For some time now the mobile marketing industry has been talking about location-based mobile marketing as the next big thing. Certainly, there's been a lot of hype about location or "geo-fencing" mobile marketing. But in reality there haven’t been that many examples of it in action.
So, when I read about a new location-based mobile marketing campaign from the American sporting apparel manufacturer -North Face- I was intrigued. Thought to be the first use of "geo-fencing" mobile marketing for a clothing manufacturer, the campaign will send a SMS to customers when they are near one of North Face's stores in San Francisco, New York, Boston or Seattle. The SMS alerts will contain information about promotions (such as a free give away with purchases) or the latest seasonal arrival in store.
As is usual for mobile marketing campaigns, North Face's is only for customers that have opted in to receive SMS messages. Although the clothing firm has dabbled in mobile marketing before with its snow report application for iPhone users this is the first time that it has used a receiver's location to trigger an SMS marketing message.
This was just such a worthwhile idea and great use of SMS technology that I thought I should share it with you. As we all know mobile technology has changed our lives beyond all recognition. Certainly a mobile phone can be a God-send in an emergency.
But not everyone can make use of the voice aspect of mobile technology, such as those with a hearing impairment. Instead these individual tend to rely on SMS to keep in touch with family and friends. So, I was impressed to see that in New Zealand they have harness SMS technology to provide an emergency service for the hearing impaired.
The new service will simply require deaf people to register for the service through Deaf Aotearoa, an organisation which promotes the interests of the deaf community New Zealand. If they are in an emergency they can then text the 111 emergencies services. They will then be prompted to enter information about their location and the incident. The service will automatically include their personal details with the SMS. Call centre staff will read the SMS message and get a police car dispatched, if needed. They can also text the sender back for more information.
No one likes getting spam of any sort. And now that there are moves afoot in American to tighten up the rules on unsolicited SMS advertising, as well as it being out of bounds in Australia and Europe it may be worth reminding ourselves that if a job is worth doing, it’s worth doing well.
Legal requirements aside, it makes sound marketing sense to ensure that your SMS advertising campaign is well targeted and working for you. This means getting user’s consent and giving them a chance to opt out, as well as ensuring that the message is branded and relevant to the receiver.
SMS advertising is about creating an immediate connection and interaction between consumers and your brand and business. It lets you deliver concise, targeted messages that customers are willing to receive. So use SMS advertising to drive consumers towards your marketing initiative.
