ONCE UPON A TIME, mobile marketing was as simple as a man wearing a sandwich board with an “Eat At Joe’s” message. Then on-the-street marketing joined the machine age, with splashy vehicles prompting traveling road shows. Now mobile marketing is poised for its next evolution.
Even five years ago, mobile marketing efforts were more vehicle-centric, says Bob Lewis, president-CEO of Atlanta-based Mobile Media Enterprises. Now they have grown into interactive cities that pop out of 53-foot trailers.
“When I think of mobile marketing, I think of it as everything from a single individual walking down the street with a message on a T-shirt all the way to a tractor-trailer platform,” says Lewis. “Today we’re much more about broad face-to-face marketing with so many touchpoints where a consumer can be reached. Now it’s all about interaction with consumers.”
At the same time, instead of being parked at a street corner in the big city, mobile marketing efforts are hitting more retail environments, county and state fairs, work sites and sporting events.
“Marketers still need to build a strong relationship with consumers. The best way to accomplish this is to interact with them personally, where they live, work, shop and play,” says Julia Guida, managing partner of Chicago-based Marketing Werks.
Lewis notes that the mobile marketing industry has grown because of creativity and innovation. If you can come up with successful innovations that can help brands sell their products and services effectively, Lewis says that is the gas pedal that can drive the mobile marketing industry’s growth rate.
Another change in mobile marketing techniques, Lewis points out, is the way consumer data can be captured on the road. He says almost all the programs conducted at his company contain transactional programming elements, where they can have some sort of transactional tie-in back to a promotion or something that is going to drive frequency to the usage of the product.
“Mobile marketing is tying in well with e-commerce and e-marketing solutions; we can actually touch people on the shoulder, shake their hands, capture relevant data and do so with mobile technology that didn’t exist just a few years ago,” Lewis says. “With hand-held computer tablets, we can capture video and photos at an event and post them on a brand’s Web site, and that gives the consumer an active reason to go onto that brand’s Web site.”
But even the most foolproof mobile marketing strategies cannot exist without the proper equipment, preventative maintenance and strict legal obedience, says Steve Hixon, senior account manager for Atlanta-based Mobile Media Enterprises.
Hixon provides all logistical and asset support for American Legacy Foundation’s truth Orange tour. “We bring the vehicles and the components,” he says about the two-vehicle tour. One of the bright-orange step vans tags along with the street-ball themed And1 Mix Tape Tour; the other follows the alternative-music Vans Warped Tour, which gives the tour a chance to reach two separate teenage demographics with its anti-tobacco message.
Hixon notes that each truck has two drivers with commercial driver’s licenses, in compliance with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Hours of Service rules. That law states drivers cannot be on duty for more than 14 hours a day (which includes work done when not behind the wheel, and these drivers double as audio-visual crew) and drive no more than 11 hours a day. “When we’re not driving, we’re sleeping,” Hixon says.
And there’s also vehicle maintenance. Hixon says crews make sure they have a network of service facilities available for both preventative maintenance and as-needed repairs while they’re on the road. “We can’t afford to have either truck break down when we’re in one city one day and another city the next day,” Hixon points out, adding that they have some long road trips included on truth’s Vans Warped Tour side, including, overnight trips from Sacramento, CA, to Boise, ID, and Milwaukee, WI, to Cleveland, OH.
On top of that, they also have to budget appropriately for fuel, which can sometimes be tricky with fluctuating prices at the pump. For mobile tours in general, explains Elizabeth Di Lullo, director of marketing and business development for Momentum Marketing, Westport, CT, fuel expensing is actually done via a gas formula similar to the formulas that long-haul trucking companies use.
Prior to starting a tour, mobile marketers such as Momentum estimate the number of miles driven in-market and between markets based on the number of days and location of the markets. At that point, they evaluate the gas prices from the past six months and assign an average cost per mile for the program. Then they take the total mileage and divide it by the number of markets or number of months of activity.
“There are a few other ways to evaluate it, but to be honest, this is the most accurate because you are actually evaluating the program at hand, not using a general formula to determine the prices,” says DiLullo. “Since gas prices fluctuate, we evaluate costs at the end of the program. Clients understand if there are additional charges for gas; however, this method has worked very well and it is rare that we have to go back and charge for overages.”
But just because you have a truck and modern technology doesn’t mean you’re going to have a successful tour, says Scott Moller, managing partner at Marketing Werks. “Your programming must be strategic and engaging, and your event staff must be welcoming and enthusiastic. It is important to understand your client’s objectives, as well as understand how to appeal to target consumers,” Moller says.
Top tours of 2004
Truth Orange: Featuring bright-orange step vans, the fifth go-around for the grassroots tour will visit 69 cities in 32 states by the time it ends this month. The truth crew will provide anti-tobacco messages in cool settings, engaging in peer-to-peer communication. Each stop will feature impromptu rap sessions, join-in free-style demos and giveaways of popular truth gear including hats, T-shirts and sunscreen. Scratch lessons will be available through the Scratch DJ Academy.
“It’s an educational tour, and it’s not out to sell anything,” says Hixon. “That’s what makes it so beautiful.”
Arnold Worldwide, Boston, and Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Miami, are responsible for the design and gear for the summer program. GTM…It Means A Lot, Atlanta, manages truth crew recruiting and operations and New York City-based the ad*itive, a cultural marketing communications company, oversees p.r.
Dunkin’ Donuts: is targeting the 35-49 age group with families of three to four and a household income of $100,000 or more through Momentum Marketing’s mobile tour in Cleveland and Charlotte, NC. Field teams use two 23-foot step vans wrapped with the Dunkin’ Donuts logo and product shots. The wrap shows hot drinks in the fall and winter, cold drinks in the spring and summer. Sampling includes hot lattes in the winter, and iced lattes and Coolattas in the summer.
Unique elements of the campaign, which started in March and runs through December, include a segment called Cup of Kindness: Sampling teams to show up with Lattes and bakery items at locations where they are least expected, such as community centers, shelters and charity event headquarters, where employees are usually giving instead of receiving.
Meow Mix Gold Medal Games: Grand Central Marketing, New York, brought the Meow Mix Mobile on an eight-city tour and its own version of the Olympic Games. Contestants tested their skills in games that simulate activities they would normally do for cats, such as feeding them, removing hairballs, cleaning out a litterbox and playing with a ball of yarn. Also, Meow Mix donated one pound of Meow Mix cat food to a local cat shelter or adoption group for each person who participated.
Kerri Strug, who won a gold medal in gymnastics at the 1996 Olympics, served as the master of ceremonies for the event in New York City, and participated in removing hairballs (which were really beanbags) and scooping litter boxes (which were filled with poker chips).
At the conclusion of the tour, one of the gold medal winners was randomly selected to receive a one-of-a-kind citrine, diamond and gold cat collar, as well as a custom pendant, both created specially for The Meow Mix Company by Szul.com and valued at $5,000.
Forkless Gourmet: Shane O’Reilly and Michelle Norton guide the Forkless Gourmet’s, Chicago, Bun MealMobile, equipped with ten microwave ovens and a 7,000 Bun Meal-capacity freezer. It can serve up to 500 Bun Meals per hour.
The MealMobile also houses Forkless Gourmet’s Spin To Win Game which awards prizes to everyone who pledges to Go Forkless.
The tour, handled by Marketing Werks, Chicago, targets upscale women aged 35-64 with a $50,000-plus household income who enjoy ethnic foods, such as Chicken Sesame Teriyaki and Black Bean Adobo.
The tour began in May and runs through Oct. 24.
NBA Jam Van: is offering fans of all ages an authentic NBA experience. NBA Jam Van features free basketball and interactive activities, including electronic games, displays and contests as well as a state-of-the-art video wall featuring the latest NBA action.
The 67-foot, 18-wheel Jam Van transforms into 8,000 square feet of free basketball activities allowing NBA fans of all ages the opportunity to play like the pros. In addition to jamming slam dunks and sinking three-pointers on two basketball areas with four different size baskets, fans can participate in a huge array of interactive off-court activities.
The 2004 NBA Jam Van partners include adidas, America Online, Dep, LEGO Sports, McDonald’s and SpeedStick 24/7. The tour launched April 9 and continues on to more than 100 event stops until October, travelling more than 40,000 miles bringing the experience of the NBA to hundreds of thousands of fans across the country.
The basketball league has a separate NBA Rhythm ‘n Rims tour, a customized 18-wheeler which transforms into a 30,000 square-foot basketball theme park featuring a concert stage, two basketball courts and a wide variety of contests and basketball activities. The tour will travel more than 20,000 miles from April through August.
Gira Niños Activos Familia Sanas: is a fully integrated motivational and educational campaign that encourages Hispanic parents to get their tweens (kids aged 9-13) involved in physical activity for at least 60 minutes every day.
The objective of the Center for Disease Control Hispanic campaign, handled by Marketing Werks, is to educate at least 200,000 Hispanic parents on the need to get their children involved in at least 60 minutes of physical activity everyday. It targets low-to-middle income, Spanish-dominant and bilingual Hispanic parents, with emphasis on mothers aged 25-49.
“Our goal is to reach Hispanic parents and educate them on the importance of 60 minutes of physical activity a day,” says Marketing Werks’ Moller. “To accomplish this, all tour communication targets parents, and on-site activities involve the entire family.”
Beginning in June, one custom-built 25-foot side step truck began touring Los Angeles, Houston and Miami over a 24-week period. The truck is outfitted with a complete graphics package for highway travel and event day signage opportunities. The Gira Niños Activos Familias Sanas 2004 (“Active Children Healthy Family Outing”) has two bilingual crewmembers, whose mission will be to educate parents on how to encourage, support and motive their kids to participate on one-hour outdoor physical activities.
The Florida Experience: is bringing the Sunshine State’s tourism message to other locales, such as Dallas, TX, Indianapoli, IN, and Louisville, KY, over the next 10 months.
The Florida Experience, handled by Ann Arbor, MI-based Destination Experience, is a visual display of sights, sounds and activities found in Florida. The surrounding interior and exterior walls of the 10,000 square-foot Florida Experience village contain seven themed interactive exhibits designed to let consumers participate in various Florida vacation activities like golfing, windsurfing, kayaking and more.
The experiential exhibits showcase severla Florida themes, including the Sunshine Coast, Florida Waterways, Florida Fairways, Florida Speedway, Hotel Showcase, Florida Theater and other displays.
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