Key takeaways
- Carrabba’s Tampa four‑week SMS campaign enrolled 443 patrons and delivered a 35% redemption rate, far exceeding the original 5% goal.
- Sign‑up was simple: customers texted “AMICI” to shortcode 82672 to join the list.
- Success came from localised databases and audience segmentation (by branch and by dining occasions) with tailored promotions.
- Key tactics: segment your list, localize offers by branch, vary promotions by customer occasion (early/late diners, carry‑out, Sunday lunch, happy hour) and iterate even after success.
- The Tampa run became the model for national expansion and a continuing SMS programme across locations.
Introduction
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 Carrabba’s Italian Grill in Tampa, Florida Turned out a 35 Percent Redemption Rate One part great content, one part timing, and a little smooth talking sprinkled on top for good measure. If you’re new to the world of SMS marketing, chances are your idea of the perfect text message follows along these lines to some degree. However, if you really want to stand out from the crowd, you’ll need to look beyond this rudimentary recipe and uncover the truth behind powerful and effective mobile marketing tactics.
To help you find the perfect blend of SMS “spices” that make up a great campaign, let’s dig into the tasty particulars of the top-notch initiative set forth by Carrabba’s Italian Grill in Tampa, Florida. This way, when it’s your time to whip up a winning batch of text offers, you’ll have all the ingredients you need to wow the eager customers waiting for your next great message.
Prepping the Kitchen
First off, it’s important to understand why Carrabba’s decided to enact this strategy in the Tampa market. Aside from the obvious desire to boost sales and increase foot traffic in its local restaurants, this brand also wanted to see if it could replicate, and exceed, the prior success enjoyed by the branches in the nearby Orlando region. With this in mind, the team behind this campaign laid out a four week stretch of text marketing. During this time, the goal was to reach a healthy five percent redemption rate – something any brand would be more than happy to collect at the end of a mobile marketing run. However, as you’ll soon see, this campaign went above and beyond in a major way.
Reaching out to the Audience
The outreach and education portion of this campaign featured segmentation on a variety of levels. First, each branch in the Tampa area set up a localized database to ensure a closer connection with repeat and unique consumers. Additionally, these locations also applied separate promotional strategies in an effort to appeal to varying patron groups. This specialized approach focused on early diners (4 P.M to 6 P.M.), late dining customers (8 P.M. to 10 P.M.), “Carside” carry-out patrons, Sunday lunch fans, and the “Happy Hour” demographic. Even though the promotional materials and outreach methods varied from group to group, each customer interested in joining the SMS list simply needed to text “AMICI” to the 82672 short code in order to join the contact list. Once on this list, members received a steady stream of relevant offers and discounts.
Exceeding Expectations in a Major Way
At the end of the four week campaign, the Tampa branches of Carrabba’s Italian Grill tallied up the results. In total, 443 local patrons joined the SMS contact lists, which in turn accounted for a 35 percent redemption rate. After dwarfing the original five percent goal, the team at Carrabba’s quickly made plans to expand this initiative to the national stage. Today, this campaign serves as the basis for a continuing bond between locations across the United States and the happy customers who can’t wait for the next great text message deal.
Creating Your Own SMS Success Story
Naturally, this is a lot to digest in one sitting. However, there’s a couple key themes to pick up on and help guide you during your next SMS campaign. First, even if you’ve already been around the block with your SMS operations, there’s always room for improvement. Even though the Orlando version of this campaign was a success, the team at Carrabba’s pushed the envelope in the Tampa market, and then later on a national stage.
Aside from constantly innovating your approach, learning how to break down your audience goes a long way toward specializing promotional offers and outreach methods. You might not have as many varied demographics within your base of consumers, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t at least learn to hone in on what each group likes and dislikes in terms of SMS marketing. If you can pull this tactic off, in addition to the rest of what you’ve learned from the stellar example set by Carrabba’s Italian Grill, you’ll have the perfect blend of SMS methods backing up your brand in no time.
FAQ
Over the four‑week campaign, 443 local patrons joined the SMS lists and the campaign produced a 35% redemption rate, versus an original goal of 5%.
Each Tampa branch maintained a localized database and applied separate promotional strategies targeting specific patron groups: early diners (4–6 p.m.), late diners (8–10 p.m.), Carside carry‑out customers, Sunday lunch fans and the Happy Hour demographic.
Interested customers joined the SMS list by texting “AMICI” to the shortcode 82672.
The campaign set a five percent redemption goal for the four‑week run. Actual performance was a 35% redemption rate, far exceeding the goal.
The case study attributes effectiveness to a mix of great content, well‑timed offers, smooth customer messaging, plus the localized, segmented approach that delivered relevant offers to different patron groups.
Key lessons: constantly innovate your SMS approach even after past successes, break down and segment your audience to specialize promotional offers and outreach and localize databases by branch to better connect with repeat and unique customers.
Yes. After the Tampa campaign exceeded expectations, the team planned expansion to the national stage and the campaign now serves as the basis for an ongoing SMS programme across U.S. locations.
