The best way to reach young consumers is via mobile marketing:

The youth demographic is more inseparable from its mobile device than any other and is the bread-and-butter of many marketers, though marketing to that segment presents its own unique challenges.

So how are the big retailers out there doing it?

“Some of the most common are getting prominent display of the call-to-action, such as in-program TV placement, getting all the stakeholders to buy in and rising above all the noise,” he said.
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“We try to engage young people using different media to get the call-to-action out and to get responses,” Mr. Andersson said. “Using ringtones and videos as lures for the youth segment has been very effective.

“Rich content download is key—the richer the content, the higher the response rate,” he said. “For example, offering full MP3s gets more responses than offering a ringtone download.”

Read more at Mobile Marketer, or read about mobile marketing for retail at Club Texting.

Earlier, we told you about how Obama would be announcing his VP pick via text message. So how did it go?

The market researcher estimates that 2.9 million U.S. mobile subscribers received a text message from the Obama campaign Aug. 22-24.

“The VP message was sent in the late hours of Friday night and is, by many accounts, the single largest mobile marketing event in the U.S., to date,” said Nic Covey, Chicago-based director of insights at Nielsen Mobile.

Head over to Mobile Marketer to read more, or visit Club Texting to learn about mobile marketing for political campaigns.

Arby's, the popular national fast food chain is offering its customers mobile coupons:

Fast food franchise Arby’s is using mobile to complement its existing marketing strategy, reach consumers and enhance customer interaction with the brand.
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Consumers who sign up will be eligible to receive buy-one-get-one-free beef ’n cheddar sandwich coupons, discounts on Jamocha shakes and free Chicken Filet Sandwiches with purchase of medium fries and a medium drink.

The coupons are redeemable now through Aug. 30.

Read more at Mobile Marketer, or head over to Club Texting to read about Mobile Coupons for your business.

Univision, the large Spanish language broadcaster is stepping up their mobile efforts:

Media giant Univision Communications Inc. is expanding delivery of mobile services to Univision Radio, one of the leading Spanish-language radio groups nationwide.

Read more at Mobile Marketer, or head over to Club Texting to read more about mobile marketing for radio stations.

Sony's Bluetooth based mobile marketing campaign has produced some great results:

The four-week campaign placed Bluetooth-enabled units in theaters in more than 17 states, inviting moviegoers to download content like audio and video clips for the upcoming film (which the company declined to name) as well as a reminder that prompted them on the night before the movie's release.

Read more at MediaPost's Online Media Daily.

Moving beyond mobile marketing, Polo Ralph Lauren is stepping into mobile commerce:

Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. has launched a mobile commerce service to let consumers buy products through their handsets.

How is Polo combining their mobile marketing efforts with their new mobile commerce program?

Consumers can sign up for Ralph Lauren mobile alerts by texting RALPH LAUREN to 23000 or by going to the mobile site and entering their mobile number.

The SMS alerts tell consumers about store openings, events and other initiatives that Ralph Lauren is launching.

By leveraging QR code technology, Ralph Lauren will offer consumers the opportunity to shop via their camera phones by scanning the QR code appearing in print advertisements, store windows and mailers.

The QR codes will link consumers directly to Ralph Lauren's limited edition 2008 U.S. Open Collection - as well as sell Ralph Lauren Classics including Polos, Oxfords and Chinos.

Read more at Mobile Marketer, or head over to Club Texting's retail messaging site.

In the past we've covered the Obama campaigns effective use of text messaging. Now comes even more exciting news:

You know it's a new era when a US Presidential candidate plans to make a major announcement using a new technology. The campaign of Barack Obama has announced on the blog for its social network that it will be announcing Obama's Vice Presidential running mate first by mobile text message and email.

Read more at ReadWriteWeb or head over to the Obama campaign site to read the official announcement of the text messaging program.

Click to learn about Club Texting's text messaging solutions for political campaigns.

Great news for Netflix users and anyone who shops on Amazon.com:

Consumers can now update their Netflix queue and Amazon Wish Lists right from their mobile phone, without getting onto the Internet.

So how does it work?

Consumers sign up at http://www.kwiry.com, where they are asked to fill out their Netflix and Amazon account information.

Then, if a friend recommends a movie at lunch, users can simply text "NETFLIX” followed by the movie title to kwiry's short code, 59479.

Kwiry automatically adds the movie to the user’s Netflix queue and the movie arrives on their doorstep.

Read more at Mobile Marketer.

Rising fuel prices + text messaging = NASCAR's Drive $marter Challenge

NASCAR teamed up with the Alliance to Save Energy for the campaign, which will feature care tips on NASCAR's reality television show, "NASCAR Angels." The second aspect of the campaign will focus on providing fuel-efficiency tips to consumers on their mobile phones.

Read more at Mobile Marketer.

Justin Oberman of mopocket discusses Chase's successful Text-2-Win US Open campaign:

As I was saying, from June 9th to August 9th all over New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, ads on top of taxi cabs, on bus shelters, on payphone kiosks, on billboards and in the subways Chase advertisements are drawing your attention (in text speak) to send the text message “Win” to the shortcode “CHASE (24273) for a chance to win free tickets to the Open. The exact reading being something like “Tennis ne1?” or “Cu @ the Open” followed by a much smaller print saying

“You could win US Open Tickets.
Text ‘Win’ to Chase (24273) Now”

Chase will immediately text back entrants to notify them if they’ve won or lost.

Click here to read more @ mopocket.
Click here for more information about Club Texting's Text-2-Win Program.

The Olympic Games in Beijing have begun...but how to stay up to date?

According to the Mobile Marketing Association, sponsoring companies and others are offering mobile consumers news, incentives, games and Olympic content “in a new and exciting way.”

Read more @ TMCNet.com.

The NYPD steps into the 21st Century:

In an effort to involve younger citizens, the New York City Police Department unveiled a way to send in tips via text message.

Texting CRIMES, or 274637, on a cell phone, will begin a text conversation with detectives who will be standing by at the police department. To begin, users must precede their message with the code, "TIP577," which will then create an alias to ensure anonymity. In case of danger, police said, a user can conclude a message with the word "stop," which will keep him or her from receiving any further messages from the police.

Read more @ The Sun (via Gothamist)

Europe, always a couple of years ahead of the States when it comes to SMS is trying out an innovative new SMS concept:

Orange has run the world's first in-SMS advertising trial in Switzerland in partnership with Amobee Media Systems, a provider of advertising solutions for mobile phones. Several major brands participated in the project.

Orange ran a trial with SMS-embedded ads in Switzerland to leverage the mobile advertising potential in European markets.

Read more @ MarketWatch.

Just how effective are text message based mobile marketing campaigns?

It’s good to talk, but the second most popular activity on a mobile phone is text messaging. It also happens to be the most successful mobile advertising medium, according to a recently released report by the DMA. Of the 800 U.S. mobile phone users surveyed, 70% said they had responded to a marketing text message whereas just 41% had responded to a survey and 30% to email offers.

Read more @ Biz Report.
Launch your mobile marketing campaign today at Club Texting.

If you were in New York last summer you remember this:

When torrential rains shut down nearly the entire subway system last Aug. 8, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority was unable to provide quick information to riders. Its Web site crashed. And other means of delivering information like cellphone alerts, downloadable maps and electronic message boards were not available.

The M.T.A. has listened to your complaints:

Chastened by the criticism, the authority commissioned a study of what went wrong and proposed a number of fixes, including developing a system of customized e-mail and text message alerts for each subway line so riders could be informed about problems.

That notification service will be unveiled in September.
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But the “Big Kahuna,” Mr. Boylan said in a telephone interview, is the new system of real-time text alerts. Customers will be able to select information for specific subway, bus or railroad lines. “You’re going to self-select what you want, how much you want and when you want it,” Mr. Boylan said.

Read more at the New York Times.

A new report ABI Research explains just how important SMS based marketing is:

MS will continue to maintain its lead as the highest revenue generator across all messaging categories, providing global service revenues of $177 billion in 2013.

Read more at MarketWatch

IKEA has launched a mobile loyalty program to build a database of consumers interested in receiving discounts from the home furnishings retailer.

So how does it work?

The calls to action for the mobile loyalty program are posted online and promoted via email campaigns.
In-store signage asks consumers to text IKEA1 to short code 30364.

Texters get a message back letting them know that they will be receiving at least one IKEA message per week with deals, games and alerts.

Users can opt out by texting the word STOP to the short code 30364.

A few seconds after opting-in, consumers receive their first coupon and are instructed to bring it into the store to scan it at an IKEA mobile kiosk. The kiosks print a physical coupon.

Read more @ Mobile Marketer
Read about Club Texting's mobile couponing solutions.

Two giants get together for a mobile marketing campaign:

Wal-Mart has teamed up with Disney for free wake-up calls and customized activity reminders from Hannah Montana, star of the hit Disney Channel television series. By logging on to http://www.hannahmontanacalls.com, moms and dads can select the date, time and theme of their child's wake-up call or activity reminder and have them sent to their kid’s mobile phone.

Read more @ Mobile Marketer.

Because you can never gamble enough while you're in Vegas, a new casino is planning on deploying mobile gaming devices:

The M Resort, Spa and Casino will partner with Cantor Gaming to provide mobile gaming at the $1 billion Las Vegas property.

The casino is scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2009 on South Las Vegas Boulevard, known as the “South Strip.” Pending approval by the Nevada Gaming Commission and Nevada Control Board, Cantor’s eDeck handheld devices will enable mobile gaming in designated areas throughout the resort, including the pool area, casino bars, clubs, restaurants and M’s race and sports book.
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Mobile gaming will permit the play of familiar casino-style games, such as slots, blackjack, roulette, baccarat and poker, within the casino property, yet away from the confines of the traditional casino floor.

Read more @ Mobile Marketer.

Anheuser-Busch, maker of the Budweiser and Bud Light beers, is tapping into mobile via a text-to-win sweepstakes.

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Consumers in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia are asked to text BUD to 839863 to enter the “Gas Up and Go” SMS sweepstakes.

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When consumers text in they get a message back thanking them for entering the contest. There is also a link to the sweepstake's microsite at http://www.budcm.com/freegas, which provides them with more information regarding the promotion.

The initial call-to-action can be found on in-store signage. This campaign will run July 1 through Aug. 31. The winner will be selected in a random drawing on Sept. 1.

Anheuser-Busch’s text-to-win sweepstakes replaced its former paper sign-ups, in part because people would often steal tear-pad registration sheets.

Read more at Mobile Marketer.
Or head over to Club Texting for more information about text messaging contests.