As global mobile phone penetration reaches near saturation, marketers are understandably looking to leverage this incredibly personal medium to attain direct consumer interaction. However, while UK consumers are open to the idea of incentive-led mobile advertising, most marketers are highly aware of the dangers associated with over intrusive campaigns.
Without a doubt, the mobile phone is a highly effective way of reaching the consumer and definitely has a place within the overall marketing mix. But there are still significant problems affecting key areas of the market – including the mobile coupon.
Today there are some innovative solutions in place, which will provide subscribers with weekly offers from leading brand owners via text message. Offers can be redeemed only at selected stores where the cashier will scan or enter the unique code to apply discounts to the purchase.
Such a use of mobile coupons provides manufacturers with another method of reaching consumers with highly targeted offers. However, it has limitations, not least requiring retailers to invest up front or integrate their POS systems with the vendor’s technology. A crippling caveat indeed.
In reality, wholesale adoption of mobile coupons remains some years off because the industry cannot yet offer retailers a global infrastructure to support in-store redemption of mobile coupons. Indeed the majority of mobile coupon trials to date have effectively been self liquidating offers – a free bottle of beer for the mobile user that arrives at a bar, for example.
This is very different to offering grocery coupons that drive retail and FMCG brand recognition. In reality, paper based coupons will remain the primary approach until the industry finds a fast, secure and efficient approach for redeeming mobile coupons at the point of sale. Current solutions have high set up costs and logistical concerns – not least of which is the concern amongst retailers that redemption processes will slow down customer service.
The technology must also offer consumers choice. Today, the consumer has the option of printing an online coupon for in-store redemption. In the future, it will be possible for the consumer to receive coupons in a variety of ways – from registering online and opting to receive the coupon via text; to texting in a short code and receiving offers back via text; to using a handset to scan a barcode on the packaging of a product using a QR code – with the relevant coupon offer sent directly back to the phone.
For example, take a QR code stuck on a bottle of shampoo on the shelf of a local pharmacy. The customer snaps the picture, presses send, and suddenly a short Flash movie from the brand's website gets pushed to their cell phone to help give them more information and a coupon code that the cashier takes to save them 50 pence on their more informed purchase.
Once the technology hurdles have been overcome and the industry can deliver fast, effective mobile coupons that meet the needs of both retailers and consumers, the market will undoubtedly wholeheartedly embrace mobile coupons. However, it will be important to understand the role of the mobile within an overall marketing mix.
Mobile coupons are unlikely to be used successfully as a standalone campaign. By combining mobile, with internet, email, even direct mail coupons organisations can create a highly effective, integrated campaign that reaches the consumer via his or her preferred method.
Any retailer or FMCG looking to drive consumer traffic in store cannot afford to be channel specific: it is only by offering a multi-channel solution with full consumer choice that organisations will maximise the value of the coupon-led campaign.
News & Press Contact
