The travel industry is embracing mobile marketing with increasingly more travel providers using the channel to reach customers. From airlines to travel booking sites these providers are making use of all kinds of mobile marketing from SMS campaigns to apps.

Popular last minute travel accommodation site lastminute.com uses SMS alerts to stay in contact with customers. Travellers can sign up for the alerts online by texting follow lastminute.com to an SMS short code. Alternatively travellers can opt in to SMS alerts and email newsletters when entering regular competitions on the lastminute . com website.

Competitor Expedia also use mobile marketing to connect with customers. Their new Trip Assist app released earlier this year allows consumers to research flights, destinations, hotels and manage itineraries. The mobile app integrates SMS and email allowing users to opt in for free SMS and email alerts. For example travellers collecting a friend from the airport can elect to receive an SMS alert for their flight.

Airlines are also no stranger to using mobile marketing. Continental Airlines is among a host of airlines using SMS alerts to keep travellers informed. Travellers can sign up for the popular TripAlert and Flight Status Notitication SMS alerts by texting the keyword YES to an SMS short code.

Increasingly more players in the travel industry are using mobile marketing campaigns to connect with customers. The ease of use and low cost for travel providers combined with the convenience for travellers makes mobile marketing in the travel industry the perfect fit.

By: InvolveMobile

SMS campaigns are a great way to reach your target audience by directly engaging them with a fun, interactive campaign. Whether you hold large scale stadium events, parties, festivals, or even a small restaurant or night spot, you can use text to screen to engage your customers.

Many big brands are using text to screen to engage customers including -

• McDonald’s – used text to screen on 13 digital billboards throughout Kansas. Consumers were encouraged to text slogans for the Angus Beef burger to the big screen via SMS.
• The National Hockey League’s New York Islanders – use text to screen in stadium to engage their fans and build their mobile database.
• NBA’s Phoenix Suns – use text to screen to engage fans at their games. Fans can text team members with messages displayed on screen.
• Singer Keith Urban – uses text to screen at his stadium concerts. Keith uses mobile to receive personal messages from fans on the big screen and build his mobile fan club.
• Radio Halifax Z103.5 is using text to screen ( text to DJ ) services. Fans can text in their song request or lyrics and they appear on a personal screen of DJ / RJ or can be a public screen.

Find out more about using text to screen for your next event.

By: InvolveMobile

Restaurant and coffee chains are using mobile marketing to their advantage. A growing number of national franchised chains are harnessing the power of text message marketing to connect with their customers, build a mobile database and ultimately drive sales.

National restaurant chain Carrabba’s Italian Grill are using SMS marketing to their advantage. Carrabba’s recently ran an SMS program in Orlando resulting in a 68 percent redemption rate. The campaign aimed to build a database for future marketing at specific times of the day when customers might be most interested, like lunch and dinner time. The campaign was promoted to email club members, with online display ads, and a broadcast television ad.

Carrabba’s harnessed the personalised and targeted nature of mobile marketing by targeting different offers to different customers based on their location. For example, some restaurants wanted to increase patrons dining at specific times of day while others wanted to push a specific product. The targeted nature of mobile marketing made all of this possible.

Green Mill Restaurants are another popular restaurant chain using mobile to engage customers. The Midwest restaurant franchise is using text message marketing to connect with customers through its Mug & Mill loyalty program. The text based mobile club offers members exclusive offers like food and drink discounts in store. The restaurant chain also offers customers the ability to find their nearest restaurant location and access their Green Mill account to check their balance, transaction history and accrue loyalty points, all via mobile.

Coffee chain Dutch Bros have also used mobile marketing to connect with customers. The popular coffee chain have built a database of 25,000 opted in members who they regularly send text alerts and discounts to. Customers are encouraged to sign up for alerts in store at the point of sale either by texting to an SMS short code, verbally with the cashier or online on their Facebook page. The coffee house has reported increased sales since beginning the program.

Mobile marketing is ideal for restaurant and coffee chains because its quick to implement, cost effective and can be targeted to suit different customer groups. The instant nature of text message marketing means restaurants can push specific products, times or days of the week to drive sales in low periods. It also means restaurants can consistently push special offers weekly to their customers to keep them coming back to dine again and again.

By: InvolveMobile

Mobile marketing in the retail sector is growing at a fast pace. Many retailers today use effective text message marketing strategies like text message alerts, mobile clubs and mobile coupons to win customers and keep them coming back time after time. A recent report by e-marketer showed 10.7% of US multi-chain retailers have used mobile advertising to promote sales and special offers and this number is continuing to grow.

Popular retailers American Apparel and Macy’s are no stranger to mobile marketing. Both chains use mobile as a key component of their marketing strategy.

Youth retailer American Apparel use mobile marketing to connect with loyal customers on a regular basis. American Apparel customers can sign up for SMS alerts by texting the keyword ‘American apparel’ to an SMS short code to receive news and special offers.

Department store Macy’s use mobile to keep their customers coming back in store. Regular text message alerts push news and special offers to customers weekly. Macy’s also run text message campaigns as an integrated component in other marketing campaigns including print. A recent ad in Oprah Magazine encouraged consumers to text the keyword MACYS to an SMS short code for a chance to win a trip to New York.

There are countless case studies of big retailers using text message marketing like our recent example of Best Buy’s mobile strategy.

Mobile marketing for the retail sector is predicted to move into a more personal, intuitive stage in the future.  Emarketer predicts in the future customers will not only be able to use their mobile device to receive generic news or special offers but rather they will “receive promotions based on their past purchase history and what they are interested in at the moment”.

The future for mobile marketing in the retail sector is bright. With an ever increasing number of customers owning a mobile device, text message marketing in the retail sector is a natural fit.

By: InvolveMobile

Text to vote is proving to be a popular mobile campaign choice for marketers across a wide range of industries. Everyone from beer brewer Guinness to fast food chain Taco Bell is using text to vote to engage customers. We posted earlier this month about the growing trend to connect with the youth market via text, now we look into the impact text to vote is having on this demographic.

Aimed at the youth market 21-35, popular brewer Guinness recently ran a text message marketing promotion called the ‘Great Guinness Pint Contest’ where they encouraged customers at participating bars to rate their pint of Guinness via text to vote for a chance to win a prize. The campaign received over 8500 entries via text in only three hours. The popular campaign encouraged entrants to join the Guinness mobile club and impressively received less than 2 percent opt out after the first SMS blast.

Another recent text to poll campaign targeting the youth market was Taco Bell and Pizza Hut who put the vote out to students at Western Kentucky University to decide which restaurant chain would be built near their campus. Students were encouraged to text the keyword WKU4PH for Pizza Hut or WKU4TB for Taco Bell to a short code to place their vote.

Always present in the mobile arena is Starbucks, who recently used the MTV Movie Awards as the perfect arena to reach out to the youth market with text voting. Starbucks promoted its new Frappuccino drink by encouraging viewers to text the keyword VOTE to an SMS short code. Aimed at the youth market, the promotion with the MTV Movie Awards, and voting announcement by popular rapper T.I. was the perfect fit.

Many youth oriented marketers are successfully using text to vote to connect with the younger demographic. Text to vote is a great campaign option because it encourages interactivity and consumer participation, while building a valuable database for future marketing at the same time.

By: InvolveMobile

Mobile Commerce Daily has just reported on the top mobile commerce trends for 2010 – so what made the cut?

1.    Investments – more than ever is being invested in mobile and that includes mobile sites,  SMS marketing and apps.
2.    Mobile coupons – with studies finding mobile coupon redemption rates can often exceed 50 percent it’s no wonder everyone’s using them. See our earlier reports about the growth in mobile coupons.
3.    Location – it’s all about location this year – from location based text alerts to Foursquare. See our post earlier this year about the rise of location based text alerts.
4.    Social – social is still big, and you need to consider how it works on mobile.
5.    Analytics – essential to working out what’s working and what’s not in your mobile strategy.

By: InvolveMobile

Many big brands are realizing the value of leveraging mobile in print marketing campaigns. Brands like Clinique and Macy’s are just two of many big consumer brands who have successfully used a mobile call to action in a print campaign to engage customers.

Cosmetics favorite Clinique recently used a mobile call to action in a print campaign in Bergner Department Stores weekly circular. Clinique encouraged consumers to text the keyword GIFT to an SMS short code to sign up to the Clinique text club.

Retailer Macy’s has also used mobile hand in hand with print advertising. Macy’s recently ran print campaigns in Oprah Magazine and Elle Magazine with a mobile call to action encouraging readers to text to keyword MACYS to an SMS short code for a chance to win a trip away.

The possibilities when combining print and sms advertising ( mobile marketing ) are endless. By combining the visual nature of print with the interactivity of mobile you can reach consumers in exciting new ways. While our examples here have focused on the retail sector, print and mobile combine well in any industry – think entertainment, food, electronics or even health.

By: InvolveMobile

Popular  US news broadcasters including Fox News and CNN are keeping their viewers up to date on the latest news 24/7 with text message alerts. In addition to online channels, mobile is becoming one of the best ways for viewers to keep up to date on breaking news no matter where they are.

Fox News offers viewers text message alerts to keep informed 24/7. Viewers can sign up for specific services like election results, health and Hollywood gossip, so no matter what their interests are it’s easy to stay informed. Viewers can sign up by texting a keyword like HEALTH to an SMS short code.

CNN also has a comprehensive text message alerts feature for viewers to keep up to date with breaking news. Viewers can choose from general text message alerts or breaking news alerts to find out the latest news fast.

In a world where getting the right information fast is key, text message alerts are a great way to keep up to date with the latest news. The instant nature of text messages and the ubiquity of the cell phone itself makes news via info alerts the perfect combination.

By: InvolveMobile

Celebrities including pop princesses Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera are connecting with fans via text message alerts with text fan clubs. Text fan clubs allow fans to receive news and updates from their favorite pop star or celebrity 24/7 straight to their cell phone.

Britney connects with her fans in a number of ways including her official website, Twitter and a text club. Fans can sign up to Britney’s text club by texting the keyword ‘britneyspears’ to an SMS shortcode. The call to action appears on her Twitter page where fans congregate to hear the latest from the pop princess.

Rival Christina Aguilera also uses text clubs to connect with her fans. Like Britney’s text club, fans can join by texting to an SMS shortcode which can be found on Christina’s official website.

Britney and Christina are among a growing number of pop stars who use text clubs to keep their fans up to date on new albums, tour dates, recording and other exciting events.

Text clubs are proving to be a popular way for pop stars and celebrities to keep in contact with their fans. While an official website and Twitter page are great, creating a text club allows stars to connect with their fans 24/7 wherever they are. Although internet capable phones are popular, the majority of US cell phones cannot connect to the internet. Text clubs are ideal because it allows stars to reach the largest number of fans quickly and easily and fans love being in the know about their favorite star.

By: InvolveMobile

Beer brewers are using mobile marketing via SMS short codes as an integral part of their marketing efforts in 2010. Many popular brewers including Guinness, Heineken and Coors Light have used text message marketing recently to boost their promotional campaigns.

Guinness recently used text message marketing in their ‘Great Guinness Pint Contest’. The text contest asked consumers at participating bars nationwide to rate their pint of Guinness via mobile. Voters were encouraged to text their votes to an SMS short code for a chance to win a home pub. Not only did Guinness manage over 8500 entries in only three hours but they also created a great mobile club for future marketing.

Competitor Heineken has also engaged mobile in their recent campaign ‘Plug into Summer’. The campaign featured a mobile sweepstakes that consumers could enter by texting to an SMS short code. The campaign also had a 2D barcode component for users with smart phones.

Coors Light is also no stranger to mobile marketing with several interactive mobile campaigns behind them. A recent mobile contest encouraged consumers to create slogans for the Coors Light brand by finishing the phrase ‘Colder than…’ and texting their responses to an SMS short code.

Beer brewers are increasingly recognizing the value of communicating with their target market via text. Text message marketing is a targeted and highly personal medium. It allows for two way communication and instant interaction so it’s a great way for any consumer goods brand to reach out to their customers. Whether it be a text to win campaign or simple text message alerts, it’s text message marketing that’s getting the results this year.

By: InvolveMobile