Promo - March 2008 - (Page 34)

Mobile Marketing Continued from page 33 Hyperfactory, a global digital agency that worked on the campaign with Tribal DDB, knew that while large numbers of customers in those markets had high-speed 3G mobile service, just as many had less advanced connections. The agency also was aware that devices in the markets were a mix of high-end smart phones and handsets without cameras. Subsequently, two-dimensional icons were used on all the campaign creative for the Lipton Hirameki black-tea blend, from outdoor and transportation ads to print and packaging. Phones with cameras could shoot those icons and send them to a short code where they would be read using image recognition. A daily brain teaser tied to the product’s claim as an energy drink was then sent back to the user. Consumers could set a scheduled time for the puzzles to arrive over their phones. “We were careful to make the tech as inclusive as it could be,” says Geoffrey Handley, Hyperfactory cofounder and business development officer for the Asia-Pacific region. “If your phone didn’t support photos, we provided an SMS channel to register and sent back a series of three quiz questions as a text message every day, quirky and related to the product. If you were in a market like Hong Kong that’s served by a 3G network, you got a little video or a downloadable game for your phone.” That same tech inclusiveness played a much larger role in a 2006 effort The Hyperfactory helped engineer to plug Motorola’s RAZR mobile phones in the newly opened Hong Kong International Airport. Together with Ogilvy Hong Kong, the agency designed a campaign that used large digital billboards in the central terminal area. When phone users entered the space, they received Bluetooth-trans- mitted messages from international soccer star Beckham and Chinese pop singer Jay Chou encouraging them to “say goodbye” to someone they were leaving behind in their travels. Users could then snap a picture or shoot a video of themselves, add a short text message, and send that content to the massive screens for all to see. The messages also were forwarded to the phones of their loved ones. The campaign was even more successful than its creators had expected. Tens of thousands of messages were sent from the airport to more than 30 countries, and Motorola’s RAZR sales jumped 12% during the two months of the promotion. “From a technology point of view, this was nothing special,” Handley says. “We used what was available and packaged it in a way that gave everyone a fulfilling experience, whatever the limitations of their handset or carrier, so that no one felt left out.” LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION If U.S. mobile marketing needs a holy grail, location-based services might fill the bill. The prospect of running ads and promotions that reflect where the recipient is at that moment is tantalizing. But while U.S. carriers can pinpoint customers to within approximately 50 to 500 feet, concerns about user privacy and permission have prevented them from making that data available to marketers. Lack of interoperability is another domestic barrier. Location information would have to be passed across networks, and that can’t be easily done in the United States today. It’s another story in Britain, where creative agency 20:20 London has worked with mobile service provider Incentivated to publicize the United Kingdom debut last month of “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” on the Virgin 1 channel. To build buzz around the show, the agency set up a Web site (www. terminate-a-mate.com) where users can enter a friend’s name and cell-phone number. That pal then receives a video message saying the Terminator robots have arrived and are hacking into the phone system to track him down. Sure enough, the message includes a garbled Web map snippet that shows his exact street location, the program’s logo and air date. Permission to release the location is given by the friend who visits the site, in compliance with British regulations, according to Incentivated commercial director Robert Thurner. Neither agency retains the location or phone data. “We’re relying on one individual to nominate another to get this message,” Thurner says. “We’re not simply sending out to large volumes from a blind list, and therefore we’re on the right side of the law regarding viral marketing.” And the ability to personalize a mobile message—and what’s more personal than knowing where you’re standing at that precise moment?—is what gives the promotion its entertaining “wow” factor, according to 20:20 London CEO Peter Riley. “Producing a mobile campaign that’s personalized and unique to each customer is an important driver of engagement,” he says. “Giving people an experience that others don’t get is the key to success here. Mobile and online marketing have given us the opportunity to do things that are very tailored, P and thus have more impact.”l 34 March 2008 / WWW.PROMOMAGAZINE.COM / Promo http://www.terminate-a-mate.com http://www.terminate-a-mate.com http://www.promomagazine.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Promo - March 2008

Promo - March 2008 Editor's Note Girls' Club New Eco Regs? They're Not Going Anywhere Spreads Easily RFID Ramp-Up From Backyard to Broadcast Commentary VROOOM! Stuff We Can't Do Here Yet Q&A: Measuring Up Free Ink The Agency Center Resource Center Promotions 2.0 Index of Advertisers

Promo - March 2008

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