Planning a Mobile Marketing Strategy

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The CAN-SPAM Act

According to Ferris Research, 1.1 billion SMS-based spam messages were delivered in 2007 in the US alone, up a whopping total of 38% from the year before.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) calculated that in 2002 63% of all spam which included an opt-out option did not unsubscribe the user when clicked on or made matters worse.

The Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing Act of 2003 (or the CAN-SPAM act if you're in the know) was developed and implemented by the FTC to protect both the sender and receiver of promo content.

While 'spam' is a fluid term that changes from person to person, or country to country (e.g often known as m-spam on mobile devices), the offending factors which constitute spam include:

  • Unsolicited contact
  • Sending adult content
  • Sender misrepresentation
  • Misleading subject lines
  • No opt-out function

The National Do Not Call registry in the US came about because of the Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007, protecting those who have expressly opted out from any commercial communication.

Interestingly, in the European Union, if your mobile number is located on a contact database, under the Data Protection law you have the right to request to view all the personal information collected on you, as well as the source of the data.

Case in Point

In June 2009, in the case of Satterfield v. Simon & Schuster Inc. in the US, it was ruled that promoters must have consent to call the public  resulting in the term ‘call’ also being extended to SMSs.

Laci Scatterfield had purchased a ring tone from the mobile marketing firm, but filed a class action lawsuit against Simon and Schuster publishers after receiving an unsolicited promo SMS for a Stephen King novel, aptly titled 'Cell'.

The case also set the precedent that publishers are to be held accountable for violations rather than service providers, and that any computer capable of generating and dialling numbers be categorised as an ‘auto dialler’ (also known as a war dialler). This brought the US Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 into the 21st century.

Terms and Conditions

Tucked away in a corner, terms and conditions are essential to conducting business online. Important for covering all of your legal bases and portraying your business as a credible organisation, your terms and conditions should contain everything from privacy, copyright and contact details, as well as third-party associations (preferably reassuring that user information will not be sold to third-parties).

How should you go about writing your terms and conditions, specifically for a mobile environment? Well, it's quite a tricky piece of copy to write - but it's cheaper and easier to write it yourself and the have a professional look over than have a lawyer to write your terms and conditions from scratch.

Have a look at a range of similar businesses to see what the normal points of importance are, and be truthful about your intentions. If you intend to keep personal information private, state so clearly.

Case Study: Dizzee Rascal and Blyk UK

Sometimes dialogue can be the best solution to improving awareness and creating consumer demand, before the product or service has even been launched.

Dizzee Rascal (Dylan Kwabena Mills), a rapper and producer from East London joined forces with Blyk UK, to promote his “Dance wiv me” single – together they planned a campaign that proved to be a huge success.

Blyk is not so much a mobile advertising platform as it is a mobile engagement platform. Aimed at the younger generation, Blyk has databases of subscribed users who choose to accept quality information and valuable content such as special offers – rather than advertising messages.

Targeted fans who had registered with Blyk were sent an SMS teaser, asking simply “Are you feeling Dizzee?”

On release day of the single, those that responded to the message were sent an exclusive Dizzee Rascal wallpaper and information on where to buy the single or the Tongue "N" Cheek album (iTunes for the single and 7digital.com album pre-order).

After release, fans were given the opportunity to use their mobiles to ask the grime/garage rapper questions - the best questions being rewarded with free music.

Initially, the teaser SMS campaign was sent out to just under 60 000 recipients, 39% of whom responded positively  and 34% of whom downloaded the exclusive Dizzee Rascal wallpaper on the day of release.

Number one on the UK singles, airplay, dance and R&B charts, Dance Wiv Me was the twelfth top selling single in the UK that year, selling 40 000 copies in the first week.

Never mind the sales as a result of the general buzz; participants of the Blyk UK/Dizzee Rascal mobile campaign represented a quantifiable 6% of the total sales.

Further Discussion

  • Where does one draw the line between solicited and unsolicited Mobile Marketing communication?
  • What are the advantages of a mobile commerce platform complimenting a conventional purchasing system?
  • What legal bases should you cover for your unique mobile operations?
  • How can tracking and measuring help you redefine your tactics towards success?

What’s Up Next?

Mobile 101: Chapter 12
Mobile Integration

Having a mobile presence is one thing, but integrating your channels and implementing advanced methods can greatly help with your success.

Take a closer look at some techniques and tools to optimise your presence and streamline processes in the final instalment of the Mobile 101 series.

References

Epic.org [October 24 2008] SPAM - Unsolicited Commercial E-Mail
http://epic.org/privacy/junk_mail/spam/
[Accessed July 15]

Eydie [June 25 2009] Mobile Advocacy Coalition: Protecting SMS Marketing
http://www.mobilemarketingwatch.com/mobile-advocacy-coalition-protecting-sms-marketing/#more-3472
[Accessed July 13]

foxnews.com [Date Unknown] .Mobi (WAP) Guidelines
http://advertise.foxnews.com/creative-specs/mobile-guidelines/
[Accessed July 13]

Graham Charlton [July 17 2009] Mobile commerce: best practice tips
http://econsultancy.com/blog/4234-mobile-commerce-best-practice-tips-2
[Accessed July 20]

Justin [June 23 2009] $90M Awarded In SMS Spam Case, Best Practices Anyone?
http://www.mobilemarketingwatch.com/90m-awarded-in-sms-spam-case-best-practices-anyone/
[Accessed July 13]

Krista [March 12 2007] Setting S.M.A.R.T. Goals
http://www.realtybizcoach.com/2007/03/12/setting-smart-goals/
[Accessed July 13]

LegalArchiver.org [Date Unknown] The Can-Spam Act 2003
http://www.legalarchiver.org/cs.htm
[Accessed July 13]

Met.police.uk [Date Unknown] Fraud Alert - 419 Fraud
http://www.met.police.uk/fraudalert/419.htm
[Accessed July 15]

Mills, Elinor [June 7 2009] FAQ: How to vanquish mobile spam
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10280533-94.html
[Accessed July 13]

mobiadnews.com [December 8 2008] Dizzee Rascal Driving record sales through dialogue
http://www.mobiadnews.com/?p=3105
[Accessed July 20]

Mobile Marketing Blog [March 13 2009] Bluetooth Marketing: Legal or SPAM?
http://www.mobile-marketing-blog.net/2009/03/bluetooth-marketing-legal-or-spam.html
[Accessed July 15]

Mobile Marketing Blog [November 21 2008] Can a Police Bluetooth Network Be Illegal?
http://www.mobile-marketing-blog.net/2008/11/can-police-bluetooth-network-be-illegal.html
[Accessed July 20]

Mobile Marketing Blog [November 3 2008] Protect Your Proximity Marketing Campaign From Being Called SPAM
http://www.mobile-marketing-blog.net/2008/11/protect-your-proximity-marketing.html
[Accessed July 13]

Nelson, Simone [Date Unknown] How to Write Standard Website Terms and Conditions of Sale
http://www.newbroomsoftware.com/write-website-terms-conditions.htm
[Accessed July 15]

Neman, Shane [June 30 2009] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Mobile Advocacy Coalition forms to lobby FCC
http://www.mobileac.org/2009/06/initial-mac-press-release.html
[Accessed July 13]

Norcross, Troy [September 23 2005] Bluetooth Marketing - Take II
http://www.consumer-preference.com/2005/09/bluetooth-marketing-take-ii.html
[Accessed July 13]

Norcross, Troy [June 12 2009] Q&A: Troy Norcross on Bluetooth Marketing at E-Consultancy
http://econsultancy.com/blog/4011-qa-troy-norcross-on-bluetooth-proximity-marketing
[Accessed July 13]

Rudi, Corey [Date Unknown] How to Run a Successful, Legal E-Mail Marketing Campaign
http://www.entrepreneur.com/ebusiness/gettingtraffic/asktheebusinessmarketinganddevelopmentexpert/article68868.html
[Accessed July 13]

slashdot.net [August 11 2006] Who Benefits from Spam, Anyway?
http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/08/12/0043214
[Accessed July 15]

W3.org [October 3 2007] PLING - W3C Policy Languages Interest Group
http://www.w3.org/P3P/
[Accessed July 14]

W3 [Date Unknown] Mobile Web Initiative - The Web on the Move
http://www.w3.org/Mobile/
[Accessed July 14]

Warsi, Abid [Octeober 2007] 7 usability guidelines for websites on mobile devices
http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-usability/mobile-guidelines.shtml
[Accessed July 13]

WiseGeek.com [Date Unknown] What is Mobile Phone Spam?
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-mobile-phone-spam.htm
[Accessed July 13]  

 

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