Mobile coupons and deals coming to thy phone
Tada tada ! Your phone rang. It ‘s a text message from your boy friend Kevin, asking you where do you want to meet for lunch. Just like that, you can conveniently respond and communicate with friends and loved ones. Like many students on campus, we are quite familiar with the ease and convenience text messaging affords us. We use text messages to send the latest gossip to our friends, get important information and avoid people we don’t want to talk to. We even break up with one another by sending a text message . If you believe that’s a stretch, just ask Britney Spears.
Let us look at why adverting is coming to your phone. According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project March 2005 report on Mobile life:
• 192 million active mobile phones are available in the U.S
• 90% of active mobile phones are capable of text messaging
• Over 70% of mobile phone users send text messages
• As of mid-2005, 5 billion text message sent each month (up from 2.8 billion a year ago)
• 80% of Tweens to 24's send and receive text, up 51% from last year
• 63% of cell phone owners aged 18 to 27 use text
• 31% of cell phone owners aged 28 to 39 use text
• 18% aged 40 to 49 use text
• 24% of all Americans are active text message users
• 13% have used text to vote in a contest or participate in a poll
The latest announcement by Cingular wireless and Verison to start providing mobile advertising to their subscribers cell phones is met with mixed feeling from many quarters. I read a marketing article in a respected branding magazine that stated that the average person in the U.S sees over 3000 advertising messages per day. From bill boards, to websites.
The idea that advertising will be available on your cell phone makes majority of people not in favor of it. The question is what does this really mean to you? A report by Instat Mobile Advertising, September 2005 reported that 20% of cell phone users said some form of mobile advertising would be acceptable.
In a recent study by The Yankee Group, a major consulting firm, showed that 1/3 of all Americans age 18-35 are interested in receiving advertised content on a cell phone. The report also concluded that 42% of mobile consumers are open to mobile advertising if it is relevant, if they asked for it or if they will get coupons or free services- Yankee Group 2006.
• 192 million active mobile phones are available in the U.S
• 90% of active mobile phones are capable of text messaging
• Over 70% of mobile phone users send text messages
• As of mid-2005, 5 billion text message sent each month (up from 2.8 billion a year ago)
• 80% of Tweens to 24's send and receive text, up 51% from last year
• 63% of cell phone owners aged 18 to 27 use text
• 31% of cell phone owners aged 28 to 39 use text
• 18% aged 40 to 49 use text
• 24% of all Americans are active text message users
• 13% have used text to vote in a contest or participate in a poll
The latest announcement by Cingular wireless and Verison to start providing mobile advertising to their subscribers cell phones is met with mixed feeling from many quarters. I read a marketing article in a respected branding magazine that stated that the average person in the U.S sees over 3000 advertising messages per day. From bill boards, to websites.
The idea that advertising will be available on your cell phone makes majority of people not in favor of it. The question is what does this really mean to you? A report by Instat Mobile Advertising, September 2005 reported that 20% of cell phone users said some form of mobile advertising would be acceptable.
In a recent study by The Yankee Group, a major consulting firm, showed that 1/3 of all Americans age 18-35 are interested in receiving advertised content on a cell phone. The report also concluded that 42% of mobile consumers are open to mobile advertising if it is relevant, if they asked for it or if they will get coupons or free services- Yankee Group 2006.
If you are going to allow offers to your phone, it has to be something that can save you time or money. No need to clip coupons or search the deal websites , the best offer is now on your phone. In this day and age when you have to organize your life and still manage to have fun, anything that can help achieve both should be welcomed. Before you sign up, think about what’s in it for me as a consumer.
Here are some important points I think you should consider before you allow text ads to your phone.
1. It must be easy to unsubscribe from the offer. Have you ever signed up for something but find it difficult to unsubscribe. In other words, if you don’t want to be sent offers any more , you should be able to easily pull out or end it.
2. You should be in control. In this day of user generated content, you should be in charge. That is what a start-up company Text2store.com is doing. When you sign up with them, you control the entire process. As a consumer they allow you to control how and when you get the offer. You are in full control of what deal you get, which day or time you get a deal or tangible sales coupon.
3. The offer must be relevant. The company should only send you what you asked for and not what they want you to have. Imagine, you frequent Panera bread, it’s lunch time and you receive a coupon on your phone from your local Panera for 35% off a chicken sandwich which normally is $4.99 plus tax. Or a 99 cents Mocha coupon from Starbucks because you signed up a cell phone coupon offer.
4. The offer or coupon must be tangible. It must be a real saving. For Example, you get an alert with a coupon of Abercrombie and Fitch two day buy one denim sale and the second is 75% off . Or your favorite group, Dave Matthew’s Band is coming to play in town, you get a text message with an exclusive coupon code to pre-register and save 20% off the ticket and also meet the crew. That will save you time and money. You will no longer be left out of the loop of what is happening or wondering why your room mate seems to have more money than you.
5. The coupon offer could be redeemed at a store nearest to you or easy access coupon page on the website check out. This is important to you so that you don’t waste your time. What good is it if you get a special offer to save 50% but it can only be redeemed at a store 50 miles away? The store should be local.
I hope I have helped you to decipher how to navigate this new marketing technology.
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