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 perfect SMS lineup brought a local sports television show a major boost in viewership and customer interaction.Who says that only the biggest brands can get in on the power of SMS marketing? As Kentucky Sports Television (KSTV) showed with a three-week mobile marketing campaign, sometimes it’s not about the size of the marketing bat you bring to the game, but how you swing it. To learn more about KSTV’s successful sports-oriented text initiative, let’s spend a few minutes breaking down the show’s strategy and what it might mean for your organization moving forward.
Honing In on the Right Audience
For KSTV, the whole point of reaching out to customers via mobile messages was to boost the interaction between the community and this sports talk show. Naturally, the people pulling the strings of this campaign knew that not everyone would be interested in learning more about the sports-related content of this program. Instead of wasting time appealing to the masses, KSTV honed in a very specific target audience – men, aged 18 to 45, in the Louisville, Kentucky area. By keeping the focus on this group, KSTV could begin to mold the perfect plan to increase interaction from this demographic.
Enacting a Powerful Game Plan
Once the sports program had its sights set on this group, it needed to hammer out its mobile marketing game plan. With this in mind, KSTV set out to create “The Ultimate Tailgating Experience.” At the heart of this concept was enticing these men to sign-up for the mobile contact list in exchange for a chance to win a plethora of goodies. Included in this prize package was a $150 gift card to the Kroger grocery store, a case of Rootie’s BBQ sauce, an event tent, a grill, and a wide selection of sports memorabilia. In short, everything a sports fanatic would need to enjoy tailgating before a major sports event.To add a little icing on the cake, KSTV provided extra opportunities to win the event for those willing to opt-in to its mobile marketing contact list more than once. In total, 10 additional shots at the grand prize were up for grabs for the fans willing to “double opt-in.” If you’re unfamiliar with this process, it’s a method usually used to confirm a contact list membership request or as a gateway that unlocks premium services and features – in this case, extra chances to win.
The Final Score
After an exciting three weeks, KSTV was ready to crown a winner. Of course, the winner we’re talking about isn’t the guy that won the tailgating goodies, but rather the sports television program itself. For all of its hard work, KSTV received the greatest prize any brand utilizing SMS marketing could ask for – a massive jump in visibility and consumer interaction.With several thousand local sports fans participating in the event, KSTV was already on the path to notching a mark in the win column. However, the simple fact that over 54 percent of the respondents agreed to future communications helped lay the foundation for a responsive and connected mobile community. Additionally, KSTV sifted through the data in the weeks following the sweepstakes to learn more about its target demographic. This information would prove valuable in future SMS campaigns and other outreach programs enacted by KSTV.
Maximizing Your Time at the SMS Plate
So now that the clock has reached zero on KSTV’s outstanding SMS campaign, it’s time to figure out what your brand can take from this case study and put to good use the next time it sets into the mobile marketing arena. First up, if you’re going to offer a prize package or sweepstakes, you better make it worth your audience’s time. To make this a little easier, follow in KSTV’s footsteps and spend some time learning a little more about your target demographic. This way, you know exactly what strikes their fancy when it’s time to promote the big event. Additionally, getting creative with your consumer interaction, like double opt-ins and extra sweepstakes entries, helps strengthen the bond between you and your audience. With these lessons learned from KSTV’s campaign, you’ll have everything you need to knock one out of the park the next time you step up to bat with your mobile customers.
