Making the Case for Mobile Marketing: Eagle Claw Fishing Equipment and Eco-Friendly Texts

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 building a better product for the environment, and promoting it via smart SMS messages, put Eagle Claw over the top with eco-friendly customers. Who says you can’t be environmentally friendly and make a splash with your customers at the same time? For Eagle Claw, a fishing equipment manufacturer and industry leader for the past 84 years, finding the balance between these two goals was the key to gaining ground with the rising tide of environmentally conscious consumers who enjoy fishing and getting a little closer with nature. To find out how Eagle Claw succeeded on both fronts, let’s spend some time looking over this fishing equipment provider’s stellar SMS campaign and see what lessons it might hold for your brand moving forward.

The Environmentally Sound Approach

At the heart of this SMS promotion was company’s latest offering, Bioline. As the world’s first biodegradable fishing line, this product aimed to please the fishing fanatics that wanted to reduce the impact synthetic lines had on their local waterways. Of course, spamming these customers with paper coupons that the eventually turn into litter and trash kind of defeats the purpose.To maximize the environmental slant of this message, Eagle Claw turned to a smart text-oriented initiative. Not only did this approach provide these consumers with paperless coupons, thereby reducing the impact of the promotion on the local ecology, but it also tapped into the inherent power of SMS marketing.

Promoting the SMS Initiative

Naturally, this was a win-win for both parties at first glance. However, Eagle Claw knew that it had to build a solid SMS contact list to get the word out on Bioline. To achieve this, the brand honed in on the 33rd Annual International Sportsmen’s Expo in Denver, Colorado. By setting up opt-in sheets and promotional materials throughout the convention, as well as purchasing ad space in local markets, Eagle Claw developed a strong text backing.From here, the brand moved to connecting with the customers that opted-in via powerful and engaging mobile messages. As part of this outreach, participating shoppers received a paperless, environmentally friendly coupon to put toward the initial purchase of a spool of Bioline. For customers that enjoyed the product and stuck around as part of the contact list, more exciting and valuable offers regularly appeared via text.

Reeling In the Results

While Eagle Claw expected quite the response from the expo, the guys in charge of the promotion weren’t prepared for the influx of purchase requests that this SMS campaign spawned. After two days, the company’s inventory had been depleted, causing the fishing manufacturer to pull down signage and rush production to catch up with the overwhelming rise in business and demand.In total, Eagle Claw analyzed all sales for the four day period and concluded that a whopping 23 percent of the company’s total profit during this period was directly related to the SMS campaign. Considering that the brand ran out of Bioline halfway through the promotion, it’s fairly safe to say that this percentage, and the gross profit of this push, would have been even higher had Eagle Claw expected such a massive amount of participation.

Creating Your Own Brand Message

So now that you’ve read up on how Eagle Claw leveraged an eco-friendly text message campaign to increase sales and goodwill among customers, it’s time to find out what tips and ideas you can pull from this case study to give your brand an extra SMS boost. To start, finding a cause related to your products and making it the focal point of your advertising operations is a powerful way to strengthen the bond with your audience. While Eagle Claw chose to focus on protecting the environment, it’s okay if the desires and ideals of your customers take you down a different path. The big point here is that you find what matters to them, and show how your brand cares about the same issues and ideological concerns.Additionally, finding the right platform to spread the word regarding your SMS campaign is also important. While digital advertising and traditional outlets definitely have a spot in most initiatives, going above and beyond with industry conventions and local events can really impress your customers. If you can do this, in addition to the rest of what you’ve learned from Eagle Claw’s outstanding text campaign, you’ll be well on your way to standing above the competition in no time.

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