Texting for Waffles

I was recently asked about my thoughts on mobile marketing, and quite honestly I didn’t have many of them. I’m not well versed in the topic, but with 3 billion mobile phones in circulation, I thought it’d be best to become more so. In the process, I discovered some mobile marketing stories that may peak your interest...

· Waffle House has launched its first two-way text campaign that has seen a 47% increase in opt-in subscribers from January to February. Consumers can text the keyword WH and their ZIP code or city and state to short code LOCATE (562283) to find the closet restaurant.

· In the wake of the tragic earthquake in Haiti, the American Red Cross initiated a mobile marketing campaign run my mGive to accept donations in the form of text. In the three days following the disaster, the campaign contributions surpassed $8 million. Similar campaigns collected $400,000 total in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and $200,000 following the December 2004 Tsunami. The drastic difference in these numbers showcases the rise in the success of mobile marketing campaigns in the past five years.

· Nike launched an interactive billboard campaign in New York City in which passersby used their cell phone to interact with a 23-story Times Square billboard, customizing and directly purchasing their own Nike shoe. After designing a sneaker on screen, the user received a text message within seconds containing mobile phone wallpaper with the shoe and a link to the Nike iD site where they could buy it.

· Just this morning a local radio station was soliciting entries via text to win tickets to the Lady Gaga show at the Ford Center on July 20th. I’m a casual listener of the station, but with this contest, I will be keeping my dial set and my phone ready to win tickets! Perhaps this mobile marketing campaign will create a loyal listerner out of me.

Not only is mobile marketing a powerful, interactive communication tool, it also offers highly measurable results in profiling customers. And most importantly, your customers are choosing to hear from you. And what’s more valuable than an engaged consumer?

Oh – and again, that Waffle House locator code is 562283. Save it in your phone contacts for you next late-night craving.