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News
Issue #2002 - 18
(May 2002)
(Updated May
15, 2002)
APPLICATIONS
& DEVELOPMENT
Pepsi Exploits SMS to Promote Soft Drink
After piloting two SMS
marketing campaigns in Australian, American soft drink maker Pepsi
is now convinced that SMS marketing is an effective advertising
medium, especially for targeting tech savvy customers.
In collaboration with interactive agency Communicator and
Mobileway, a mobile service provider, Pepsi launched two marketing
campaigns, both using text messaging. Communicator was responsible
for processing the entries while Mobileway provided the
infrastructure and managed the interface with a diverse lot of
network operators and networks, including GSM, TDMA and CDMA, in the
Asia Pacific.
‘We’ll Take You There’ required users to text a unique code
found on Pepsi cans to enter a competition, whereas ‘Pepsi
Live’ offered users a chance to win concert tickets by texting an
entry number promoted on Channel Ten television. According to
Communicator, over 100,000 entries were received for the can
promotion and 6,500 for the television campaign.
The results were beyond the Pepsi’s expectations, according to
Darren Borg, Pepsi’s marketing director. "If you look at the
participation rates in both campaigns, the conclusion is quite
clear that SMS is an effective medium,"
"Pepsi drinkers are largely technically savvy so the
challenge remains to keep SMS relevant and most importantly, an
enjoyable consumer experience," he added.
For more information: http://www.pepsi.com
MobileInfo.com’s Comments & Advisory: SMS is an
efficient way of sending any kind of messages to mobile phone users.
This is true for advertising messages as well. It appears that Pepsi
campaign demonstrates viability and effectiveness of SMS for
advertising. More expensive and, of course, less bandwidth-efficient
MMS may not make the grade for a while. This is corroborated by
results of several recent efforts of wireless network providers who
are interested in increasing the use of wireless data bandwidth. Right
now, it is wiser to use more affordable methods of sending your
marketing message. This is our message to enterprise marketing
professionals.
Note: This news release may contain
forward-looking statements. Readers should take appropriate caution in
developing plans utilizing these products, services and technology
architectures. All trademarks used in this summary are
the property of their respective owners.
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