Location Based Marketing For Restuarants...To Explode!

As consumers use their mobile devices -- especially smartphones -- more and more, you can expect a dramatic shift in the way restaurants market to their patrons:

Restaurants' use of location-based marketing to promote to and drive consumers to a particular restaurant while they are mobile will "explode" in 2011, predicts research provider Packaged Facts. 

As consumers' uptake of location-based services continues to mushroom, with check-in services such as Foursquare, Gowalla, Facebook Places, Twitter geolocation and competitors "not only becoming ubiquitous, but also more sophisticated," context-aware restaurant advertising will take off "sharply" this year, the report notes.

Of course text message marketing is going to play a role here, given that the vast majority of consumers have never used location based services.

Learn more about how restaurants can market to their patrons using text messages.

Chili's Grill & Bar Offers Coupons Via Foursquare

For a limited time, foursquare subscribers who check in at Chili's Grill & Bar will receive a free order of chips and salsa. This restaurant, known best for its 'casual dining', is trying to connect with their customers by technological means, and its working!

“Chili’s Grill & Bar wanted to capitalize on the popularity of Foursquare to offer a cutting-edge incentive with our guests,” said Nicole Cochran, director of marketing at Chili’s Grill & Bar, Dallas, TX. “Additionally, our Foursquare offer is a unique way to leverage mobile marketing that is current and relevant.We feel this initiative is a great fit for our social and tech-savvy guests.”

To read the entire article, click here.

To learn more about mobile marketing for restaurants, visit Club Texting's restaurant page.

Gonna Be In NYC? New Years Eve Parties in New York

Club Texting is based in New York. As such, we know a thing or two about New Years Eve parties. If you're a native, or you'll be visiting, we've got some info for you, along with some links to valuable resources. In New York, New Years Eve is one of the biggest and most exciting party nights of the year. It gives you an excuse to get dressed up, spend time with friends, and party like a rock star.

New Years NYC is an experience like no other, whether it is spent in Times Square or at one of NYC’s hottest clubs. The ball drop in Times Square is an event that cannot be replicated and belongs solely to New York, drawing crowds of over 700,000 people. Two clubs having New Years NYC parties near Times Square are China Club and Aspen Social, both located close to the madness where you can ring in the New Year out of the cold.

A lot of people would rather avoid the madness altogether, good thing New York is a big city. New Years Eve in NYC has an endless list of places to celebrate. Clubs are the perfect New Years option embodying all things New Years, glitz, glamour, music, dancing, and of course the countdown to midnight. Some of NYC’s best places to ring in the New Year include; M2 Ultra Lounge, BLVD, and Kiss & Fly.

Whatever you do, everyone at Club Texting wishes you a happy and a healthy new year!

Coors Light lets mobile users decide what's cool

Coors Light has just rolled out a very cool new SMS based mobile marketing effort:

Coors Light, a subsidiary of Molson Coors Brewing Co., is launching a mobile initiative as part of its continued “Cold Certified” campaign to create interactivity between consumers and the brand.

The promotion asks consumers to create and submit a slogan for the Coors Light brand that begins with the words “Colder than…” via the Coors Light WAP site, SMS or in the Coors Light iPhone application.
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“The campaign urges consumers to come up with their own slogans to feel like a part of the campaign rather than the audience,” he said. “Molson has integrated users into the creation of the campaign to capitalize the collective intelligence of their consumers.”

Users who prefer to make their submission via the mobile Internet can visit www.coorslight.ca with their mobile device to give Coors a taste of what they think is cold. All submissions online are censored.

Consumers who would rather communicate via text messages can text the keyword COLDER and their slogan idea to short code 26677.

The rules work a little differently for those from the province of Quebec where consumers must text the keywords FROID PLUS to short code 61224.

IPhone users have the option of downloading the Colder Than… application to their mobile device and entering the contest there.

Read more @ Mobile Marketer

McDonalds Launches Mobile Marketing Campaign To Introduce The M Burger

When McDonald's decided to roll out a new burger in France, they turned to the mobile channel:

The launch of the McDonald’s Corp.'s M Burger in France stood out for its innovative use of mobile advertising.

The fast food franchise ran banner ads on the Microsoft Advertising Mobile Media network. The brand used animated banner formats instead of traditional mobile banners.

The goal of the campaign was to drive awareness of the new McDonald’s M Burger among 25 to 44-year-old men and stressed the premium ingredients used to create it.

Read more @ Mobile Marketer.

Head over to Club Texting to read about mobile marketing solutions for restaurants.

McDonald’s Monopoly Biggest SMS Promo Game in U.S.

This year’s the McDonald’s® Monopoly game included a mobile component for the first time in the history of the popular game. It was such a success that Telescope, the same company who handles the infamous American Idol text message voting and who partnered with The Marketing Store to build the McDonald’s SMS campaign, disclosed that it was the largest SMS promotional game by far ever run in the U.S.

Read on here.