What makes mobile campaigns successful?

It cannot be contested that the race to innovate in the mobile technology space is imperative for many companies. A recent article in imedia highlights three of the best 2011 campaigns thus far. The first example include Starbucks which turns an iPhone into a Starbucks card, allowing customers to check balances, reload their cards and even pay with their phone. Second, JCPenney has integrated its mobile strategy to include SMS couponing that also uses scannable codes. Finally, Target was one of the first big-box retailers to implement mobile barcode scanning in all its locations nationwide. It has also developed e-circulars, a RFID "tap and pay" service, and an entire mobile preference center aimed at creating a 360 degree customer experience.

What clearly defines a successful mobile campaign is if it is integrated into the entire marketing strategy. Companies need to view it as part of their multi-channel approach in order for it to work. It must be deemed useful and garner repeat visits. For example, American Express had a travel mobile application for its Platinum Cardmembers that offer flight alerts and information about airport lounges that come as a benefit with the card. However, it did not gain much popularity as it wasn't enough of an added benefit for Cardmembers to continue using the application. However, when Amex launched its Foursquare application as part of an integrated campaign that offered automatic rebates when purchasing with certain retailers, it was an instant success. The mobile campaign integrated a core benefit to the actual product and was marketed as an additional value proposition. Mobile applications need to make sense and benefit the user in some way - whether it be through increased efficiency or entertainment, the mobile campaign needs to focus on the end user. It will be interesting to see how mobile campaigns evolve in the future as the space becomes more saturated.

For more details on the Starbucks/JCPenney/Target campaigns go here:

http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/30579.asp