Coupons Gain New Market on Cellphones
Posted by Universal Ad at Thursday, September 20, 2007 7:42 AM and is filed under Mobile,Advertising,Coupons 
The Wall Street Journal covers the mobile coupon market. Although the examples come mostly from the restaurant sector, this should be of interest to all retailers - how to move your low-tech coupon-based ads to a more high-tech mobile vehicle, and how to avoid consumers' privacy concerns.
The article focuses on Cellfire's approach that invites consumers to sign up to receive discount coupons on their cell phones. They can cash in by simply showing their cell phone screen to the cashier (next step - emailing the coupon from the phone directly to the register).
Examples include discount coupons and event promotions for Wienerschnitzel's, Virgin Megastores, Hollywood Video, Domino's Pizza and Quiznos Subs. Results show 15% redemption rates in NY and CA, compared to an average 5% return for print coupons.
Before you start contact one of the many mobile advertising companies, remember that this business is still in its infancy (only $421 million were spent in the US in 2006, compared to $16.9 billion spent online last year) so it is still mostly for those who would consider themselves to be early adopters.
Posted by Universal Ad
The article focuses on Cellfire's approach that invites consumers to sign up to receive discount coupons on their cell phones. They can cash in by simply showing their cell phone screen to the cashier (next step - emailing the coupon from the phone directly to the register).
Examples include discount coupons and event promotions for Wienerschnitzel's, Virgin Megastores, Hollywood Video, Domino's Pizza and Quiznos Subs. Results show 15% redemption rates in NY and CA, compared to an average 5% return for print coupons.
Before you start contact one of the many mobile advertising companies, remember that this business is still in its infancy (only $421 million were spent in the US in 2006, compared to $16.9 billion spent online last year) so it is still mostly for those who would consider themselves to be early adopters.
Another consideration - privacy issues. How many and what type of coupons will users tolerate? Unlike TV, radio and print, cell phones are considered "personal space" by some consumers, so you will have to start out gradually to gauge the response. You certainly wouldn't want to be seen as a mobile spammer!
A safe first step would be a subscription-based service for which users can sign up online or through text messaging, define the amount and frequency of coupons they would like to receive, and then receive targeted messages based on the demographic and/or geographic data they entered when signing for the service.Posted by Universal Ad
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