There are countless companies trying to target consumers through their phones, but mobile advertising may be an especially good fit for athletic shoes.
Pardon the pun.
Nike kicked off – oops, launched – an interactive campaign in Hong Kong last month to tout a new soccer shoe by placing swoosh-marked images in its retail stores, subway stations and other high-traffic areas. A downloadable application allows users to simply point a camera phone at the image to summon a 3-D image of the T90 shoe and soccer ball as well as a location-specific code. Soccer fans are encouraged to text in the code to receive information regarding the next “secret” destination in a kind of mobile scavenger hunt; each text also counts as an entry to win Nike merchandise.
That kind of campaign might seem a bit too interactive to generations accustomed to passively absorbing print ads or TV commercials. But Howard Hung of The Hyperfactory, a New Zealand-based mobile marketing firm that powers the promotion, claims consumers are looking to be more involved with campaigns that offer something in return for their attention.
“Being able to walk around on the footpath and view a product on the side of a building from all angles in 3-D whilst being rewarded?” asked Hunt, who serves as The Hyperfactory’s business development and mobile integration manager. “That can never be too much.. By offering something consumers haven’t seen before and giving them a chance to control it gives a brand exceptional cut-through.”
The Hyperfactory teamed with McCann Erickson on the campaign, which coincided with the Euro 2008 soccer tournament. That effort came on the heels – sorry, did it again – of a similar promotion from Puma surrounding the high-profile tournament. Puma offered team ringtones and chants that could be programmed to sound whenever the team scored, and provided free conference-calling for like-minded fans to discuss the action.
U.S. play
Closer to home, Adidas continues to leverage mobile as part of the “Basketball is a Brotherhood” campaign that launched last year. The promotion features Boston Celtics star Kevin Garnett and other hoopsters, enticing mobile users to send a text message to receive recorded voice calls from the NBA stars. Those calls directed fans to a Web site where they could create personalized ringtones using the athletes’ voices.
Those kinds of campaigns can’t hope to attract a massive audience, thanks to the high bar of interactivity and the fact that most U.S. consumers still use their phones only for making calls. But the demographic marks the sweet spot for mobile content consumption – which skews to young males – and it makes for a far more sticky experience than traditional advertising. And while approaching consumers initially through the phone is a non-starter – sending an unsolicited text message is a very dangerous proposition, obviously – using other platforms to spur a mobile “conversation” seems an effective ploy.
Good glue
“Mobile is often referred to as the ‘glue’ capable of binding great campaigns together,” Hunt said via e-mail from his Hong Kong office. “It’s no surprise then that campaigns deliver the best results when mobile is well thought-out in conjunction with all other disciplines, particularly channel integration.”
Just as importantly, mobile – for now, at least – remains a relatively inexpensive way to reach users, especially consumers who are young, hip and difficult to reach through other media. Mobile advertising remains a dicey proposition for many brands given a lack of reach, poor analytics and a value chain that remains far too complex, but it appears athletic-shoe companies are finding solid footing in the space.
“It’s cheap, it’s great, it works great for our brand,” Chris Murphy, director of digital marketing for Adidas US, told an audience at last month’s Mobile Marketing Forum in New York. “Just don’t tell our competition.”
Looks like they already know, Chris.
