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 savvy SMS marketing got the rhythm flowing at TAO Nightclub.Few people can say no to a night at the club with good friends or maybe that special someone. From enjoying a couple drinks to getting your groove on as the DJ keeps the music rolling, you really have to go out of your way to not have fun. Unfortunately, TAO Nightclub’s slacking attendance quickly switched the dance tunes to the blues for the owners and managers. Fortunately, with some catchy SMS messages and a good eye for great timing, TAO Nightclub turned things around in a big way. If you’re wondering how, don’t worry – we’ve got all the details and a little insight into how it might fit into your mobile marketing strategy moving forward.
Setting the Stage for the Big Night
While plenty of other SMS marketing case studies focus on setting up a great text message database, this one’s a little different. Instead signing up new users for the first time, TAO Nightclub already had a thriving user list of 6,000 customers. With these partygoers serving as the foundation for the campaign, the club began laying the framework to help highlight the next big event on the calendar. As you’ll see, honing in on a big event ended up being the centerpiece for some special nights at the TAO.
Filling the Dance Floors with a Great Mobile Strategy
Unlike other companies covered in this series, most of which simply got behind coupons and called the process good (definitely a strong strategy), TAO Nightclub had to do things a little different. By making the text message an exclusive offer for an upcoming event, the club gave the mobile marketing list members a reward for joining the club. Naturally, throwing in a discount at the door didn’t hurt either. With this text message in hand, the text members got to show off at the door and save a few extra bucks while the rest of the crowd watched and waited in line.
Getting Particular with SMS Messages
Of course, the big secret to this campaign was that the messages only promoted the visiting DJs and weekly parties the night they happened. By doing this, TAO Nightclub helped drum up some hype and made the regular nights at the club even more exciting by giving the events a more personal feel. Instead of just a simple “come to our club” message, members of the text list received something that was closer to having a friend invite them to a big-time event that’s going down later that night and less like just your average night at the club.
The Final Tally
So once the doors closed and the employees cleaned up the bars and dance floors, what was the final tally on the night? As far as heads in the door go, the first run of the SMS marketing campaign brought in an extra 118 guys and 102 women to the club. In total, $1,770 worth of extra revenue via admission fees was good enough to call the whole deal a resounding success. However, people don’t just come to the club and skip out on drinks during the night. The 220 partygoers ended up spending an additional $4,400 in drinks by night’s end. Adding this on top of the usual crowd made for the first of many outstanding turnouts at the TAO Nightclub.
Where Do You Fit in?
While you might not be in the nightclub business, there are still quite a few lessons you can take from this case study and sneak into your own great SMS campaign. First off, it’s all about timing. By shooting off messages the day of the event, you can add a feeling of spontaneity and urgency to your marketing that might be lacking if you’re bludgeoning your viewers over the head with daily messages. Additionally, simply getting customers in your doors is a big deal. TAO Nightclub knew that giving discounts at the door naturally eats away at that specific revenue stream. However, these clubbers might not have even shown up if not for the discount – not to mention the massive amounts of cash spent at the bar by these event-goers during the night. In short, get them in the door with a great deal and your bottom line will thank you later.
