Best Buy Bulks Up Mobile Marketing Efforts

Mobile Marketing Watch reports that Best Buy is ramping up their mobile marketing programs:

According to sources at the company, Best Buy is putting the wheels in motion on a spruced up mobile website, more aggressive and targeted SMS texting campaigns, and mobile application updates to help capture a larger share of the mobile community’s attention.

It was just late last year that Best Buy introduced its mobile site and a corresponding iPhone application.

Best Buy’s chief marketing officer, Barry Judge, told the Wall Street Journal last month that his company “wants to use mobile to make standard ads more interactive. A print ad or billboard, for instance, might give consumers an address they could text-message for more information.”

Read more @ Mobile Marketing Watch

Read about Club Texting's text message marketing solutions for retail.

For Small Businesses, "Go Mobile Now Or Regret It Later"

Mobile Marketer has an interesting case study up about a small shoe store, and the wider implications of its successful mobile marketing campaign:

Dave Sheehan is a salesman for Shirise Shoe Salon with around 1,500 customers on his list. At one point, he’d have to spend 30 hours on the phone contacting each of these shoe-loving ladies to inform them of a sale, but not anymore.
...
With 1,500 customers, if he were to spend a minute on the phone with each, he’d cross 50 customers off the list every hour. At that rate, it would take him 30 hours to contact each customer, excluding breaks for eating, drinking or going to the restroom.

Instead, he asked his customers if they’d like to be a part of an exclusive club to receive text messages about upcoming sales, and to his surprise, 1,500 said yes.

Dave the Shoe Guy claims that as a direct result from his SMS implementation with only 1,500 customers, his sales have doubled from $650,000 to $1.3 million a year in the span of a mere two years.

Go Mobile Now Or Regret It Later indeed.

Read more @ Mobile Marketer
Learn about SMS mobile marketing for retail @ Club Texting

Retail giant H&M runs multifaceted mobile marketing campaign

We hear H&M just launched a full-fledged mobile campaign in their hometown of Amsterdam:

Swedish clothing company H&M launched a mobile marketing campaign on its home turf to promote its latest collection.

The campaign includes SMS coupons, mobile banner ads placed on major carrier portals and media sites including Tele2, Telenor and TV4, and a mobile site with click-through slideshows and animated GIF images of the retailer’s latest garments. For the campaign, H&M tapped mobile marketing agency Mobiento and its sister company Adiento, an ad network, which use mobile ad network MADS’ technology platform.

Read more at Mobile Marketer.

Jack-in-the-Box Offers SMS Coupon

MobileVerbs has launched mobile marketing program Jack-in-the-Box restaurants. The restaurant guests can provide their feedback and redeem coupons via their cell phones.

Jack's guests follow 'call to action' instructions on table tents and send a SMS message to the MobileVerbs service. The mobile service delivers a series of survey questions to guests' cell phones. Once the guests complete the survey in couple of minutes, they are provided with a secure mobile coupon on their cell phones.

Click here for the full story.

Nike scores an iPhone app

According to Mobile Marketer, Nike has just launched a new mobile app for the iPhone called Nike Goal.

Nike has launched a mobile application leveraging its sponsorship of Italian soccer and further ingratiating the sportswear giant with the game’s fans.

Called Nike Goal, the iPhone application is an extension of the company’s Nikefootball.com site. The app targets Italians who love soccer as well as Nike as a brand.

“The purpose of the application is to provide a free service to Italian football [soccer] fans who want to stay connected to the game and the teams and players they support,” said Martina Zavagno, digital marketing and ecommerce manager at Nike Italy.

JCPenney uses mobile to push customers in store for holiday sale

J. C. Penney Company Inc. is using mobile to help customers beat the rush at its biggest After Christmas sale ever.

The retailer’s stores opened at 5:30 a.m. – the earliest opening on the day after Christmas in company history. For the first time ever, JCPenney offered an After Christmas sale “Wake-Up” call. Customers could visit jcp.com beginning Dec. 23 and sign-up for the “Wake-Up” call to their mobile phone.

“The strategy here is to get customers excited about coming into our stores on the day after Christmas,” said Kate Parkhouse, a spokeswoman for JCPenney, Plano, TX. “The day after Christmas is becoming an increasingly popular shopping event.”

Read more here.

Victoria's Secret is launching a new store. And using mobile to help.

For all those who have not been in a NYC Yellow Cab this year, you may not be aware that practically every single taxi now comes with Taxi-TV, powered by one of three major networks. These networks have looped programming that usually repeats itself during a 20 minute ride and, of course, the screens are full of ads. Recently, we have noticed a rise in SMS call-to-actions.

Just this morning, a Club Texting team member noticed a static banner for none other than Victoria's Secret saying: Sign up for exclusive alerts and offers at VictoriasSecret.com or Text VSNYC to ANGEL. Standard rates apply. Call 877 209 7575 for complete terms and conditions.

So what are you signing up for? UR now on the Victoria's Secret mobile list! Look 4 exclusive offers, event coverage and new product info. Rply STOP 2 optout at any time. Txt HELP for help

We have to admit, it does help pass the time in rush hour traffic.

Midwest retail giant uses mobile to help consumers save

We hear that Midwest retail giant Meijer Super Center has launched an iPhone Web application called Meijer Mealbox, to help consumers save money during the current economic crisis.

Meijera - a Grand Rapids, MI-based retailer that operates 181 supercenters throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky - tapped widget-based advertising network Qponix to develop the Meijer Mealbox web application. Meijer Mealbox helps consumers plan meals, find recipes and save money.

“The big deal is this application allows the shopper to build a meal plan and the planning process helps you organize for when you go to the store,” said Corbin DeRubertis, president of Qponix, Seattle, WA.  “The application is tied to the store’s inventory and sales and actually finds recipes based on ingredients that are on sale.”

Circle K Tests Mobile Marketing

Circle K joined 50 merchants in the Phoenix area in a pilot mobile-marketing program conducted by Visa and JPMorgan Chase & Co, reported the In-Store Marketing Institute. The program, targeted at ages 18 to 34, provides Circle K with the ability to deliver offers and other messages by SMS text. Chase credit and debit cardholders can enroll at online at Chase’s Web site, where they select preferred retailers and offer preferences such as discounts.

Circle K is the largest company-owned convenience store chain in the U.S, and second in overall number of U.S. stores to 7-Eleven.

Lexus Gets Serious About Mobile

Auto companies have slowly been gearing up towards mobile over the past few years, with many seeing huge benefits from their efforts.  We hear that Lexus has finally thrown their hat into the ring, but not without intense research on mobile practices and how it relates to the consumer experience. Lexus is the first and only car company to participate in a consumer research study lab with the sole aim of understanding and implementing the best mobile-based communications for Lexus guests before attempting to create their mobile campaign.

Perhaps this will set a new standard for national brands, one where planning and patience pays off in a big way down the line.