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The eye in the sky knew. Marian Saltzman, the chief strategic officer for Euro RSCG Worldwide, was passing a London store she frequented when her cell phone indicated a message had arrived. She looked down to find a text message — sent thanks to a global positioning satellite — telling her that the lingerie that she prefers was on sale in that very store. “It drove me into the shop,” she says.

Most North American brand marketers are pretty far behind their European and Asian counterparts in tapping cell phones as a marketing tool — but Americans are not sitting back. There’s plenty going on, but cautiously.

“Cell phone marketing is a scary place,” says Gordon Paddison, senior VP-interactive marketing, New Line Cinema, Los Angeles. “If there’s a chance that you could be misunderstood with wireless marketing, you shouldn’t do it…. All it takes is a couple of dumb marketers and it ruins it for everybody.”

Marketers are playing it safe by messaging only with subscribers who have opted-in. Push marketing, “is not a way to acquire lots of new customers,” says Greg Clayman, founder and VP-marketing, Upoc, a mobile marketing and community provider in New York City. “It is a way to extend a relationship.”

New Line Cinema and other entertainment companies like wireless marketing for the young, tech-savvy demographic it reaches (some 61% of 18-to-24 year olds own mobile phones). However, over the last year and a half, other traditional brand marketers have followed suit as mobile penetration surpassed 50% in the U.S., Clayman says.

Promotions are the fastest way to build subscribers, he says. Street teams troll in-venue or near-venue. Field staff sign up opt-in subscribers right on the spot, who use their cell phones to text permission or to call a toll-free number to join. Huge communities of subscribers can be built around just one event or Web site, such as the 70,000 members enrolled in a Destiny’s Child fan club developed by Upoc.

Cingular Wireless used bill stuffers and e-mail to alert its customers of a promotion with CBS and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Subscribers went to a Web site to opt-in; there cross-sell opportunities such as score alerts and other messages were available. At halftime, a broadcaster asked viewers to answer a question related to the games via text message. Live results were shown during the game, with more than 2,000 participants per question during the regular season, says Charlie Payne, director of media for Cingular Wireless, Atlanta.

Other popular promotions include alerts about movie releases, concert tour dates, chances to win backstage passes, coupons for retail stores, scores from sporting events, discounts, the weather, even astronomical events from a NASA scientist.

For example, when the movie Blow was preparing for release, New Line Cinema delivered text coupons to an opt-in database of subscribers who had ZIP codes within a radius of three New York City theatres. Cell numbers were gathered by street teams working in a six-block radius around the theatres who handed out tickets directing people to sign up online. The campaign pulled a 10% redemption rate. “It drives awareness for the opening day,” Paddison says.

The firm now uses mobile marketing with the release of most films. For the June 13 release When Harry Met Lloyd: Dumb and Dumberer, the campaign will match the dumb and dumber theme.

Unlike some marketers, who are building databases of opt-in subscribers, New Line Cinema doesn’t retain consumer data across programs because regulations governing the wireless industry are changing so rapidly. “The last thing I want to do is have angry consumers,” Paddison says.

In another example, m-Qube, a provider of messaging applications for wireless promotions based in Boston, recently conducted a program in a high-traffic mall, CambridgeSide Galleria. The program, called The Smart Mobile Shopper, used signage placed around the mall that advertised discounts at local stores available by calling an 800 number and signing up to receive an instant mobile coupon (April PROMO). The Gap, J Crew, Borders Books, Dunkin’ Donuts and Sears were among the participating retail stores. Offers were refreshed every four to six weeks and the program’s redemption rate averaged 18%, says Mark Grindeland, executive VP-marketing and brand services for m-Qube. “Brands are just now starting to understand the impact,” he says.

That’s especially important considering that the number of wireless subscribers has grown 9.7% year over year, reaching 144.2 million in 2003, according to the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association.

“We put it in programs as an option,” says DVC Experiential Marketing, New York City, president John Palumbo. “Is every brand jumping on this? No. Are brands interested? Yes. But it’s a very slow go.”

Cell Sheet

Text messaging has become a real craze, particularly with the younger set.

Do use it to hype something innovative and easy to understand.

Do send short messages; write pithy copy, and use SMS lingo.

Do use SMS marketing to reach teens and 20-somethings.

Do SMS messages of urgency, such as dollars off NOW.

Don’t use SMS to sell the mundane — keep it exciting.

Don’t bombard someone unless they’ve opted in for regular reminders.

Don’t overdo the cute messages, which are tough to decode.

Don’t SMS the 50-plus crowd; it’ll confuse, annoy or fall into a black hole.

Source: Marian Salzman, Euro RSCG