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Tuesday, 24 July, 2001, 16:36 GMT 17:36 UK
Cadbury targets mobile marketing
![]() Cadbury wants to know your mobile phone number
As the confectionery giant Cadbury prepares to launch the UK's biggest ever text messaging marketing campaign, our e-commerce reporter John Moylan looks at why consumers could be turned off such campaigns by junk mail and scams.
Its an irresistible combination - chocolate and mobile phones. From next month the confectionery giant Cadbury will be offering a million pounds worth of prizes to consumers who send the firm a text message. In the UK's biggest ever text messaging campaign, Cadbury will print details on the wrappers of 65 million confectionery bars. Consumers will be asked to respond to questions like "R U A 5K WNR?" by messaging a number. Chocolate lovers will learn within seconds whether they've won. Access to phone numbers "What we are doing is talking via today's most relevant communications channel to people who buy and eat our chocolate" says Cadbury's Richard Frost. "They will be contacting us rather than us contacting them." The promotion will give Cadbury an invaluable database of mobile phone numbers.
"There's no advantage in sending out unwarranted text messages . It is self defeating and counter productive," he said. Multiplying initiatives In the past 12 months marketing executives have jumped on the text messaging phenomena. It has exploded amongst young people, a key demographic for companies wanting to promote their brand to a new generation of consumers.
Once a fortnight 30,000 readers of the teen magazine Smash Hits are messaged with details of what's in the latest edition. Nescafe is to sponsor a free messaging and reply service through the internet service provider Lycos as part of its campaign to attact younger coffee drinkers. And even the Labour party messaged thousands of party members during the election and urged them to pass messages on to their contacts. Abuse fears But text marketing is already being abused.
It is believed that thousands of people were sent a message asking them to urgently phone a number. When they did, they heard an engaged tone. This was actually a recording. The mobile users were being charged on the premium rate line every time they called. Dangerous spam George Kidd is the Director is ICSTIS, the body which regulates Premium Rate calls. He claims consumers are increasingly being targeted by firms operating similar scams and even sending unwarranted junk text messages.
The Wireless Marketing Association (WMA) has drawn up guidelines for firms wanting to promote products to consumers via mobile phones. Steve Wunker, Chairman of the WMA says it involves three basic principles: "First the contact has to be instigated by the consumer. Second the consumer always has to have an easy way to opt out of further communications. And finally they always have to know who the message is from and how to contact that party". Meanwhile Cadbury's Richard Frost claims it will be easy for people to avoid being sent further messages. "If you don't want to receive anything from us simply text us with the word "Stop". That's it - finito!". |
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