Ballyhoo Mobile SMS Case Study

Name and city and state of marketer:
WXXJ/X102.9 Alternative Rock Radio, Jacksonville, FL

Name and city and state of agency or marketing services firm:
Ballyhoo Mobile Marketing, Inc., Jacksonville, FL

Campaign/program name:
Text to Screen Concert Promotion

Duration:
Four hours

Common short code and keywords used:
X1029 to 72239

Objective(s):
1. Engage concert attendees
2. Increase the size of the radio station database, specifically with listeners they know respond to their concerts
3. Get a bounceback message into the hands of listeners instantly
Target audience:
Adults ages 18-35

Strategy:
Utilize Text to Screen software on a jumbotron to next to the stage and take advantage of the social nature of crowds by giving them a public place to engage with their favorite radio station and other station listeners.

Call to action:
Text in your comment and see it instantly on the big screen!

Tactics:
Instructional tickers were scrolled along the bottom of the jumbotron screen, informing attendees of how to get send their message to the screen. Since X1029 has been taking song requests and running on-air contests via text for more than a year, their listeners are accustomed to mobile interaction with the station. As each person sent a message to the screen they were added to the radio station’s mobile database and they received a bounceback message.

Results:
The average rate of messages being sent to the screen was an astonishing 100 per minute! Now, taking the ever-critical view from a marketer’s seat this means that a sponsor of the Text to Screen interaction would have put a whopping 2,000 coupons or offers in the hands of a specific target audience in just the first 20 minutes of the show. That’s marketing power!

What next:
X1029 continues to run contests and take song requests via mobile. They now also have a subgroup in their database of listeners they know attended a packed concert, most likely had a good time, and have an interest in X1029 concerts. For the next show, they can send this subgroup a push message to extend an early invite, presale specials, etc.

Lessons learned:
The more regularly a marketer utilizes mobile, the easier it is for them to get their targets to respond when called upon. Thus, making mobile a regular part of the marketing mix is critical.

Surprise finding:
We were surprised at the rate of response. It was literally astounding to see how fast messages were being sent to the screen and how the entire audience seemed to be interacting.

Executive’s name, title and company for response attribution:
David Nies, Chief Executive Officer, Ballyhoo Mobile Marketing, Inc.

Strategy quote from brand executive (with name, title, company, city and state):
“We wanted to differentiate ourselves from other rock concerts going on around the area. No one has utilized mobile during an event yet, and for us to be interactive with our listeners means that we can offer those listeners a unique experience that they can take with them.” Liz Goshert, Promotions Director X102.9 WXXJ, Jacksonville, Florida

What challenge did mobile address quote (from same executive above):
“Not only could we be interactive with our listeners, but we utilized the participation numbers to keep sponsors interested in our events. For an advertiser to sponsor this Text to Screen, they would receive an unbelievable number of impressions, thus making their investment much more valuable.”