Carlson Marketing's New Mobile Gift Certificates

Mobile marketing has been a hot topic this year in the incentive and reward industry, and Carlson Marketing has just added a new product and strategy paper to the conversation.

mCerts Instant Rewards

Mobile gift certificates or mCerts are now part of Carlson Marketing’s Instant Rewards program, providing on-the-spot reward redemptions for their loyalty program members. According to Carlson, mCerts can reach 97 percent of all mobile device users by using text messaging, mobile catalogs and scannable barcodes to connect customers with their loyalty programs and provide access to immediate reward redemption.

The mCert technology is an extension of the company’s eCerts capability, which powers email certificates. This unification of online and mobile communication now provides companies with the ability to reach their most loyal customers with discounts, loyalty point credits, and monetary rewards instantly across channels.

“We have designed an approach that connects all stakeholders to loyalty programs via the mobile device,” said Suzy Cox, vice president of brand loyalty at Carlson Marketing. “We’ve done this on a platform-agnostic basis. … mCerts work without downloading apps, and without a social network. It builds a clear and immediate connection between the brand and its most valuable customers.”

How mCerts works: Loyalty program members can redeem points, miles or other currencies for mCerts, eCerts or traditional plastic gift cards via a mobile eCatalog or standard browser-based eCatalog experience. When the mCert option is selected, a text message containing a link to a mobile web page is sent to the member’s mobile phone. Upon clickthrough, the member is taken to a mobile web page that displays a barcode image representing the cash equivalent reward. The barcode then is presented to a merchant scanning system to redeem the reward.

The mCert technology was developed in conjunction with RocketBux, a Bend, OR–based mobile marketing services provider.

Mobile Segmentation White Paper

Before a company chooses to use mobile rewards, it needs to have a strong understanding of its mobile users.

“Smart companies don’t market to gadgets, platforms or award judges. They market to customers,” said Doug Rozen, senior vice president and global lead, creative, interactive, media and mobile for Carlson Marketing. “When and if mobile marketers understand how customers use mobile devices, they can better increase the value of their customer relationships via mobile.”

The “Bringing Mobile Segmentation to Life” white paper released by Carlson Marketing last month combines data from companies including Forrester, comScore and MRI with primary, ethnographic research in order to identify behaviorally driven mobile consumer personas and strategies for addressing each of them.

Among the segments identified are:

Mavericks: Representing about 5 percent of the total audience, the maverick is a heavy mobile Internet user, receives offers and promotions via mobile, and most likely uses an iPhone 3G. He’s 31 and lives with his girlfriend in a major market city. He will pay extra for the newest technology and frequently downloads apps, watches video and surfs the net. Marketers need to be careful with Mavericks. Provide an immersive mobile experience or risk losing them.

Funccessorizers: This segment, also 5 percent, uses her mobile device for pictures, games, texts and other features. Device: MyTouch 3G. She’s 24, single, and up-to-date on pop culture and current trends. Marketers can be provocative here and cut across the continuum all the way to downloading augmented reality applications, mobile ticketing and video.

Lifeliners: About 14 percent of mobile users have taken the step toward regular text and e-mail use but rarely use the Internet. Device of choice: LG eNV. She’s 39, married, educated and suburban. Spending time with her family is a top priority; she’s cost conscious. She can be reached via marketing campaigns that stress interactions that value her lifestyle such as news alerts and SMS surveys.

For more information, a copy of the white is available here.

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