Radio stations promise you a portion of $50million if they hit the LottoMax Jackpot.

You may have noticed this past Friday’s Lotto Max jackpot was worth fifty million dollars.  You also may have noticed many Facebookers who shared, liked, or commented on a picture of a potential winning Lotto Max ticket with a promise of receiving a cut of the prize money if the numbers hit.  This edition of The Promo Report will discuss a Facebook promotion involving three radio station Facebook pages and one Chiropractor’s page that promised a portion of the winnings to their fans if their tickets hit the jackpot.

A common hurdle in social media is finding unique and creative concepts to engage and increase your Facebook page likes and twitter followers.  A key staple in many marketing promotional plans is the contest (click here to read a previous edition of The Promo Report on radio contests).  By rewarding people for their participation you generally have an equation for success, as long as you don’t make them jump through too many hoops.  With this is mind, on 11:30am on Friday February 3^rd 105.3 Kiss FM in Ottawa Ontario posted a picture of a LottoMax ticket with the following status “It’s all about the sharing today! Want to share $50,000,000?!?!?! Share this photo and click ‘like’ below, and if we win the $50mil jackpot we’ll split it with everyone who shared/liked this pic before the draw tonight and share the cash!!! Share share share share share!!”. The draw was to happen that night.  We’ll discuss the results of this spontaneous promotion at the end of the post.

Less than one hour later a similar post came from Dr. Jesse Chappus, a Chiropractor from Tecumseh Ontario.  A few hours later came a copycat post from B101FM in Barrie followed by Citi 92 FM in Winnipeg.  All four posts similarly stated they would share the $50million in winnings with anyone who liked, commented, or shared their post.  The noticeable difference was that 2 of the posts asked people to like their page as well as the post and the other two just asked for the fans to like the post itself…The results ranged from moderate to astonishing:
105.3 Kiss FM post stats: 44 997 liked, 3945 commented, 39 782 shared
Dr. Jesse Chappus post stats: 9092 liked, 11 844 commented, 938 shared
B101 FM post stats: 434 liked, 132 commented, 614 shared
92 Citi FM post stats: 1317 liked, 84 commented, 532 shared
The information I do not possess is how many total likes the promotion resulted in for the individual Facebook pages themselves.

Clearly 105.3 Kiss FM received the most social reach through this seemingly low maintenance contest, followed by Dr. Jesse than arguably B101 and 92 Citi depending which of the categories you consider more valuable (mine is shares).

The pros for this concept are clear; the pages received a surge in activity and none of the tickets paid off so they didn’t need to award any prizes.    But what would have happened if one of the above tickets did hit the jackpot?  Obviously a wild media frenzy which you hope is worth the mayhem that would inevitably ensue for the company.  Sure for Citi and B101 the situation would have been more manageable but think about Kiss FM.  Imagine having to make 39 782 separate cheques?  Plus the incredible head ache determining which users both liked and shared the photo?  This could have turned into a real shit storm had the ticket paid off however it didn’t so the question is, do you think this was a smart promotion?  Let’s be real, the odds of a lottomax ticket paying off are terrible why I assume is why the promotion even existed so the reward versus risk ratio was fairly inline.  Also, there were little to no hoops to jump through for the entrants which made the contest super easy to enter.

At the end of the day four fb pages got some extreme to moderate activity which is important for keeping you “Talking about this” stats high.

So, would I have done the promotion?  I received a phone call Friday evening to discuss this exact same question.  We decided that we would not run the promotion for the following reasons:
1. I know it’s a long shot but the process involved if we won would have been nuckin’ futs
2. We’re currently a leader in our market, if we would have posted the promotion we would have been second to the punch which I believe in this case would have been very noticeable.
3. Currently Facebook page admins should be concerned about keeping a high “Talking about This” rating.  Once you get the “Like” you need to find ways to engage those people.  Many people just hit the like for the hell of it and never go back so you should be focused on organic growth. This usually brings people to your pages who are actually interested in your brand.

With those points in mind, I still give kudos to the people who did try it. It was risky but the reward seems to have worked out for them.

Learn Digital Marketing, Advertising, and Promotions from the pros at DX3 Canada

On January 25^th and 26^th, 2012 I had the privilege of attending DX3 Canada, Canada’s first and largest trade show dedicated to digital marketing, advertising and promotion. There were tons of learning sessions, speakers, discussions, and an extensive exhibitor floor with vendors displaying tons of new products and concepts from the digital world.  It was a great experience and was the first digital heavy conference I have attended since Social Media Camp in Victoria in 2010.  I was able to meet a few good contacts while soaking in expertise and knowledge from industry professionals.  It felt damn good. Also, I must give a shout out to some associates Matt and Mark from Green Owl Mobile, mobile app developers who were able to successfully launch the Vancouver edition of their Traffic App, which is already available for Toronto and Barrie ON.  You should really check it out and download it; it truly improves your commute. Below are a few highlights from the sessions I visited:

Affiliate Marketing
Liz Gazer – Director of Affiliate Marketing at Flight Network
@lizgazer
Liz provided a very informative presentation on Affiliate marketing.  To be honest, I heard of the concept before but never really dug too deep to understand its finer points.  The Wikipedia definition is “Affiliate Marketing is a marketing practice in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought about by the affiliates own marketing efforts.” Liz discussed how Flight Network utilizes affiliate marketing on the web to increase their network of customers and clients.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Todd Bailey of Webimax
@push_star
With billions of websites in existence it’s vitally important that you implement search engine optimization techniques on your site to increase your search ranking.  Todd Bailey offered a few tips and tricks that will help you but the main theme I noticed was you have to be consistently utilizing SEO.  It’s not usual that you will implement a couple new tags or meta descriptions than immediately reach a number one Google ranking.

Is Group On or Off?
Albert S Britton of Group Buying Canada
I discussed Group Buying in a previous edition of The Promo Report which gave you an brief introduction to the concept.  Albert assembled a discussion with panelists including members of the group buying industry and retailers who utilize their service.  It was interesting to hear their experiences and advice.  A common theme was group buying is about client acquisition not making wads of cash.  Albert stated there are currently 150 group buying companies in Canada who have generated over $350 million in revenue in 2011. He also stated in 2012 he expects 50% of those companies to no longer exist.  Albert’s company Group Buying Canada is a news, analysis and consulting service exclusively focused on the daily deal and group buying space in Canada.

Social Media Lessons from a guy in his underwear
Angus Tucker – @tuckerred
Mavis Huntley – @mavylala
This session was pants down my favourite.  I am quite aware the expression is hands down but after hearing how Angus and Mavis created an online campaign for Stanfield’s Underwear that involved filming a man in his apartment for 24 hours a day, for 25 days straight wearing nothing but 1 pair of brand new Stanfield underwear per day.  The campaign was called “A Guy and home in his Underwear”  The goals were to increase Stanfield’s online brand mentions from zero and raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society.  The concept is brilliant, the campaign was astonishing which made the presentation informative and wildly entertaining.

Making dough from the show
Mark Evans – @markevans
Sheldon Levine – @40deuce
Mark and Sheldon provide great insights and reminders that social media is for creating relationships and starting the sales process.  It’s about the soft sell, not the aggressive “buy my product now” one way advertising your used too.  They reminded us about the web marketing mix including social media promoting your blog and website in coy manners to increase chances for future revenue.  You need to entertain, educate, and engage before you think about selling your product.  It was a good presentation.

What did I get from DX3 Canada? Other than a tired brain from all of the new knowledge I ingested. It’s no longer traditional media vs. social media.  It’s about integration.  Being able to distribute your time and money properly across several mediums in traditional and social media to ensure your brand is relevant.  In most cases, businesses need to promote, advertise, and market themselves to compete in their industry, retain customers and generate revenue and profit.  It’s tough for a small business to have a rich campaign across all traditional and social mediums; mainly because it costs a small fortune.  You need to research where your time and money will give you your desired results.  In 2012 there will be a lot of exciting innovations in the digital world including new Apple products the Ipad 3 and iPhone 5 to Blackberry releasing the BBX (Blacker Berry 10). We’re all app happy and our smart phones are our new bff (is acronym-ing still cool?).  Such legislation as SOPA and PIPA are on the brink of creating devastating challenges for the entire concept of the internet.  Facebook is going public while Google+ is trying to grab a slice of the social media pie. Everyone is a blogger and Twitter will continue to grow and become a more important player in the game.  I don’t have nearly enough time to mention every social medium separately or the brain capacity to even acknowledge that they even exist.  What’s my point?  It’s getting more difficult to choose what works for you. Stay focused, stay efficient, keep consistent and sweet lord make a plan.  It’s really easy to get lost in all of this.  See ya next year DX3 Canada.

Are you running a radio contest? 8 quick and dirty tips for a successful promotion

I would like to thank each of you who read my last blog about the Molson Redleaf Project.  It ended up garnering a lot of attention which was well deserved based on the excellence of the campaign.

I am currently entering the second quarter of my fourth year in radio promotions holding a position as Senior Promotions Manager.  I went from being a Director to being a Coordinator by my own choice, then graduated to my current position.  One of the staples in radio promotions is the contest.  Every radio station has them, from the daily contests to your ratings period, if you’re in radio promotions you will experience creating and maintaining radio contests.  I have compiled a list of tips that I have gained throughout my experience in radio promotions which I hope will help you with your contests.

1.  Value – Make sure the prize has value.  Cash is king. Experiences are next. ie trips, cruises, VIP concert tickets for an incredible band, Meet & Greets.  Including your announcers in the experience will always make it more memorable for your listener.

2. No Hoops too Jump Through – Don’t make people experience blood, sweat and tears for a $25 restaurant gift certificate.  Ensure the prize equals the effort. Your listeners love you but they may not if you put them through hell for a handshake.

3. Rules and Regs – Make sure you have clear and concise rules.  One day you’ll be challenged and you’ll thank yourself for having all of your ducks in a row, the t’s crossed and the I’s dotted and whatever other analogy you require to make you understand that rules and regulations will save you from getting sued.

4. Manage Expectations – Make sure everyone involved is realistic with their expectations of the contest.  It’s never as bad as you think it will be and if you’re on point, efficient, and stay focused it should go better than planned.  If it goes exactly how you planned…please contact and teach me your voodoo power.

5. Plan B – be prepared for everything while prepared to make anything happen (Example DIY Handyman contest: we qualified 25 listeners during the pre-promote and invited them on-site at our clients location to complete a DIY handyman project; the fastest completion time wins a $5000 store credit. The issue suddenly became our client only gave us 20 DIY handyman projects to run the contest with. Stupid me, I didn’t count before hand so we found out at the event. After scouring every inch of the clients store for 5 more DIY handyman projects to no avail, we had to delay the contest by a few minutes while we ran to our clients’ competitor and purchase 25 small DIY handyman projects, covered up all of our clients’ competitors logo’s with our own station stickers then ran the contest…and no one had a clue)

6.  If you build it they will come: If you decide to engage your listeners by inviting them to an event where the contest is taking place, make sure you’re prepared to treat them like house guests.  We held a contest and invited listeners to our back parking lot for the chance to win Elton John tickets.  The concept was Pick Your John for Elton and listeners would show up and fill out a ballot, if their name was drawn they would get to pick which portable toilet they thought held the Elton John tickets.  We had coffee and food and tents in case it rained.  The only thing we didn’t think we needed was chairs because people weren’t going to stay that long…or were they?  They were!!!  During the contest, we had to scramble and pull almost every chair from our office outside for our listeners to have a seat while they waited to see if their name would be drawn.

7. Communication – ensure everyone who is involved with the contest knows what they need to know about the contest.  Not everyone needs to know every detail about the contest but ensure you develop a clear and concise message for everyone you need to communicate with.  Listeners, Announcers, any staff involved, any client involved other media.  All of them won’t require the exact same information but for a successful contest, they will need the right information.

8. Prize Pigs or Greedy Listeners – whatever you want to call them all stations have them.  Remember you must always cherish the listener but the reality is, some of them want every station promotional item you have and want to win every contest which for some reason is only an issue in the radio world.  Us radio folk get very upset about our loyal listeners demanding love from their favourite brand and we truly shouldn’t (this article from Dan O’Day really highlights this point well).  Most stations have a “you can’t win another contest within 30 days” which usually works to allow other listeners a chance to win.  Remember, you ask them to listen, the least you can do is reward them. Below is a video you may find amusing; a radio stations morning show decided to define a prize pig via a cute/sarcastic short.

As I mentioned in the title of this post, these were the quick and dirty points of interest when running your own radio contest.  I hope you find value in this information and utilize for good not evil.

Molson Canadian’s Red Leaf Project: Great marketing promotion!

The last time I posted for The Promo Report was May 3rd, 2011 while I was retaining the position of Promotions Coordinator for Rogers Communications radio stations Ocean 98.5 and 103.1 Jack FM.  The reason for my recent hiatus is because I accepted a new job as Senior Promotions Manager at Central Ontario Broadcasting’s Rock 95 and 107.5 KoolFM…Why does this sound familiar? (Watch CBC Newscast)  That’s right, I’m back where my radio experience lifted off! The past one and a half months has been hectic including closing out my old job,  moving from Victoria, BC to Barrie, ON and starting a semi-new job with very new responsibilities.  Although I have been insanely busy, I would like to apologize for neglecting The Promo Report and you, my cherished readers.  As I become more organized in my new position, I’ll be solidifying my schedule to find a more consistent timeline for posting; soon enough my friends, soon enough.  Until then, please enjoy my sporadic postings of marketing promotions excellence.

The summer is here which means a barrage of ad campaigns and marketing promotions from liquor and beer companies.  Be prepared for boobs, big voices, and how explosively awesome you’ll become after consuming their products. Am I tired of the beer/liquor ad and marketing promotions game? Not yet.

Molson Canadian has frequently toted Canada’s “Best Backyard in the World” throughout much of its advertising efforts.  For their 2011 summer campaign, Molson has partnered with Tree Canada, World Wildlife Fund, and Evergreen to develop a socially conscious promotional program; the Molson Canadian Red Leaf Project to help ensure Canada’s backyard stays the best.

The Red Leaf program launched on May 13th, 2011 when 350 Molson Coors employees at eight separate locations across Canada stepped outside the office walls to plant the first one thousand of an eventual one hundred thousand trees, which is the key branding message driven by the Molson Canadian Red Leaf Project.

In a solid effort to create a small physiological link from the consumer to their Molson Canadian Rocks branding, the first one hundred people to volunteer at each of the ten tree planting events across Canada will receive free tickets to an awesome concert that coincides with the date of the tree planting.

Molson Canadian Red Leaf project Concert/Event dates.

Dauphin’s Country Fest                         Dauphin, MB, June 30-July 2

Canada Day – Live Lounge                    Ottawa, ON, July 1

Merritt Mountain Music Festival         Merritt, BC, July 7-10

Roger’s Sarnia Bayfest                           Sarnia, ON, July 8-10 & 14-17

Cavendish Beach Music Festival          Cavendish, PEI, July 8-10

Craven Country Jamboree                    Craven, SK, July 14-17

Rock the Park                                          London, ON, July 22-24

Big Valley Jamboree                               Camrose, AB, July 28-31

Queen West Music Fest                         Toronto, ON, August 20

As mentioned in the opening paragraph, Molson has created partnerships with three key organizations.  An article from Newz4u.net hightlights the strategic alliances further by outlining their contributions to the Red Leaf Project:

Molson Canadian Red Leaf Project has three key partners in its inaugural year:

Tree Canada – Through partnership with Molson Canadian will work with Tree Canada to plant 100,000 trees in areas of need throughout Canada.

WWF – Molson Canadian will rejoin WWF in the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, a nation-wide event that saw 47,000 people participate in 2010 to clean the shores of lakes, rivers and oceans in their local communities.

Evergreen – An organization whose mandate is to make cities more liveable, Evergreen will work with Molson Canadian on a series of urban greening projects in select communities across Canada.

Molson Canadian has developed an impact sheet on the Red Leaf website; it’s incredible. It breaks down the environmental impact of the Red Leaf Project into an easily understood chart using comparisons directly inline with Molson’s core marketing values.

The Red Leaf Project is innovative and very refreshing over the usual “if I drink YOUR beer or liquor I’ll have sex with hot ladies” approach.  As a 28-year-old male, I’m almost directly in every beer/liquor companies core demographic. I find myself being saturated with ridiculously über manly brand messages about wicked parties, hot ladies, and how my life is better because I consume their relatively similar tasting product. I’ll admit, I’m a touch tired of it.  For example, would you like to be a member of the Wiserhood?  Yeah, the commercial is a about a gentlemen and his lady at an art gallery. The incredibly, almost painfully baritone voiced “dude” decides to rub his hand on a painting which proceeds to him and his lady being kicked out. The screen pans to a group of “dudes” clapping for him??? So basically, if I drink Wiser’s I can become a drooling moron who can’t handle a couple of hours in an art gallery?  Mmmm, I’ll take a double please!  But I digress.

Although Wiser’s fell short in the liquor World, for beer Moosehead came to the plate with a delightful concept of promoting your Outer-Self.

As you can see, some companies do it well. Congratulations Molson Canadian on developing a socially conscious promotional program and giving back to the land.  I can’t tell you the environmental ramifications of all of the concerts that Molson’s will be sending the volunteers to, but I am sure they have already thought of a plan for that.  Great job Molson.  Hopefully some other beer/liquor companies follow in your foot steps.

Molson Canadian Red Leaf Project Song by Wintersleep

What do QR codes mean to you?

Have you recently started noticing little “matrix” like images that resemble the one to your left? If not, you will be very soon. It’s called a Quick Response Code or QR code for short. The basic concept of a QR Code is; by using a QR code reader on your mobile device, you essentially take a picture of the QR code provided and bam…you instantly access a wealth of additional information on whatever topic the QR code creator wishes. In this blog you will receive access to websites that provide you with QR Code generators.  You will also get the opportunity to view a video about a QR code promotion called World Park which was an interactive and incredibly engaging campaign developed to increase tourism Central Park in New York.

QR Codes were created in Japan by a subsidiary company of Toyota called Denso-Wave in 1994.  A QR code is described in an article by the Social Media Examiner as being a:

two-dimensional (2D) matrix barcodes that can hold thousands of alphanumeric characters of information… When you scan or read a QR code with your iPhone, Android or other camera-enabled Smartphone, you can link to digital content on the web; activate a number of phone functions including email, IM and SMS; and connect the mobile device to a web browser…

Although mostly prominent in Japan, the use of QR codes has crept into Europe, the United States, and is slowly making its way into Canada. 

Creating a QR code for your campaign isn’t too hard. After a brief search I found that one of the more popular QR code generators is from a company called Kaywa.  While on my search I found one from qrstuff.com and Keremerkan.net which all seem to provide you with a descent service.  Then I dug up a site called 2d-code.co.uk which provides a myriad of quality QR code generators.  My recommendation is use a few of the sites and decide which one is best for you.

QR codes are fairly new in Canada, so it’s been tough to find an excellent campaign that utilizes the codes so I looked elsewhere and what I found was awesome!  How you ever heard of the World Park campaign?  New York City’s Central Park wanted to engage a much younger, more technologically savvy park visitor.  They felt this demographic spent more time being entertained by technological devices and less time outside.  To achieve engaging this young demographic, the World Park campaign was created.  The first World Park event open in 2010 and was host to over 1,800 people. Ready for the concept?   Over 50 QR codes were placed throughout various locations, turning Central Park into an interactive board game. Of course the signs were designed to fully encompass the World Park brand. Each QR code sign revealed a question relating to the visitor’s exact location. These QR codes unlock a wealth of incredible information detailing events that have occurred inside Central Park since it opened.  Check out the video for a full look at the promotion; it’s worth the 4 minutes.

The only reason I currently don’t like QR codes is because I don’t have a phone that will accommodate the technology, beyond that I love this concept.  A great integration I saw was Kitchen Renovator used a QR code in their print ad to offer a link to more pics and video’s in their online media gallery.  Love it, when the constraints of ad space don’t allow you to offer more information…add a QR code!  I read a blog and a good point was made; the writer suggested if QR codes are used as an extension of your ad or promotion campaign they should prove to be beneficial, however if you decide to make your entire billboard or print ad space for just the QR code…you might have a big failure on your hand. For example, don’t create a QR code to explain why you have a QR code. Basically, utilize QR codes to achieve your promotional objectives, don’t just use a QR code because you read this blog.  Make sure you do your research and find out how implementing a QR code promotion will benefit you and your brand.  I really like the future of QR codes, it’s an opportunity further engage your target into your product or service.      Do you agree or is this a little to Matrix for you?

For further reading, enjoy 7 things you should know about QR Codes.

Are you planning a Guerrilla Marketing campaign?

Honestly, I love when a brand or company breaks the barriers of traditional marketing and promotions by embarking on a guerrilla marketing campaign.  If properly planned and executed, guerrilla marketing can have a truly positive impact on your target consumer and potentially create a viral buzz for your brand.

Guerrilla marketing is generally described as a series of unconventional promotions that relies on time, energy, and creativity as opposed to a major marketing budget.  Don’t assume this means your guerrilla marketing campaign will be free, but if planned appropriately you should be able to maximize your brand exposure while minimizing your dollars spent.  Your guerrilla marketing campaign can include PR stunts, creative product sampling, or any unique public engagement and if you set your objectives carefully the end result should convey a unique, creative, and thought provoking message.

The term guerrilla marketing was first defined by Jay Conrad Levinson, who is coined as the father of Guerrilla Marketing, in his 1984 book Guerrilla Marketing.  The book is renowned in the business world by being considered one of the top 100 Best Business Books ever written, selling over 21 million copies.

I have personally been involved with a few guerrilla marketing campaigns. In 2004 I traveled across Canada as a promotional representative for Imperial Margarine. The campaign was designed by Segal Communications, a Toronto, Ontario promotional agency.  Our objectives were to convey a message, sample product, and coupon.  Our points of execution were grocery stores, festivals, and concert events.  Our display was a 10ft X 10ft sampling station that was design to look like an actual kitchen.  Our uniforms were aprons, chef hats, white T’s, and Khaki pants. Technically, this was more of a promotional tour that involved guerrilla marketing style executions in cities across Canada.  This particular campaign was fairly expensive.

In 2010 Gordie Dodd from Dodd’s Furniture, a local furniture store in Victoria, British Columbia, decided to hold a fundraiser that involved him being lifted 50ft into the air and for every $1000 raised he would be lowered 1ft closer to the ground.  Gordie Dodd is a local celebrity in Victoria so when he holds an event ALL the local media attend.  The radio station I work at Ocean 98.5 was one of the stations on-site among the media frenzy and, let me tell you, it was tough for our brand to stand out among the chaos and clutter on the ground. Solution: we decided we would raise our radio station’s brand above the competition by partnering with a local fire department  who came on scene with a fire truck and lifted our Morning show host Michael Forbes in their cherry picker about 45ft into the sky to execute an on-air interview with Gordie Dodd.  We generated an incredible buzz and increased the level of on-site enthusiasm and excitement.  The look on the competitions face was priceless.  This guerrilla marketing stunt was much more cost effective than the above promotional tour.

Guerrilla marketing campaigns can provide great return on your generally minimal investment if your objectives are clear and concise and it’s properly executed.  For some fun, I will leave you with a few pictures I found in an article from creativeguerrillamarketing.com of some guerrilla marketing campaigns which I thought were really well done. As I mentioned earlier, guerrilla marketing can include PR stunts, unique product sampling, or creative public engagement. I have tried to highlight this through my examples and the following pictures:

The sewer steam makes the coffee look fresh and hot

Notice the Panda has shatted the bus shelter glass?

Are you planning a text message promotional campaign?

Since the first ever SMS message was sent in December of 1992, text messaging has become an integral part of our lives.  In fact, I have some friends whose voice I haven’t heard in years, but receive texts from weekly. 

To advertisers and markets, implementing text message promotional campaigns is not new; I’m probably a few years behind the curve on this report, however there is a purpose which I’ll get to near the end.  Current users of text message promotions are major brands, night club owners, concert and event promoters, politicians,  restaraunts, and as of the past few years not for profit organizations such as the Canadian Red Cross have been able to rally millions of relief dollars from around the globe to help support world crisises.

In 2003, Staples Business Depot launched its first ever text message coupon during a back to school promotion. The campaign was believed to be the first of its kind in North America and was titled “Back 2 Cool”.  It gave kids the opportunity to text for a chance to win …including one of 10 Motorola T720 cell phones, one of over 100 pairs of movie passes, or the Grand Prize–a trip for two to an event at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

There are two forms of text message campaign strategies; push or pull strategies which are defined below from an article posted on directmag.com.

Push campaigns are used by about 80% of mobile marketing advertising campaigns. In push campaigns. the mobile subscriber will get a text message (about 160 characters). The subscriber will then click on the message and the call to action is to drive traffic to the Web site either by downloading a coupon or dial to a call center. Push campaigns must be sent only to opt-in mobile subscribers, and must allow for the consumer to opt-out to any future mobile campaigns.

The article continues on by providing an example of a pull campaign;

 Pull campaigns are a form of mobile marketing that involves the consumer texting a “keyword” to a short code to opt-in to receive additional information from that client. Short codes are five or six digit numbers that have been assigned by all mobile operators for the use of brand campaigns and other consumer services.

A pull startegy is exactly what Rogers Communications is offering to its Fido and Rogers brand customers to help raise relief funds for Japan.  Rogers and Fido wireless customers can text ASIA to 30333 to donate $5 to earthquake relief efforts. 100% of all donations will go to the Canadian Red Cross Japan Earthquake/Asia-Pacific Tsunami fund. Generally, you’ll receive the $5 fee on your next months phone bill.  If you’re concerned with excess fees, service charges or even scams (like the Nokia Lottery issue), contact the company before you send the text message.     

I’ve found an article; 11 Tips for a Successful Text Message Campaign.  It offers you some great advice insight on how to optimize your text message promotional campaign. 

A text message promotional campaign is an excellent way to create a direct connection with your target market; the response rate is very high.  There are lots of companies and services available to host your campaign; do your homework and find the best partner for you.  Ensure they understand your goals and objectives, and especially your budget.  Also, ask about their previous clients.  Because of the popularity of text messaging promotions you’ll find a wide variety of “professionals” who are excited to create or execute your campaign.  Just do your best to ensure they are actually professionals.

Read a few case studies provided by textsmsmarketing.com