The New York Times recently ran a story about an interesting phone-cam marketing program run by two popular magazines:

Rolling Stone and Men’s Health are both testing programs in which readers can take cameraphone pictures of icons on ads, then send them to a certain number. In exchange, they’ll receive more information or an offer from the advertiser.

What's in it for the reader?

In Rolling Stone’s current issue, five advertisers are running these offers. They include a motorcycle ring tone for Allstate’s motorcycle-insurance program and a video preview of The Discovery Channel’s new season of “Man vs. Wild.” Men’s Health is going even further, saying each full-page advertisement in its July-August issue will have the added feature.

Read more at the New York Times.

Visit Club Texting for more information about mobile marketing for magazines.

BusinessWeek has an interesting story on mobile advertising in the UK:

Banner advertising on cell phones is reaching its target, especially female heads of households, according to the retailer's mobile arm
...
The mobile virtual network operator has been trialling a WAP advertising portal since May 2007, which Tesco said has displayed strong month-on-month growth, gaining 300,000 unique visitors in December.

Banner advertising served up on the portal delivered a click-through rate to tailored WAP campaign sites of between three and seven per cent, said Tesco. Brands advertising on the portal included Bee Movie, ITV, Nivea and Teletext.

Read more at BusinessWeek.

BrandWeek is reporting on an exciting development in the mobile couponing space:

McDonald’s is dialing up mobile coupons for a regional test at 113 locations in Utah, Wyoming and Nevada. Consumers can receive one of the chain’s new iced coffees for free when they use a mobile coupon at participating stores between April 7-27.

So how does it work?

Customers are asked to go to cellfire.com or text “mcd” to 22888 to receive the application. Upon signing up, they receive a unique redemption code that consumers show the McDonald’s cashier. Once registered, they can receive future offers from other  merchants as well

Read more @ BrandWeek.

Ars Technica has a first look at Amazon's recently announced SMS ordering system.  Some details about the system:

Amazon is still working on its goal of becoming your one-stop shop for anything, at any time or any place. Today, the company introduced TextBuyIt, a sort of SMS version of its 1-Click buying system. Users can send a text message to "AMAZON" (262966) with a product name, author, artist name, ISBN, or UPC code and receive the top two Amazon search results back almost instantly. From there, they can find out more information or simply make a purchase directly from their mobile phones. Although the process is a breeze on a smartphone, Amazon's real goal is to make buying easy for those with "plain old" mobile phones.

Head over to Ars to see some screenshots of the system in action on the author's iPhone.

The state of the market right now:

In 2007, mobile marketing reached just under $3 billion. The majority of the increase in spending will be through SMS or MMS messaging campaigns.

The prediction for the future:

Text messaging is expected to remain the highest ad placement for marketers because of emerging markets in Asia and India which do not support video, display and other mobile campaigns. Messaging is expected to account for more than $14 billion of the total $19 billion spent on mobile campaigns by 2012. Messaging campaigns accounted for $2.5 billion in mobile ad revenues in 2007. Text-based ads have a response rate of more than 10%.

Read more at BizReport.

Neilsen Mobile has a new study out on the state of mobile marketing; the numbers looks good:

Nearly a quarter of mobile users say they’ve encountered some sort of advertising on their mobile devices, despite the relatively small universe of mobile Internet users, says a new report issued by Nielsen Mobile.

Over the last 30 days, 58 million users reported being exposed to mobile advertising, or 23 percent of the total mobile audience, according to Nielsen’s bi-annual Mobile Advertising Report, which is based on a survey of over 22,000 active mobile data users (those who use phones for more than just phone calls). And while just 13.7 percent of mobile subscribers have accessed the mobile Internet--still the biggest source of mobile advertising, says Nielsen--users are finding ad messaging on their mobile devices in numerous ways.

So what do these numbers mean?

As for whether mobile advertising works, perhaps because they are well targeted, or perhaps because they still stand out in this uncluttered medium - currently, these ads are generating strong response rates, based on Nielsen’s report. In the past 30 days, 28 million users claim to have seen a mobile ad and responded to it in some fashion. Interestingly, the most popular response to a mobile ad was neither a click nor a call – but a text. Nielsen’s survey found that 26 percent of those who responded to mobile ads did by sending an SMS message.

Read more @ MediaWeek

Ran Pass  Liquors is more than your average liquor store. Each year, this El Paso-based liquor store donates over 10% of its income to local charities, sponsors numerous events in the El Paso market - from live bands to its very own event "UNITY JAM" – and stays ahead of the game by offering their customers drink recipes and special discounts. To further extend their reach, Ran Pass also delivers and sells to bars & nightclubs. Following an overhaul of their website, customers will be able to seek information on brands, mixers, wines, etc.
   
     

Objective:
Ran Pass was looking for an innovative way to keep current and potential customers posted on their weekly discounts, specials, events and other news, especially during slower days of the week.  With the upcoming website, they not only wanted to offer customers an online ordering option, but also a TXT-2-Order option for those customers on the go.  Ran Pass Liquors turned to Club Texting to come up with a custom program that will meet these needs.

Solution:
Ran Pass chose to unveil their text messaging program in two phases. The first was a push to generate signups and send mass discounts to their subscribers. Here is a sample of tactics:

• Offering 10% time-sensitive discounts on purchases, along with free t-shirts
• Using MySpace bulletins to promote the program and our Widget to increase signups
• Ordered over 1000 custom water bottles to distribute during the upcoming Mardi Gras festival with a call-to-action directly on the label
• Hired female staff members to hand out cards at bars/clubs with Text incentives

Phase two, which will be completed shortly, will include a brand new online ordering system for deliveries. Registered customers who wish to order via SMS can simply text “LIQUOR + their order” to 25827. They will immediately receive a confirmation message, and their order will be delivered in under 30 minutes.

Outcome:
Using the Club Texting system, Ran Pass has started collecting a valuable database of cell phone numbers and, with a strong marketing campaign in place over the next few months, will be a pioneer in mobile spirits sales!

Visit Club Texting to supercharge your business' mobile marketing efforts.

iMedia Connection recently ran a piece by Mike Baker, the VP of Nokia Ad Business, on the importance of mobile marketing to the retail industry.

First, he succinctly defines the medium:

Mobile advertising is the opportunity to serve potential customers with a relevant, appealing offer on which they can easily act. For instance, a consumer is browsing mobile content or viewing a mobile map when an opportunity is presented to click through a banner ad to receive a mobile coupon that can easily be redeemed at a store, or to schedule a test drive of a new vehicle model or to find the nearest retailer of a certain product, with useful directions to the nearest point of sale.

He also provides some informative examples of how retailers might utilize the mobile platform:

• Mobile alerts update customers of sales, new products and shipments or extended hours.
• Mobile coupons drive customers to the store with special deals they don't need to worry about clipping from the newspaper and remembering at a later date.
• Mobile coupons sent on a card member's birthday enhance loyalty.
• Text notifications of coupon expiration dates drive store visits.
• Mechanics like birthday reminders, mobile access to wish lists, recipes or shopping lists stored on or sent to the phone encourage in-store shopping.

Head over to iMedia Connection to read the entire piece--it's worth your time.

In today's New York Times, Business writer Bob Tedeschi takes a look at text messaging, and how online retailers are successfully using the medium to reinforce their brand messages:

ONLINE retailers were, for all the obvious reasons, the pioneers of Web advertising. When it comes to advertising on the mobile Web, though, they are treading carefully.

On the one hand, executives and analysts said, online retailers are right to be cautious. After all, few consumers are buying items through their mobile devices. But at least some online retailers say they have found enticing success from early marketing efforts, as long as those initiatives are aimed at simply keeping themselves on the radar of customers as opposed to trying to prompt an immediate purchase or a visit to the company’s Web site.

So how does it work?

Take Moosejaw Mountaineering, for example, an outdoor goods retailer based in Madison Heights, Mich. Earlier this year, Moosejaw began sending out text messages to more than 1,000 of its customers who had signed up to receive them. The campaign caught on quickly, with recipients often sending messages back to the retailer and receiving loyalty program points as a reward.

A recent message sent to customers, for instance, conveyed the news that someone had told Robert Wolfe, one of Moosejaw’s founders, that he looked like Ben Stiller. It then asked customers whether that was a good thing and promised points in the company’s rewards program for those who answered “correctly” (meaning yes). Sixty-six percent of the customers who received the message voted.

There is a lot more to read, so head over to the New York Times now.

Last week, we reported that Calvin Klein had launched a texting inspired fragrance--In2U. It now appears that In2u is more than just a gimmicky brand name; Calvin Klein has rolled out interactive billboards that encourage users to send in text messages.

Calvin Klein has launched its new "text-friendly" fragrance using mobile marketing technology in the city of Toronto. On the three largest digital billboards in the country, Calvin Klein ran ads that asked passersby to text a reply to the message, "What are you in 2?"

The question ran for 20 seconds on the billboards in a square next to Canada's busiest mall. Mobile users could reply to the question using a shortcode and could see their message run live on one of the three billboards.

Head over to MediaBuyerPlanner to continue reading.