Convince and Convert Blog: Where Social Media and Email Collide

A recent study by ExactTarget and Ball State University showed that consumers 24 years old and younger prefer text messages to email. For consumers 25+, email still reigns supreme. Does that put text/mobile/SMS out of reach for most brands? Not at all. In fact, using mobile to drive email subscriptions is an emerging best practice.

Mobile opt-in is instant, exceptionally easy for the subscriber, and the brand gets both an email address AND a mobile number for use when text messaging is more prevalent in the U.S.

Mobile Opt-in Done Right

I should have joined US Airways’ points program long ago. I fly the airline often, but haven’t signed up for the program because I didn’t want to take the time to fill out a long, online form, etc.

But, on a recent flight I glanced at my cocktail napkin to see this compelling and easy sign-up offer:

Other than the fact that US Airways was practically daring me to violate the in-flight ban on cell phone usage, I was enthralled. One text message with your name and email address, and you’re enrolled. Very slick.

Follow Up Good, but Unfocused

Almost immediately after signing up via text, I received a nifty email confirmation that included a digital membership card, and two offers for bonus mile via credit card offer. While the creative on the offers wasn’t spectacular, the use of transactional email to drive additional action is on the mark.

But then the next day, I received another email that mentioned something called TEXTUS (evidently the system that runs the mobile opt-in program), and asks for me to provide additional info to activate my account. I understand the need/desire for more info from me, but shouldn’t they have asked for that before I got my nifty digital membership card? I wasn’t offended, but I was confused. And that could have been easily avoided. And why was that sent a whole day later?

Then, once I did in fact log-in to provide additional information, I received another confirmation with another digital membership card, and related offers (more this time). Again not bad, but a bit puzzling.

Overall, a great program. Fills a need. Makes it easy. Confirmation and follow up is a little wacky, but extra effort for being an airline (not typically the most nimble marketers) and pulling off a mobile program.

I anticipate mobile opt-in will be big in 2009. The prevalence of SMS capable phones make it a natural for point of sale e-mail subscriptions for newsletters, special offers, and other programs.

Could you use mobile opt-in effectively? What’s your plan?

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By all accounts, Red Robin is very successful restaurant chain. With hundreds of locations nation-wide and well-deserved plaudits for their Unbridled Acts customer service program, Red Robin has it together. (try the Bonzai Burger, Bruschetta Chicken Burger, and the Tower of Onion Rings).

But the Red Robin customer loyalty messaging program is far less than it should be. In fact, it’s downright weird.

A trip to a Phoenix-area Red Robin recently found all tables covered with these coasters:

I thought “Cool! Red Robin is rolling out a mobile opt-in or SMS promotion program.”  I literally whipped out my iPhone and was ready to go, until I turned over the coaster:

Umm, what? “Red Robin Yummm”? I literally stared at the coaster for a couple minutes before I realized that this was NOT a national SMS program, but rather some sort of conversation piece. I still don’t fully understand it.

A meta joke about text messaging? A subtle suggestion that customers text their friends about Red Robin? The “95 of 237″ indication makes it even more mysterious. Are there 237 of these phony text message coasters? (first one I’ve seen, but I don’t go to Red Robin routinely)

What I completely can’t fathom is that they spent a ton of money on creating fake text messaging coasters. If you’re going to those lengths, why not just put in 1.5% more effort and create an ACTUAL program?

The Robin Has Landed

So when our meal is finished, the bill comes. I open the bill jacket to find that Red Robin has a guest survey (complete with a circle the bird head scale for illiterate patrons). Here’s how it looked in the bill jacket:

  I notice the red part at the bottom because the comment card is slightly too tall to fit in the bill jacket without the bottom folded over. I was thinking “did they not measure the bill jackets when they designed this card? typical agency…” 

But then I unfolded the card:

It turns out, you get a free gift for supplying your email address, and a FREE BURGER on your birthday.

I helped set up Cold Stone Creamery’s massively successful birthday club email program (which now has millions of members). A free anything on your birthday is a big deal. Why would Red Robin create a card that leads with the circle a bird head scale, and hides a very compelling call to action under a fold over that many people will NEVER see? 

Ridiculous. If you want to build a list, ask people to sign up. In this case it’s as if Red Robin feels they have to launch a birthday club, but are sort of embarrassed about it, so they hide it. Like people that keep their ill-behaved, slobbery dogs in a guest bedroom when they have company over to watch football. 

Red Robin has all the ingredients for a wildly successful, multi-modal messaging program. Brand loyalty. Budget. At least some executive support for a birthday club. But for a restaurant that bills themselves as “Master Mixologists” the combination of elements in this program could use some serious re-working. 

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Market Research firm Advertising Perceptions released a new survey of 1,811 media buyers showing that a whopping 72% of them believe Internet advertising spend will increase in the second half of 2008.

This is a shocking finding, considering that no other medium (other than mobile) was expected to grow by more than 28% of the respondents.

The outlook for newspapers and radio was especially pessimistic, with more than a third of respondents projecting overall spend to drop for those media in the next 6 months.

While we’re big supporters of mobile here at C&C, 55% of media buyers suggesting that mobile spend will increase was also a suprise. As a somewhat experimental tactic, we’d expect mobile to be set aside temporarily in this down economy. However, the measurability of mobile (which is also a terrific database acquisition tactic) could be fueling the optimism about it.

Without question, the measurability of Internet advertising and search marketing is what’s driving the move of ad dollars from traditional tactics like newspaper toward digital marketing. This move is going to be even more acute in a recession, as digital’s cost-effectiveness, speed of deployment, and targeting capabilities make it a “safe” media bet for most companies and agencies.

It will be very interesting to see if this movement of ad dollars toward digital results in markedly higher CPMs for banner ads by year end. We’re already seeing increases in PPC costs due to the “over-popularity” of Google.Similar Posts That You Might Enjoy

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