Category: Advertising & Marketing

T-Mobile’s Test Drive campaign

Posted on by Brian Lee

I admit, I was immediately intrigued when I learned of the T-Mobile Test Drive campaign, in which the company sends you a new iPhone 5S with unlimited calling, data and text messaging to use for one week. Afterward, you return your phone to a T-Mobile store, and there are no strings attached.

First, the campaign had an inauspicious start. I learned about the campaign through a full-page ad in USA TODAY. That ad, as well as the ones in other newspapers, told readers to visit t-mobile.com/7nightstand. However, that site hadn’t been created. It was only after a bit of searching that I found t-mobile.com/testdrive was the correct URL (after a month, T-Mobile has finally created a redirect for /7nightstand).

Second, I discovered Wisconsin is not a T-Mobile-friendly state. You may not return the phone to an authorized dealer; rather, you have to go to a T-Mobile-owned store. The nearest ones to Madison were Brookfield, Wis., and Rockford, Ill. To me, it felt a little ridiculous to drive an hour away just to return a free phone.

Third, T-Mobile doesn’t seem to work on Fridays. That’s when I ordered the phone, but the company didn’t process the order until Monday, and I received it on Thursday.

Just before I received the phone I purchased a protective case. For $20, it helped insure me against damage, which would result in me paying up to $600 for the phone as part of the agreement.

T-Mobile did do a good job in selecting the iPhone 5S as the trial phone. Compared to the iPhone 4 I’ve used, it’s a million times faster. I enjoyed trying apps like Facetime, which I don’t have on my Windows Phone (actually, I basically have no apps for my Windows Phone, because no one will make apps for the platform).

Finally, this experience has taught me how much I value Verizon’s nationwide coverage. In various parts of Wisconsin and Illinois, my Verizon phone would be on 4G LTE, while the T-Mobile phone was on extended network. Sorry, T-Mobile.

Twitter acquires TapCommerce

Posted on by Brian Lee

TwitterTwitter recently announced that it’s acquiring a mobile technology company called TapCommerce. Specializing in mobile retargeting, TapCommerce targets ads based on previous user activity. While this service is certainly not groundbreaking, retargeting isn’t very common among mobile marketing due to the lack of cookies. But through large amounts of data and sophisticated statistical analysis, TapCommerce is able to overcome this problem.

With more and more consumers making purchases on a mobile device, it’s important now more than ever for a brand to target and communicate to its audiences via mobile. While many advertisers primarily focus on activating new users, TapCommerce reminds brands to re-engage with lapsed users and present more relevant content. Re-activating users rather than enticing new ones also can be less costly, as we know in the arena of customer retention.

The acquisition of TapCommerce will give advertisers on Twitter more opportunities for re-engagement and better measurement of mobile marketing. Mobile consumers also will reap the benefits of this team-up by receiving more relevant ads in the apps they use.

Twitter said in a statement that it’s too early to say when users will see TapCommerce technology on Twitter, but the groups are in the beginning stages of creating a product plan.

Nike vs. Adidas World Cup Campaigns

Posted on by Taylor Kennedy

Isn’t it crazy to think the World Cup has only been playing for a week and three more weeks remain? Not only is this the month of crazy goals between countries, but it’s also a time for sporting goods manufacturers such as Nike and Adidas to compete. This time it’s about their marketing strategies.

Nike’s commercial, “The Last Game,” features animated avatars of World Cup pin-ups Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar Jr., as part of its “Risk Everything” strategy.  The 5 1/2-minute video shows the Nike-signed players playing one last sudden-death match against the clones, who bore spectators by playing “like it’s just a job.”

Meanwhile, Adidas’ commercial features international stars David Beckham and Zinedine Zidane. In their “All in, or nothing” campaign, the duo challenge two individuals playing the FIFA World Cup video game to a real soccer match in their house. Another strategy Adidas is trying this year is shifting to YouTube and trying to introduce real-time marketing to the social platform.

Both campaigns are attempting to show how effectively channels such as video work well with e-commerce and social media. According to communications agency Way to Blue, Nike secured 200,119 social mentions between April 20-June 6 while Adidas grabbed 88,041.