What's the best thing on your cell phone?

"A simple SMS car wash application" says Nokia Global Director of E-Commerce Arto Joensuu. "It's a weather trigger that gives me a discount depending on weather."

Joensuu made the remark today while speaking at Advertising Week V in NYC.

Why would a guy who runs one of the largest mobile companies in the world think "this" is the coolest thing on his phone?

Relevance. Apparently, Arto's local car wash found a simple way to give him something that makes his life just a little better.

More about Advertising Week V at www.advertisingweekcom.

Mobile Lessons from "Ike"

Hurricane Ike hit us hard here in Houston. The city is rebuilding. And many of us are re-opening our doors for business.

While lots of hard work lies ahead of us, it is worth while to reflect on what we learned, with respect to mobile.

Lesson #1: Once again, text messaging was the only technology that worked. We've heard it after nearly every major disaster. But it didn't really sink in until I was in the middle of the technological "cone of silence" that descended after the storm. Nothing worked. No power, no TV, no phone, no Internet. Cell phones and aircards didn't work. AT&T was telling customers, via radio (oh yeah, make sure you have a battery powered one in the house), to rely on text messaging.

Lesson #2: Every company MUST have an internal mobile communications plan based on text messaging. Being a mobile company, we did. As did our parent company, FKM. And, since our servers were down for several days, it was the only way we were able to communicate with our staff.

Lesson #3: Companies MUST also prepare an external mobile communications plan. If you do, you'll be one of the few who can communicate with your customers -- and the community -- during a crisis. The core of your mobile plan is going to be your mobile database. That's your customers who have opted-in to receive messages from you.

Lesson #4: You MUST pre-plan your messaging. After Ike, some businesses with power simply let people come in and charge their cell phones (a huge help). Others acted as distribution points for ice and fresh water. Plan to send alerts to your database telling them where and when you are offering these sorts of services. Encourage database members to pass along the info. The key is to plan in advance.

There are certainly many stories from Ike still being written that are far more important. But our industry's primary technology -- text messaging -- once again stood out as the most reliable way to disseminate information and connect a community during what was truly a time of crisis.

Scott Forrest
Managing Partner, Mobile FKM

Houston First Test Market for Chick-fil-A Texting

BY MARY ANN AZEVEDO
HOUSTON BUSINESS JOURNAL

A national chicken restaurant brand is using Houston as a guinea pig in a textbook advertising test.

Chick-fil-A Inc. kicked off the chain’s first-ever text messaging campaign in the Bayou City this week.

MobileFKM, a newly formed unit of Houston-based advertising agency FKM, helped launch the Aug. 11 mobile campaign designed to hatch more breakfast business.

MobileFKM managing partner Scott Forrest says the campaign will be driven by marketwide radio supplemented with station text-messaging promotional efforts.

Tina Murray, Chick-fil-A Houston-area marketing director, says a high number of local commuters made Houston a logical incubator for the initiative.

“Houston is paving the way for this,” notes Murray. “People spend so much time in their cars, but often still have to conduct business and be reachable. Usually in the summer, it’s home to work for most people. But when school starts, we want their routine to be, home, Chick-fil-A, drop kids off at school, and then work.”

Every day through Sept. 25, Chick-fil-A will give away a year’s supply of three-count Chick-fil-A Chick-n-Minis to someone who has entered by texting “Chicken” to 777111.

Chick-fil-A conducted a focus group with junior high and high school students and found the one thing almost all had in common was a cellphone.

The restaurant chain also realized that the up-front costs of such a mobile campaign — starting at around $10,000 — seemed “extremely affordable,” says Murray.

“But the results will tell,” she adds.

CONNECTING TO CONTENT

MobileFKM was born out of Mo7 Mobile Marketing, which was formed in 2007 and recently partnered with FKM.

FKM President Melissa Stevens says that unlike typical mobile marketers, MobileFKM offers companies more options and greater access to a broader range of consumers. Clients are delivered a mobile campaign integrated with a larger marketing package involving other media components such as direct mail, online advertising and public relations.

She says mobile advertising has great potential because it involves a portable, hand-held device almost always in the on position.

“What mobile does is keep people connected to content,” says Stephens.

There were 255.4 million cellphone subscribers in the United States as of December 2007, according to CTIA-The Wireless Association.

Forrester Research reports that 72 percent of 18- to 27-year-olds and 50 percent of 28- to 41-year-olds use text messaging monthly.

Chick-fil-A isn’t the only coup for MobileFKM, which also handles in-stadium text messaging for the Houston Astros.

Last week, the company signed a deal with Bubbles Car Wash where Bubbles will be offering a free car wash to everyone who joins their mobile club.

MobileFKM is also working on an integrated TV, radio, outdoor and online campaign for Wildcat Golf Club, telling golfers to text “Wildcat” to 777111 to join the Wildcat Mobile club. Members will receive special discounts on greens fees and can download photos of their favorite Wildcat golf hole to use as their cellphone wallpaper.

Other MobileFKM clients include On the Border restaurants, Gold’s Gym, the U.S. Army and Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits.

Stevens notes that the restaurant industry has been hit hard lately with higher gas and food prices, so are more and more looking for different ways to market.

MobileFKM managing partner Jose Lozano notes that coupons were sent for On the Border restaurants via text message to people who had texted in during a Dallas Mavericks game to try to win tickets
The coupons had a 7.5 percent redemption rate, he says.

“Not only did it promote the restaurant chain, it helped On the Border build a large database” of potential marketing targets, says Lozano.

mazevedo@bizjournals.com • 713-395-9657