RAPAPORT... With Stuller launching it’s “Live Diamond Try-On” iPhone app — short for application — and Christie’s getting into the app mix as well, it seems that mobile marketing and the jewelry industry may be hitting their stride. Mobile marketing is any kind of marketing that is done using cell phones so consumers can receive the message wherever they happen to be. The options seem limited only by marketers’ imaginations. One possibility is apps, which make accessing online information faster for cell phone users. Another tool is using common short codes (CSC) on billboards, such as “text FUN21 to win!” There is also product placement within cell phone games and much more.
Smartphones Growing StrongA major reason for the spike in interest in mobile marketing is that the worldwide market for smartphones — cell phones with advanced capabilities — continues to grow despite the current economy. Vendors shipped 43.3 million of these phones, which include the iPhone, BlackBerry and Google’s new Android phone, among others, during the third quarter of 2009. That number represented a record for shipments during a single quarter and a 4.2 percent increase from the same quarter of 2008, according to IDC, a global advisory firm for consumer technology markets.
In addition, Marco Argenti, vice president of media for cell phone manufacturer Nokia, stated at a recent conference, “We generally know much more about what the customer wants when using mobile media than you do using the internet.”
Mike Wehrs, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), explains that the term mobile marketing “really means that when you are on your cell phone, you will get information that you have requested or otherwise expressed interest in receiving.”
Texting to WinMobile marketing comes in three basic categories. The broadest capability is to use text messaging, known in the industry as short message service (SMS), which can send a message to every type of cell phone. “That can be notification of specials, notifications regarding a customer loyalty program, it can even be a reminder that your wife’s birthday is coming up,” Wehrs says.
A company called SCVNGR offers a twist on texting. Michael Hagan, chief operating officer (COO), calls what his company offers “experiential marketing with a mobile beginning.” Specifically, SCVNGR creates a high-tech treasure hunt for 21- to 35-year-olds, called a “Diamond Dash,”™ with clues sent by text message. Proprietary gaming technology allows people to solve clues that are built around their city and ensures that every team follows a unique path. The winner receives a significant piece of jewelry, and all participants are given a gift certificate to the participating jeweler’s store.
“I recently got a text message from my client in Detroit two weeks after the event ran,” Hagan declares. “He said he just sold his fourth diamond ring and covered the entire cost of the promotion.” Budgets vary, as Diamond Dashes are all custom turnkey events, “but we’ve put them on for as little as $14,000 and as high as $25,000,” Hagan states.
As programs step up to the phones that have any kind of internet connectivity, there are other options, such as banner ads, which will work on a high percentage of phones. It costs more to develop these programs, but “you do get a far better amount of retention and usability because it is just a more immersive experience,” notes Wehrs.
Keith Katz, vice president of marketing at Cellufun, offers services based on games on these midrange phones. The core demographic his firm offers is 18 to 34, with 60 percent female users, though marketing can be targeted to specific groups.
Measurable ROIWhen it comes to return on investment (ROI), many mobile marketing firms speak in terms of click-through rates (CTR), which measure the average number of click-throughs per hundred ad impressions, meaning the percentage of people who clicked on the ad to arrive at the destination website. “CTR on banners are 1 to 1.5 percent, which is about ten times higher than what you would typically see on a web banner ad,” Katz states. Cellufun campaigns cost a minimum of $10,000.
The company hosts a virtual jewelry store called Ring and Bling within one of its games. Options for marketers include a banner ad around the store, renaming the store, giving away virtual items or letting consumers give gifts to other players.
At the top end of the mobile marketing spectrum is the full mobile app, which runs on the phone and connects over the internet. Wehrs describes apps as “a very immersive experience.” Christie’s, for example, now enables iPhone users to browse any auction, get real-time auction results, view sale catalogs and more. The auction house has surpassed 25,000 app users and averages 400 app runs per day.
Argenti noted that luxury phones — such as Nokia’s Vertu series, which retails between $4,800 and $200,000 — often have a lot of the same apps as the iPhone. Luxury phones can be specially targeted by mobile marketing campaigns.
Companies may also choose to tweak their existing website to make it more mobile friendly. A separate website just for mobile users is the best option in terms of user experience, but it will cost more.
Tailored ProgramsThe first step in any mobile marketing campaign is to determine its goals. “Are you measuring CTR, sales or perhaps brand uplift? Once you know what it is you are trying to drive, then you can tailor your program to have an enormously powerful impact,” says Wehrs.
“Pepsi did a three-month mobile marketing campaign recently, and they were getting 24 percent CTR. Now, from an online program perspective, with 0.2 percent CTR, you consider throwing a parade. So it’s two orders of magnitude better,” attests Wehrs.
Since retailers usually will need an agency or some other partner to launch a mobile campaign, Wehrs recommends, in addition to asking for sample campaigns and testimonials, “Ask them what their relationships are with the carriers. If they don’t know what you’re talking about, they probably don’t know what they’re going to be getting into once they try to deploy a program for you.” MMA membership is also an important indicator, according to Wehrs.
“If there is any advice that I could give to jewelry retailers,” concludes Hagan, “the biggest issue they are having is that they haven’t yet completely adapted to the fact that major media is not reaching 18- to 35-year-olds the way it used to. When you look into the future, if you’re not actively pursuing those consumers, you are not only cutting yourself out of the bridal market, but also the postbridal market as those people get married.”
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - December 2009. To subscribe click here.