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 the Legends In Concert tribute revue spread the word about its show via stellar SMS messages and extended billboard integration. Imagine if you could sit down and watch Elvis Presley, Adele, and The Blues Brothers all perform on the same night. Seems impossible, right? Well for fans of the Legends In Concert tribute show located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the ability to come close to this dream, via talented impersonators and a one-of-a-kind concert environment, turned to reality, even if just for one night. However, spreading the word regarding this amazing series of performances wasn’t exactly easy, especially amid a sluggish music marketplace.To overcome this roadblock, Legends In Concert turned to one of the most powerful marketing tools around – SMS marketing. In order to learn exactly how this method helped bring in a slew of new customers, and generate a lasting mobile contact list, let’s spend a few minutes digging into the particulars of this campaign.
Setting the Stage for an SMS Showcase
At the core of this mobile marketing initiative was a two-fold approach. First, the management arm of Legends In Concert wanted to build an SMS contact list from the ground up in order to develop a lasting relationship with the local Myrtle Beach audience. However, as a business located in one of the biggest tourist destinations in the United States, this tribute show also wanted to capitalize on the short term gains of marketing toward the heavy flow of transient traffic found in the area. These two vastly different requirements presented a serious challenge to the brand, yet also provided an opportunity to highlight the flexibility and expansive reach of mobile marketing.
Finding the Right Platform for Both Goals
Trying to appeal to two different segments of the target audience isn’t exactly easy, so most readers probably assume that Legends In Concert needed to include a variety of different platforms to reach its goals. However, this case of mobile marketing surprisingly goes in a different direction. In order to reach both targeted groups, this show purchased ad space on billboards in high traffic areas around town and highlighted a discount coupon offer in return for joining the burgeoning contact list. While this might seem like an unexciting method of spreading the word, Legends In Concert utilized a very unique approach to this traditional platform.By incorporating billboards equipped with digital technology, they were able to implement several promotional slides, each with shifting variations of “text-in” keywords. This process not only vaulted over the issues associated with static billboards – namely fading into the local scenery – but also provided the promoter with the ability to get creative and showcase various acts from the show. Adding in that these billboards promoted the SMS campaign in areas trafficked by tourists and locals further cemented that this decision keyed in on both goals.During the later stages of the campaign, Legends In Concert utilized geo-location tools to increase the amount of ads displayed when contact list members were in the area. This practice proved that with the right technology, even something as mundane as a standard billboard can instantly become a highly refined and optimized tool for the promotion of text marketing.
The Big Finale
In return for all of this hard work, the Legends In Concert review received a major push on both fronts. First, in the short term the coupon promotion associated with new members of the contact list generated a 16 percent conversion rate and 1,200 percent return on the initial investment. Naturally, these figures are pretty nice on their own. However, the true success came from the lasting connection created by the growth of the contact list. Today, Legends In Concert boasts a 1,600 member list that is still growing at a healthy pace each day.
Writing Your Own SMS Hit
For brands looking to break onto the SMS scene like this organization, the message behind the success is fairly straightforward. If you connect with consumers via the right platform, and offer solid value in your promotion, they’ll go above and beyond in rewarding you for your hard work. Naturally, utilizing billboard space might not always be the right call, but taking the time to find what does work when spreading the word about your upcoming text campaign can help you join the ranks of Legends In Concert and other brands that unlocked the power of a properly tuned SMS initiative.
