Pete likes Jenny. Like in, a lot actually. But she doesn’t know! He spends his nights listening to Avril Lavigne’s “Girlfriend” and “When you’re Gone” through his earphones on his MP3 enabled Samsung D900. He like, thinks of her and stuff.

From her Facebook profile he knows that she loves Avril Lavigne, is into soft teddy bears and thinks Brad Pitt is like, a babe! He knows all of her friends by browsing her Flickr photo albums. He even knows why her previous boyfriend was dumped, all thanks to being in the same Mxit group and picking up on her heartbroken conversations with others willing to listen.

He’s carefully planning his first meeting with her. He’s calculating how much money he’ll require for the first date. He’s carefully rehearsing his pick up lines in his head. He needs to be funny, but not sarcastic. Also not too funny, because that’s just childish and hey, he’s like, 16 already.

He’s not planning on what to wear for the date, how to style his hair and he’s most definitely not practicing his killer smile in the mirror. And his pimply face is the last thing that is depriving him of any sleep. Why is that?

Simply because the entire date will occur via his mobile phone. The money he requires is based on airtime. He’s in charge. Technology has enabled him to present the perfect model of himself to this girl. His best picture is stored on his phone ready to be fired off when things aren’t looking up for him.

Does this sound familiar? I bet it does to the majority of people reading this that are younger than 30. For the rest, parents included, this might be a revelation of what goes on for hours behind his closed bedroom door at night. It also explains his constant plea for airtime.

There are millions of Petes and Jennys out there. Each one of them is representative of a brand. A brand that defines their being, albeit skewed at that early stage of adulthood. Whether it is healthy that Pete’s entire wardrobe is Puma and Billabong oriented and Jenny prefers Sissy Boy jeans, is irrelevant.

The fact is, just like their airtime requirements, their choice in brand affinity is non-negotiable. Parents spend millions on these brands each year. The truth is though, if some of these brands knew how to revisit their own childhood days, mommies and daddies would have to spend even more.

Good news for brands. Bad news for parents. For these kids have little money to spend on these brands. It is also a futile attempt marketing their brand to the parents of these kids. They are all too relieved to know that some of these advertising are missed because Pete is upstairs locked in his room.

Pete and Jenny on the other hand would not mind for a second when a quick video or MMS interrupts their first date with a special offer on an Xbox 360 or the latest Avril Lavigne album.

Think about your product for a second. Think about who your target market is. Kids don’t have money, but they have influence beyond your wildest imagination.

Then think about a vehicle to carry your message to these little manipulators and then execute on it. Parents would be so proud of you!

Back in 2002, when mobile communications over here were still something of a pipe dream, the guys at Ogilvy launched their “God” campaign in Singapore targeting potential and lapsed church-goers.

My mobile phone is very personal to me and proof of this is that I’ll rarely answer a phone call from a number that is not saved on it. The reason is simple: If you’re not important enough for me to have your number saved on my phone, you shouldn’t be calling on it.

[Just as I type this, a call from an unknown number, tough luck]

Needless to say I will not often sign up for mobile campaigns unless it adds substantial value to my personal or professional life. So Ogilvy ensured that the strategy behind the campaign was well planned and the execution and timing thereof just as precise.

Religion, being one of those sensitive issues, has the potential to blow up in a marketers face, especially when it comes to speaking with “The Big Guy”. This is where I believe Ogilvy has struck gold.

They have created an awareness campaign at 150 churches in Singapore inviting church goers to refer a friend’s mobile number to receive messages from “God”. These friends were then text to confirm their subscriptions. (no spamming)

“God” will then send clever and witty programmed text messages on carefully planned times to establish a more personal relationship between Himself and his people in a fun manner. This also served to get people more involved in the church and in their daily interactions with God.

Since 2002 technology has advanced substantially though and these days images, videos and audio are sent across mobile phones with just as apparent ease as text messages are.

This coming Christmas of course, while many businesses scuffle around to get everything done, don’t you think having the ability to add a personal touch to your professional relationship with your clients would go a long way in maintaining that relationship over the silly season?

Moreover, once you have gained access to their personal communications device, you have opened up a brand new avenue of adding value to your services offering.

The wonderful thing about Opera’s mobile platform (If you’ll excuse a bit of self promotion) is undoubtedly the range of possibilities it has for companies to stimulate brand awareness, drive sales and encourage community interaction.

I’m going to use actual brands as it will aid in creating the hypothetical competition and allow my readers to get a feel of the vibe.

Klipdrift and Dros franchises throughout the country could run a combined mobile campaign to secure sales, brand awareness and stronger brand affiliation.

In my world, this is how the competition should work. Of course, every campaign needs objectives, so let me discuss this first.

My objectives:

1. Getting more people to indulge in the Klipdrift brand.
2. More feet through the doors of Dros franchises.
3. Creating a social buzz around the two brands.
4. Forming a community among Klipdrift and Dros enthusiasts.
5. Having the community interact with each other physically and digitally.
6. Driving sales.

Entering the competition

By running an in-house campaign, regulars at the Dros are introduced to a mobile sports quiz. By ordering a round of Klippies & Cola they will receive an entry code to the challenge. To register for the competition, all they need to do is to sms their names to this code. The entry forms are also available on the neckers of Klipdrift bottles, with the purchase of any Dros meal and on the respective websites.

How it works

The sports quiz campaign will consist of sports trivia questions and participants are to submit the answers via sms.

Each question throughout the competition becomes increasingly more difficult and only correct answers will see contestants through to the next round. All winners and losers will be notified by sms on their progression in the competition.

After each round the winners of the previous rounds are displayed on the big screens and receive a free drink if present at the Dros. All the winners, previous questions and answers, images and videos of the previous rounds are also published on the Dros website with mobile download options. This allows non participants or previous losers to follow the action.

To secure stronger traction to the Dros’ and Klipdrift’s websites, clues on the questions could be hidden on the websites respectively. This will continue for the duration of the campaign and would familiarise the browsers with other specials and promotions.

To create a lively atmosphere at the Dros, Klipdrift should position branded coasters with the questions on top and answers at the bottom. These coasters will also carry the code to enter the competition. For the duration of the campaign, anyone can still participate in the weekly draw and be in contention for the main prize.

The competition spans across each week of a year with each weekly winner receiving a prize. All participants are also in contention for the major prize at the end of the year. This prize could be a memorable trip to any sporting event of choice anywhere in the world.

Losers

For the losers there is a chance to win a text and win consolation prize.

Winners

To stimulate an even bigger participation, the weekly winners and those in contention for the main prize are encouraged to record their own mini television commercial that is uploaded onto Dros and Klipdrift’s combined Sports Quiz Youtube page.

The general public is also invited to submit their own material and by voting for the favourite, the winners will be featured on Klipdrift and Dros television commercials, displayed on the Big Screens during selected time slots at the Dros and will also feature on the respective websites.

Strategically positioning the competition on sites like Facebook, Flickr and Youtube will see the internet carry the message to online prospects. Television commercials could also drive participants to a nearby Dros to partake in the event.

By encourage people to invest in a minimum expense to take part in the competition will drastically boost sales at the Dros and liquor stores. Premium visitation to the websites is secured and carefully positioned promotions could be featured on these pages.

I believe this competition will drive substantial sales of both brands’ products with the incentive of reaching the finals of the weekly draw as well as a spectacular main prize at the end of the campaign.

About this work:


This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 South Africa License.

I’m going to spill some grey matter onto this blog post and illustrate the birth of creative marketing strategies.

I’m going to use three random industries as chosen by my colleagues. The first industry will serve as my client, while the other two will serve as collaborating partners to drive the campaign.

At this very moment, I have no idea what these industries are. Within a couple of minutes, I’ll have a list of three which is the foundation for the blog post.

I will then have 1 hour to devise a strategy that would pay reasonable ROI to industry number 1 and profit margins for the other two industries as well. Of course the glue that holds this piece together is mobile marketing.The time now is exactly 12:20pm.

Right, it’s 12:23 and the industries followed by the colleagues responsible for them are:

1. Building Industry: Riaan Jacobs - Operational Manager.
2. Golf: Werner Viljoen - Senior Creative Consultant.
2. Beauty Industry: Lisa de Lange – Accounts.

The clock starts….now. [Devising strategy and plan article]

Phew, it’s 13:11 and I’ve got some time to spare even. Starting with the post now.

Ok, so the team from BuildaHouse approached me for a campaign that could improve their relatively unknown brand and ultimately establish themselves as a competitor in the market currently dominated by De la Rey.

Their budget denies us the opportunity to advertise on television, radio and print, thus we are left with the internet and mobile.

What we suggested was to collaborate with a golf estate or course in the vicinity and schedule a 4-ball match up. To create a buzz around the event we’ll use some social media and cause marketing to evoke some interest. A Facebook group is initiated and the word spread through the principle of digital word of mouth, buzz marketing and 6 degrees of separation.

We’ve also let them create a quick inspiring video to serve as traction as well as to highlight the cause to which a percentage of the proceeds are donated. Since we’re in the building industry, we’ve decided to donate some of the money to a homeless charity for food and shelter.

The video will be published on the BuildaHome website, Youtube, Facebook and the company blog. Each of these visual attraction points, including the Facebook group will inspire people to send a text message to a short code to participate in the competition of which a percentage is donated to the cause.

BuildaHouse is to brand 1000 golf balls (bought or donated by the pro shop) as well as another 12 sets with a unique code on each of the ball (Four different codes representing a prize) and a grand prize for the winner of the 4-ball being played on the day.

12 winners from the sms competition will be selected, notified and invited for a quick photo shoot. These (branded) images will be loaded onto the website, the company Flickr page and the entire video of the event published on the Youtube page.

These 12 winners will make it to the 4-ball on the day. Four representatives of BuildaHome will accompany 3 of the winners each to compete for the ultimate prize. The goal is to not only win the competition, but to also beat the BuildaHome representative to stand a chance of winning the grand prize.

Golfing is predominantly a man’s game, so to reach a more gender equal audience we’ve been fortunate that BeautyBeU availed a group of their beautiful therapists to accompany us on this day. Each girl will of course represent BeautyBeU and will also use this day to promote skincare products that can be ordered via sms service, give away vouchers and a couple of hand massages for the golfers sweating away at the main prize.

The crowd at the day of the competition will have the opportunity to sms and win a selection of prizes ranging from golf ball sets (branded of course), a luxury treatment for him and her at BeautyBeU or a sponsored golf set.

The winner of the 4-ball will win the grand prize as sponsored by BuildaHome. The unique code (remember the code?) on the branded golf ball will be presented to one lucky sms winner. The code obviously reflecting one of the prizes set out in the beginning and this lucky winner will then accompany the winner of the 4-ball for the prize giving ceremony, photo shoot and the video which will once again be published on the internet.

Finally, BuildaHome has a database of mobile numbers which they can use to permission-market their products and services to.

And lastly, a percentage of all the money raised from the sms campaign, sales of beauty products, drinks and snacks etc are donated to the charity of choice.

Phew…It is now exactly 13:45. Time to publish.