This post is about a company that has used Mobile Marketing in a wonderful way. Its also about pushing the envelope. Chase Bank has long been a sponsor of the US Open (Tennis not Golf). Last year they had a very interesting marketing campaign in which you could win free tickets by simply using their ATM Machine’s (I know the ‘M” in ATM stands for “machine” and I am being repetitive). Anyways, a lucky withdrawer simply needed to pay attention to his or her receipt. If there was a blue tennis ball in the logo then you just one free tickets. If it didn’t then you just won your own money (and a surcharge if Chase was not your bank).
From a marketing perspective Chase was ingeniously tapping “incentive marketing” while creating an interaction with Chases most used service, that being ATMs. It forced people to GO TO a Chase location, possibly even walk into a bank, possibly even converse with a Chase employee and possibly even see all the things that Chase has to offer.

This year Chase is going the incentives marketing route again but this time via what appears to heavy mobile play. An interesting choice do to all the hype around mobile technology and commerce as of late and Chase’s advertisements showing text message account alerts. But thats just my way of telling you that Chase has a functional mobile play for a latter point. As I was saying, from June 9th to August 9th all over New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, ads on top of taxi cabs, on bus shelters, on payphone kiosks, on billboards and in the subways Chase advertisements are drawing your attention (in text speak) to send the text message “Win” to the shortcode “CHASE (24273) for a chance to win free tickets to the Open. The exact reading being something like “Tennis ne1?” or “Cu @ the Open” followed by a much smaller print saying

“You could win US Open Tickets.
Text ‘Win’ to Chase (24273) Now”

Chase will immediately text back entrants to notify them if they’ve won or lost.

First off, I have to tell you that I have seen these advertisement for a while now but for some reason the text speak threw me off and I ignored them. I thought it was an advertisement for technical data base enterprise solutions mumbo jumbo. Nevertheless, adding the numerical value to the Shortcode “Chase” is a sure sign that the interactive marketing people at Chase have done their homework. The numbers without what they spell-out no would not be remembered. And just saying “Text ‘Win’ to CHASE” would have been to confusing. Text win to Chase what, I might ask? What am a chasing? A leprechaun? An Elephant on safari? The American dream? But they did it right and they deserve a bravo for that.

As to where these ads appear I found it a little troublesome. The first place I saw this add was while driving down the NJ Turnpike at 70 miles an hour. This is where I first ignored the signs as a tech advertisement. When I began to realize what they were saying (my interest sparked by catching the word “Text” and the semblance of a shortcode) I did not have enough time to take out my phone and remember what or how to text even though I slowed down to 60 miles an hour to try and do so (do not try this, I am a texting expert). Simply put, put these banner adds where there is a lot of standstill congestion. In NY its not to hard to fine. And it will give people something to do.

The adds on top of taxi cabs work for the most part, when you are standing in front of a parked one that is. But by the time I saw the advertisement and told myself ‘lets do it this time,’ the cab was already 5 blocks away. Once I got into a cab that had the advert on top and I stopped to take a minute to text but, in typical New York fashion, the cab driver told me to more or less get in or out of the cab. I was hoping to see an advert for it on the new TVs they have in the back of cabs now-a-days but no luck. Thats when I would have time to do this.

Finally I began to come across the ads on the subway platforms and trains. Finally I whipped out my phone, opened the text message app…entered the short code, entered ‘Win” but alas no cell found cell signal underground (a problem soon to be solved).

The subway stops and payphone adds work just fine although… if you have a cell phone that you are going to send the text message from what do you need a pay phone for
Chase also is also providing information about the ticket giveaway on ATM screen messages, in brochures at bank branches and with statement inserts. So, advertisements at Chase banks do exist but I have not noticed as many and, unlike like last years ATM campaign, there is nothing about the text messaging incentive campaign that drives me to a Chase bank to look at them.

And that is what I am getting at here. My main wonder about the campaign has nothing to do really with the placement of their advertisements. Although if they used more keywords other than “Win” they could track which ads were more effected, and that would be interesting. Nevertheless, for the most part they work, eventually. My wonderment is what, beyond product placement, does this text message campaign do for Chase?

Its important to point out that the text-to-win campaign does not stand alone. There is a chance to win Open tickets by opening a Chase Free Checking account with direct deposit with a minimum $500 deposit or depositing $15,000 into an existing savings account or brokerage account. Additional tickets to the Men’s and Women’s finals, semi-finals and quarterfinals are also available for larger deposits. But that is a far cry more demanding than the from the ATM withdrawal of yesteryear.

The mobile medium and text messaging are part of the New Media way of marketing… its about using the tools to create conversations and interactions that in the end draw people toward your brand physically and/ or digitally.

According to Chase spokesman Michael Fusco the promotion is a great way “to highlight our mobile banking service, Chase Mobile.”

Other than the fact that it is a mobile campaign that uses the shortcode “Chase” lets see what he means.

When I texted ‘Win’ to CHASE (24373) I got the following message:

Sorry, try again tomorrow. No purch reqd. For a sure way to get tkts go to chase.com/tickets. Quit? Txt STOPWIN. Help? Txt HELPWIN. Other chgs may apply.

Lets break down this text message for a second.

“Sorry, try again tomorrow.” - Ok I get it, I lost.

No purch reqd. - Purchase what? I do not have to purchase a ticket to win a ticket? Thats good.

For a sure way… - By the time I am in front of my computer I have already forgotten this and probably just went to the US Open website to get tickets. The webpage in the text is not even linkable (which is a good thing since I doubt it will bring me to a mobile webpage. And there is nothing about the making a deposit way to win…. get me while I am out an about and near a Chase bank. Not when I am home on my computer… unless I can open a checking account online and get free tickets that way. Winners, by the way, will also be directed to Chase.com/tckets to redeem their prize.

Quit? - Now, I know that they have to put this in their text as part of Mobile Marketing Guidelines but still it begs the question What am I quitting? I thought I was just entering a text and win contest are you going to send me more information (aka SMS spam) on what Chase can do to my phone? Damn straight I will quit.

Help? Again I realize that this is needed to comply with MMA guidelines. So I was curious. I did it. I texted ‘STOPWIN’. Here is what I got [my comments in brackets]:

Chase: Reply text to enter.[Didn’t I already do this and was told to try again tomorrow?] Questions? See Rules/FAQ’s at chase.com/tickets. [Again, not linkable] Quit? Txt STOPWIN. Other charges may apply. [What? To quit?]

The point here is not to chastise their use of text space, which is not perfect but gets by ok. Hey I understand that 160 characters is a limited amount of space. The point here is to express wonderment at how Chase is using a tool with such great possibilities of marketing interaction-ability without any other types of interaction or conversation concerning Chase products or banks. While they are creating conversation in the sense I am talking about how many people are really going to make the connection to Chase’s mobile offerings? The only web reference has no mobile web link and the reply text message provides no opportunity for any other Chase goodness to come about where I am standing with the phone in hand. After texting in to win nothing about it is, in a sense, mobile.

A text message campaign should always be interactive and ubiquitous. It should always have something to do with where I am and the fact that I am mobile. In the end it should pull me into a willing and deeper interaction and conversation and tie in together the brand and brand product. It it must do this organically.It must be organic. It must not be about the company or the product but about the user and the product. It must let me share, interact and act upon or comment upon if I want to. If it is not something that I can act on or follow through on immediately wherever I am with my phone then it is a dead message. And text-to-win will soon become a novelty that that will ware off.

While the campaign itself is a hint or, as Fusco put it a “highlight” of Chase Mobile service, no other mobile tie in is apparent and their is no mention or pull toward a conversation of Chase’s Mobile Banking offerings. The bank is, however, promoting its mobile banking options through a $70 million campaign begun this year that includes television commercials pitching Chase Mobile and texting for balances and transactions. Perhaps I do not watch enough television but its has bin a while since I have seen one of those ads. Hopefully, from now till August they have a more than just 3 second announcement at the end of the text to win campaign.

Do not get me wrong, I think its wonderful that Chase is using a Text-to-Win strategy. And they are doing a great job of getting me to text them wherever I am for the chance to win something. I am just disappointed that that is all it is. That after that nothing happens. The the return message is static.

Unlike their ATM-to-Win campaign (which included anyone who could use an ATM machine and did not require a deposit of 500 dollars to a free checking account) the Text-To-Win message does not draw me into Chase. It seems more like a dead end product placement for my phone, a sort of “hey look at us, we are hip, we get the new technology sort of play.” Which is fine and a step in the right direction. But, with the ATM campaign I had to walk into a Chase. After getting the (loosing) text message I simply put the phone in my pocket and go about my day. A missed opprtunity.

I just wish it could have been more and better tied in all that mobile marketing and the wonderful stuff that Chase Mobile has to offer (its really is a great and innovative product).

This post is already to long but if anyone asks in the comment section bellow I would be happy to share some thoughts as to how else they could have leveraged this. How about, for example, texting in your zip code to get the nearest Chase branch to inquire on more ways to get a free ticket. Or better yet allowing people to reply to the short code via a mobile devices many upload-able media ways.

In the meantime I will leave it with this: Mobile marketing is not a good stand alone strategy… as an always on technology it works best when it is tied into other new media and social marketing plays. Its not about putting all of Chase services on a phone or Chase using a phone. Its about how Chase can best leverage the mobile medium for an already existing product or campaign in order to drive more interest and interaction with Chase. In this case Chase leveraged the mobile phone for their already existing US Open Product placement. After that the conversation and interaction stops, which is a shame since Chase has so much more, on the mobile end, to offer.

By the way, if you are a winner then everything I just said above goes right out the door. With the exception of winning, I am not pulled into Chase any deeper. When I unscrewed a Coke cap to look underneath it to see if I am I winner at least I got to partake of the refreshing sugar water beverage if I was not. With my loosing text message I am only left with a kind of negative feeling since I did not win and was left with nothing else to do but the sterile assurance that I can by tickets or get more info at Chase.com/tickets if and when I get in-front of a computer. With that the campaign ends. Doomed to the static product placement grave that is the “erase this message” option. Not a good place to end a “conversation.”

More info from Mobile Marketer

UPDATE 7/28/08 Chase Responds (Well, Kinda)

Technorati Tags: chase, chase bank , marketing, mobile marketing, sms, tickets, us open, win

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 15th, 2008 at 10:01 pm and is filed under SMS/TXT/MMS, Mobile Marketing, Money. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.