Message and Medium

While my Sidekick is very tastefully bedazzled, it doesn’t have access to cool apps like the iPhone. So to date, the only mobile marketing I’ve received has been random texts offering investment advice. And while I appreciate advice on how to make my three dollars of discretionary income grow, I guess I’m not too impressed by the quality of that mobile marketing.

A quick search on the Internet revealed much cooler things, though. My favorite was the Go Find It campaign for the Ford Ka, a Mini-sized car sold just about everywhere but here. Ford distributed stickers with an embedded 3D image of the car to bars, clubs, universities, and music events. Users with technologically advanced phones could then download an app and see these images if they point their phone’s camera at the stickers. If the phone is angled properly, a link would also be displayed for a website with videos, music, and more. 

Now would all that make me want to buy a Ford roughly the size of a roller skate? Probably not. But it does make me wish I had a cooler phone.

Part 6 of a 6-part series. 

Innovative Campaigns: Nike

Nike did a mobile marketing campaign a few years ago that I thought was pretty cool. In order to generate awareness for Nike ID, a service that lets consumers design their own pair of shoes, Nike placed an interactive billboard in Times Square that invited people to design and post their own custom Nike shoes on the billboard via their mobiles. Afterwards, Nike would text them back with an image of the shoes in addition to a link to buy. 

Even better, they closed the promotion with the NIKE FREE for ALL, where every shoe designed between 1 and 5 would be given to the creator for free. I thought this was an awesome idea; after all, who wouldn’t love a free pair of Nikes?

They gave away 3,000 pairs of shoes.  

Part 5 of a 6-part series.

Reaching New Markets

While researching mobile advertising, I came across a pretty awesome campaign done by the Swedish agency Forsman & Bodenfors for AMF Pension. This integrated campaign revolved around billboards enticing people (mainly a younger audience) to take a picture of themselves with their cell phone and send the photo via MMS to the pension provider. Minutes later, they would receive a retouched photo back from the pension provider showing what they would look like at 70 years old.

The campaign was designed to get people thinking about their pension plans at a younger age. I thought this was a brilliant way to attract a younger target market to a topic they don't normally research on their own. 

Part 4 of a 6-part series.

Earlier this month, the Google Experience Research team reminded us just how important a high search ranking and a good site description really are. 

 The 34 study participants consistently demonstrated two things:

1. Users review search results extremely quickly.
2. They will generally choose one of the items near the top of the page or change their search criteria.

So, what can you do to maximize your search results? One, optimize your site for the search terms that matter most to your business. Two, make sure your title and description are clear, obvious and concise.

Campaign Stickiness

Sticky content isn't just for websites. If a mobile campaign has done its job, you should remember it long after you've checked it out on your phone.

I enjoyed the mobile campaign for DiGiorno For One personal pizza, which drove users to The Ditcher — a simple, practical, funny application offering people an escape from bad dates and other uncomfortable situations. On The Ditcher’s microsite, a user could fill out a form with his name and phone number, pick a date and time to get the call, and select an excuse from an array of pre-written excuses ranging from serious to the absurd. The Ditcher would then send a text message to the user’s mobile phone at the chosen time, alerting him that his house is on fire or what have you. Voila! An excuse to leave.  

I also enjoyed the Snakes on a Plane campaign, which encouraged people to submit friends’ phone numbers and have Samuel L. Jackson give them a m-f***in' call with a personalized message. Neither of these campaigns had to ask users to surrender their personal contact info — they did so willingly because the payoff was funny and clever.

Part 3 of a 6-part series.