Making the Case for Mobile Marketing: Brewing Up the Perfect Mobile Marketing Strategy with Bulmers Irish Cider

by Victor Green
3 mins read

The impact of mobile marketing can’t be overstated. According to IDC, more people in the U.S. will access the Internet through a mobile device than through their PC by 2015. In this new series, Elite Email takes a look at highly successful campaigns to uncover their mobile marketing lessons. This week’s case study: How Bulmers Irish Cider brewed up the perfect recipe for lasting SMS success. After a long day at work or while you’re watching the game on the weekend, there’s nothing quite like enjoying a cold beverage as you relax. When served with a healthy dose of moderation and responsibility, the combination of hanging out with friends and knocking a few back is one of life’s great pleasures. Bulmers Irish Cider in the U.K. naturally understood this concept, as well as the need for a smart and effective way of connecting with consumers. With this in mind, let’s take a look at how this hard cider brewer brought the message of good times and great drinks to an audience primed for reacting to powerful and effective text messages.

Building the Basis for a Great Campaign

At the heart of Bulmers’ mobile marketing plan was a creative take on interacting with audience members. Instead of simply shipping out a simple coupon or limited time offer and hoping for the best, this brewery decided to play to the tastes and habits of its target demographics. For members of the contact list, a simple message pointing them to the nearest pub that offered Bulmers’ on tap or in a bottle served as the foundation for this outreach. To gauge just how effective this clever, “friendly banter” approach really was in getting customers into pubs across the U.K., Bulmers ran a test that spanned four weeks and 77,000 text messages. With a sample size like that, this brand was sure to find out just how strong a great SMS campaign can be when pulled off properly.

Understanding the Importance of Targeting

Before jumping headfirst into the results of Bulmers’ text program, it’s important to note this brand didn’t just simply fire off a one-time text filled with generic directions for heading to the pub. Instead, this marketing campaign focused on two key targeting methods to enhance the impact and power of this message. First, much like the geofence approach discussed in the case study on Pizza Hut, Bulmers implemented a tracking system that only sent messages when customers were near participating pubs. Additionally, these messages were highly specialized to provide specific directions to the pub in question, creating a unique and interactive experience for contact list members.Outside of the hi-tech geofence concept, this brewery also took its targeting methods in a more conventional direction. Considering that guys in the age range of 18 to 34 love kicking back and having a few brews, it’s no surprise that Bulmers focused exclusively on this portion of their audience. When combined with the ability to keep tabs on the location of these males and connect with them when they were in the neighborhood, it’s not hard to see why Bulmers’ open invitation was a savvy way to drum up some interest and excitement for its products.

Breaking down the Results

So now that you’re up to speed on the particulars of this campaign, it’s time to see what Bulmers received for its hard work. To start, 25 percent of the recipients purchased a cider at a participating pub after opening the text, while 53 percent did the same at another target pub later on. Together, this equates to a conversion rate that hovered around 75 percent – not too shabby, to say the least. In the long-term, Bulmers reconnected with targeted audience members after the promotional period to get a feel for the brand awareness generated by the campaign. In total, 53 percent of those surveyed at least remembered receiving the message, serving as a clear signal that this brewery made a lasting impact with its audience.

Brewing Up a Winning Recipe for Your Brand

While your business might not be centered on crafting tasty ciders for your audience’s enjoyment, that doesn’t mean that you can’t take a page out of Bulmers’ book and brew up your own appealing SMS recipe. To start, it’s clear to see that targeting the right demographic is one of the strongest ways to make a splash with your texts. From here, the messages themselves, as well as how you deploy them, need to pique the curiosity of your audience, so don’t hesitate to think outside the box. Even if you’re not offering a deal or discount, as long as your content spurs them to action, you’ll be well on your way to keeping the company of Bulmers and all the other brands highlighted in these case studies.

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