners monitoring use to see if mobile web investment is wise. Mobile phones are not going away and neither is their connection to the web. And as the resolution on mobile screens improves, bandwidths increase, and capabilities expand we will see mobile web use accelerate rapidly. We will additionally see m-commerce grow both in the number purchases made and in the dollar value of these individual purchases. As a marketer or business owner, it is important to start investing in mobile websites and m-commerce now. And it can be done inexpensively! The best steps to take initially are to build a mobile website with the pages people search for while on the go, such as directions, hours, contact information, and product offerings/reviews. One thing to avoid is simply altering your PC website to look “okay” on a mobile handset. It is affordable and much better strategy to build a mobile website from the ground up; it will look better, be easier to navigate, and provide a much better experience for your customers.
Email the owners of Ballyhoo Mobile to see how easily and affordably you can build a mobile website for your company. We can give you a full report and estimate in one day. Email: sales@ballyhoomobile.com Website: www.ballyhoomobile.com
Social Network Marketing Growth Through Use, Not Just Display Ads
As you know, sometimes in business the most common practices are not the best. A September 2009 study performed by MarketingProfs found that to be true regarding both B2B and B2C uses of social network marketing.
Facebook marketing: The most common tactic used in both B2B and B2C marketing was attempting to drive traffic to corporate materials through status updates and friending customers. Popularity does not equal effectiveness.
The most effective method for consumer-oriented companies was creating a Facebook application. And yet less than one-quarter of respondents attempted this. The second most effective approach did turn out to be friending, followed by creating a survey for customers. And the least effective type of social media marketing? You guessed it: buying ads. People on social networking websites are not interested in advertising being shoved on them; the reason for social networking site success and growth is that they feel so pure and organic, so genuinely safe for friends to connect. Ads detract from that feeling.
Twitter marketing: Twitter has become an interesting tool for marketers to talk to other marketers. Often times, we see marketers flapping their gums, assuming people are listening just dying to spend money with the company who sends the cleverest tweet. Not the case. However, the most effective brand use of Twitter has been to monitor PR problems and negative comments made about the brand. The report also showed that driving sales was the least effective use of Twitter marketing.
Some ways we have seen success social network marketing: User-generated content! User-generated content is so powerful because it is essentially word-of-mouth advertising; the only trick is spurring it. One great way is to excel the sharing of views, comments, etc is to create a topic that is engaging and meaningful to fans of your page or customers with whom you have connected. Another great way is to tie your brand in with a charity. After this genuine tie-in, you can invite people to join, ask them to blog about what the charity means to them, and what they think your company can help with next…help them become more loyal. Write us…we’ve got tons of social network marketing strategies that work!
Monday, January 11, 2010
How To Use Mobile Marketing - As a marketer, it is simple and cheap to work with a mobile marketing company. You simply find one, purchase a bulk of S
If your goal is to drive revenue and you currently do some marketing, then mobile is one of the easiest tools you will ever use.
Say you need to sell more widgets and you currently run some radio commercials. Call us and purchase 5,000 bulk SMS credits. Then implement the phrase “Want to win a free widget? Text WIDGET to 72239!” into your radio ads. This will result in several things:
1. Your radio advertising will stand out and work even better
2. You will build a database of people interested in widgets and you can follow up with each person individually for a strong and unique one-to-one customer relationship
3. When each person texts in to win, they will instantly receive a message back that reads “You’re registered! Why wait to win? Call 555-5555 now, mention this text, and SAVE 20% on your widget! To stop, rply WIDGET STOP”
You have successfully engrained your company into the minds of all consumers looking for widgets and created a database of warm leads for your sales team. Additionally, you have let your customers know you are making a real effort to communicate with them on their terms…they will thank you for this by giving you their attention and business. Finally, you can send mobile coupons, widget updates, widget sales announcements
All of your interaction with these consumers is controlled through our web-based software. You would have a username and password and can access your database, change your bounceback messages, and send push messages at any time.
If you send an email to sales@ballyhoomobile.com, one of the owners of the company will receive it and contact you back to set up a live demo.
Say you need to sell more widgets and you currently run some radio commercials. Call us and purchase 5,000 bulk SMS credits. Then implement the phrase “Want to win a free widget? Text WIDGET to 72239!” into your radio ads. This will result in several things:
1. Your radio advertising will stand out and work even better
2. You will build a database of people interested in widgets and you can follow up with each person individually for a strong and unique one-to-one customer relationship
3. When each person texts in to win, they will instantly receive a message back that reads “You’re registered! Why wait to win? Call 555-5555 now, mention this text, and SAVE 20% on your widget! To stop, rply WIDGET STOP”
You have successfully engrained your company into the minds of all consumers looking for widgets and created a database of warm leads for your sales team. Additionally, you have let your customers know you are making a real effort to communicate with them on their terms…they will thank you for this by giving you their attention and business. Finally, you can send mobile coupons, widget updates, widget sales announcements
All of your interaction with these consumers is controlled through our web-based software. You would have a username and password and can access your database, change your bounceback messages, and send push messages at any time.
If you send an email to sales@ballyhoomobile.com, one of the owners of the company will receive it and contact you back to set up a live demo.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)