Working with one of our partners, M+R Strategic Services, AARP developed a strategic plan to build their group of mobile activists over the last month.  They were able to get them immediately engaged through Mobile Commons’ SMS-to-Voice application.  From endorsement to engagement in less than a day.

There is simply no better or more cost effective way to convert an organizations position into actionable advocacy then engaging supporters on their mobile phone.  It does not escape our notice that AARP understand that its members are using mobile messaging to make their voices heard and knows that every demographic actively uses mobile.

Additionally,  AFSCME, working with the Watershed Company, used a combination of paid online media, email, and text messages to drive thousands of calls to congress this week through our voice advocacy applications to give a voice to their supporters and help pass the health care bill.  As did the Communications Workers of America, Planned Parenthood, Working America (AFL-CIO) and others.

Of course, we are excited to be selected, but we are even more excited for our customers whose programs drove the nominations.

Best Messaging Program Award
“Text to Remember” – National September 11th Memorial & Museum

and

Best Social Impact Award
Center for Community Change

•••

The National September 11th Memorial & Museum created a SMS program that allowed mobile users to donate money directly to the memorial from their cellphones, as well as enable everyone to raise their mobile phone and participate in the 9/11 Honor Roll. “Text to Remember” was launched in conjunction with a NASCAR race in Richmond, VA on Sept 11th and featured a commemorative car driven by Benny Gordon.

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum is the not-for-profit created to oversee the design, raise the funds, and program and operate the Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center site. The Memorial & Museum will be located on eight of the 16 acres of the site.

•••

The Center for Community Change was founded in 1968 to honor the life and values of Robert F.Kennedy. The Center is one of the longest-standing champions for low-income people and communities of color.  Their expert staff and dynamic partners confront the vital issues of today and build the social movements of tomorrow.

The Center for Community Change strengthens, connects and mobilizes grassroots groups to enhance their leadership, voice and power.  We believe that vibrant community-based organizations, led by the people most affected by social and economic injustice, are key to putting an end to the failed “on your own” mentality of the right and building a new politics based on community values.

The use of SMS messaging for engagement marketing, brand awareness, customer retention and user activation continues to grow quickly as more and more organizations realize the power of SMS: it’s the killer app for EVERY phone…

]]> http://www.mobilecommons.com/blog/2009/10/mobile-commons-nominated-for-2009-mma-awards/feed/ 0 http://www.mobilecommons.com/blog/2009/10/mobile-commons-nominated-for-2009-mma-awards/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MobileCommons/~3/TA3DB2g1_H0/ http://www.mobilecommons.com/blog/2009/10/consumers-are-ready-and-waiting-for-mobile-deal-alerts/#comments Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:58:18 +0000 mcgee http://www.mobilecommons.com/?p=1984 The results from a new Harris Interactive survey show that consumers are increasingly more open to receiving SMS text messages alerting them to deals at nearby stores, restaurants, and other retail outlets. Some highlights from the survey include:

• Only 1% of consumers say they currently receive deal alerts on their mobile phones but 27% say they would welcome such messages, as long as they came from merchants they’ve given permission to send offers.
• Consumers between the ages of 18 and 34 are the most receptive with 42% of respondents saying they would like to get marketing messages from favored merchants.
• 37% of consumers in households with children would like to receive opt-in alerts and in families with children under six that rises to 44%.
• 22% of mobile phone owners responded that they make an impulse purchase at least once a week based on a sale or special promotional event.

Here at Mobile Commons we’ve seen these trends firsthand with our retail customers. One customer recently ran a 48 hour “weekend only” sale for its mobile subscribers that resulted in a 50% conversion rate and a 10% increase in their average purchase size. Another client has been averaging a $10 return for every text message they’ve sent this year!

If you’re interested in learning more about our program geared specifically to retailers please don’t hesitate to contact us.

There were 41 patients in the study who recently underwent a liver transplant. They showed “significant improvement” in medication compliance after 1 year. The media age of the patients was 15.

Mobile Commons has worked with a number of organizations and state health departments, including New York and California, to test the efficacy of using text messaging to improve public health. We’ve seen these organizations and other health-related organizations use mobile technology to help improve smoking cessation rates, increase drug compliance, deliver vaccination reminders, and assist with blood pressure monitoring.

It’s also important to note that the job isn’t finished and there’s still lots more research to be done. As the researchers of the recent study commented, “the results of this pilot study are encouraging, however, larger, randomized controlled studies are needed to establish the efficacy of text messaging in improving medication adherence.”

If your organization is interested in conducting your own study using text messaging or phone calls to improve patient care, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We’d love to provide the platform for your research.

With so much media and marketing hype around devices like the iPhone, it’s sometimes easy to forget the true killer mobile apps: phone calls and text messaging. They work on every phone and remain the most effective way to reach people.

So if text messaging is the most popular way to communicate in the world, and it’s popularity continues to grow, why isn’t your organization using it yet?

Here’s a small snippet of the article:

The Shedd Aquarium, in Chicago, uses a combination of on-site signs, end-of-aisle displays at local CVS stores with Coca-Cola as co-sponsor, and TV advertising. “We even built in a control group,” said Jay Geneske, assistant director of marketing. “For the promotion running on three local TV stations, we just gave out our phone number and Web site. But on the Fox affiliate we gave out our short code and asked people to text in to win. The response to the Fox [SMS] ad was more than the other three combined.”

and

Emitations, an online retailer of costume jewelry, is about to start a texting campaign promoting a new product line inspired by the “Twilight” vampire-themed book and movie series. Users who text in to register will receive regular alerts about new releases and sales on products tied to their favorite characters. Just for taking part, though, they’ll receive a sampler modeled on the gift bags handed out at Hollywood award dinners.

“Even with this group who’s so used to texting, I think it’s really important to start by giving them something,” said Au-Co Mai, chief executive of Emitations.

So, thanks to all of our clients who continue to push the envelope (and us!) with SMS marketing. Every time we think WE have a good idea, our clients one-up us!

NEW YORK – September 10, 2009 – Mobile Commons, Inc., a pioneer of easy-to-use technology for mobile marketing campaigns, today announced its partnership with the National September 11th Memorial & Museum and NASCAR in launching the “Text to Remember” program. The program’s goal is to raise funds and awareness for the 9/11 Memorial currently being built to honor the lives lost in the attacks on September 11, 2001 and February 26, 1993. The Mobile Commons platform enables any member of the public to add his or her name to the 9/11 “Honor Roll”, and provides an option to donate $5 via a text message (SMS) from any mobile phone.

The public can support the Memorial in two ways:

• When you text WTC to the number 30644, your name will be displayed on the 9/11 Memorial’s website, www.national911memorial.org, in remembrance of the 9/11 attacks.
• When you text WTC to the number 25383, you will be able to donate $5 directly to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum being built at the World Trade Center site.

This program is being promoted in conjunction with the NASCAR Nationwide Series on September 11, 2009. A custom racecar, designed by the North South Motorsports team, will be unveiled and driven by Benny Gordon. The car was first introduced at the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site, across from the World Trade Center, by the following:

• Joe Daniels, 9/11 Memorial president
• Jim O’Connell, VP for NASCAR, corporate marketing
• Benny Gordon, North South Motorsports, co-owner and driver
• Anthoula Katsimatides, 9/11 Memorial board member and family member
• Mickey Kross, FDNY lieutenant (Ret.) and 9/11 first responder and survivor

The 9/11 commemorative car is black, blue and white, with patriotic stars and stripes, and it features a new logo for the 9/11 Memorial. The phrase “always remember” is inscribed on the car.

“This car will be a special tribute on 9/11,” said Joe Daniels, 9/11 Memorial president. “We are grateful to have the support of North South Motorsports because this car presents a tremendous opportunity to raise awareness about the national 9/11 Memorial. NASCAR fans are patriotic, and we hope that they will recognize that they can be a part of building history at the World Trade Center. Our hope is to engage thousands of new supporters through the “Text to Remember” program, which we will promote at the race.”

“It is a real honor to race this car in commemoration of 9/11,” said Benny Gordon, North South Motorsports co-owner and driver. “I hope that racing this car will not only be a way to mark the anniversary, but will also help remind others that we have an obligation to remember. An easy way for people to do their part to commemorate 9/11 is by participating in the “Text to Remember” program.”

“It is a privilege to be working with The National September 11th Memorial & Museum, and to be able to offer them our SMS technology to raise awareness and support for the memorial, as well as to connect and engage with those supporters,” said Anthony Risicato, CEO of Mobile Commons. “Giving people the ability to easily use SMS on their phone to support a great cause is a powerful tool for any organization.”

About Mobile Commons
Mobile Commons pioneers easy-to-use technology for scalable mobile marketing campaign management. The company’s award-winning mobile messaging platform helps advertisers and agencies quickly launch and manage mobile marketing campaigns from one Web-based user interface coupled with powerful analytics and reporting. The platform’s user interface and APIs seamlessly integrate SMS, voice and Web applications with CRMs and databases, as well as Twitter, Facebook applications, flash widgets, and geo-location features.

Mobile Commons’ technology has powered hundreds of successful mobile campaigns in the brand advertising, agency, advocacy, political and charitable giving sectors, including Credo Mobile, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Oxfam International, Andre Agassi Foundation, NYC Department of Public Health, Care USA, National Association of Realtors, National Basketball Association’s (NBA’s) Sacramento Kings, DoSomething.org, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and more. For more information, please visit: http://www.mobilecommons.com or text MCOM to 30644.

Press Contacts:
Natasha Grach / Shane Turner
press@mobilecommons.com
+1-858.952.7840

CHALLENGE
In June 2009, the Shedd Aquarium needed to drive significant awareness and visitors to the premiere of a new aquatic show, Fantasea, in the renovated Oceanarium. Campaigns were created across multiple media channels, including a contest to win exclusive VIP tickets to the show. The Shedd team wanted to test the overall effectiveness and consumer preferences of different marketing tactics, specifically the Web versus SMS text messaging.

SOLUTION
Shedd selected the mCommons™ platform from Mobile Commons to manage the SMS text messaging campaign and measure conversion rates.

A TV commercial was created that aired on the four major networks (NBC, ABC, Comcast and FOX).  Each commercial was the same except for the call to action to enter the contest.

• Three stations asked viewers to go to a website to enter the contest.
• The fourth station asked viewers to text the word FOX to 69866.

Once a viewer texted in, they received a message asking them to respond with their email address and zip code to officially enter.

RESULTS
When Shedd compared the entries received at the end of the promotion, they were amazed at the results:

• The TV ad with an SMS call-to-action generated 325% more contest entries than any other call-to-action.
• SMS entries made up 52% of the total contest entries, despite only running in 25% of the ads.
• When Print and Outdoor were added in, SMS entries still made up more than half of all total respondents to the contest.

“Mobile text messaging has been working well for Shedd Aquarium and after results like this, we continue to think strategically about how to use SMS,” said Jay Geneske, Marketing Strategy, Shedd Aquarium. “Mobile Commons makes it extremely easy to setup and run campaigns, and the direct CRM integration allows us to be smart about the data.”

“Shedd’s results reinforce that every TV and Out-of-Home campaign should have an SMS call-to-action. It just works,” said Anthony Risicato, CEO Mobile Commons.

Download the full case study (pdf)

To add your name to the honor roll on 9/11 Memorial’s website and commemorate the 9/11 attacks, text WTC to the number 30644

Image of the 9/11 Honor Roll, using Mobile Commons's mCast text-to-screen

Supporters texting in will have their name displayed on the honor roll and will be asked to donate $5 to support the Memorial utilizing Mobile Commons’ mobile donations application. This is a great use of the technology to connect with people, build a relationship, raise money, and engage with them in a meaningful way in the future.

Mobile Commons is honored to be working with the National September 11 Memorial & Museum and we hope everyone will text in to support the memorial’s efforts, and become part of remembering the victims and families of 9/11.

In the past 6 weeks, we’ve seen labor unions, large national advocacy groups, small local non-profits, and faith-based community organizations all effectively use mobile to reach out to their supporters around the issue of health care reform. They’ve used SMS to organize groups of people on the ground, getting their supporters to attend meetings, press conferences, and rallies. They’ve combined text messaging and automatic call routing to generate 100,000s of phone calls to the White House, to the House and and the Senate. And they’ve used SMS to drive web traffic, whether it be to a site for more information, to sign a petition or to listen live to a radio show.

Here’s just a sampling of some of the amazing ways our customers have been using mobile technology around this critical issue:

* NARAL Pro Choice sent messages to thousands of people, urging them to sign an online petition to keep anti-choice extremism out of health care legislation bills
* LIUNA General President Terry O’Sullivan sent a recorded audio message to union members asking for their help passing healthcare reform Bill 3200
* True Majority sent a text message broadcast asking people to call their Senators before they went on summer recess and pass health care reform
* PACT in San Jose used SMS to organize supporters on the ground and get them to a press conference at Congresswoman Lofgren’s office
* Center for Community Change has sent hundreds of thousands of calls to the White House and Congress over immigration issues, including health care reform. They’ve also targeted Congresswoman Pelosi directly, urging her to end the 5 year ban on immigrant health care
* The League of Young Voters in Maine used SMS to organize supporters on the ground, getting people to meet at Monument Square in Portland to fight for health care reform
* PICO National Networks sent SMS invitations, both in English and in Spanish, to a web site where users could listen in on a call between President Obama and the Faith Community. Over 140,000 people joined the call

We continue to be excited at how creatively and effectively our customers use our platform to reach out and connect with their supporters, to drive traffic both online and in the real-world, to motivate people to make phone calls, and to really affect change. Every day we see our customers leverage mobile technology extremely well and find new ways take advantage of the unique benefits it provides.