Client: Telecom New Zealand Limited
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi
Project: America's Cup Text Challenge
Solution: RedPlay mobile platform
Launched: October 2002
Campaign Length: 152 days
Campaign Website: www.runthered.com/amcup
Background:
Telecom is New Zealand's largest telecommunications provider and a member of the Family of Five, the main sponsors of New Zealand's America's Cup defender - Team New Zealand.
Run The Red is a Tier 1 provider to Telecom. In 2002 Telecom engaged Run The Red to develop the first of what would be several large scale text campaigns. Each of these campaigns proved successful in the overall aim of attracting, engaging and retaining Telecom mobile customers.
Run The Red used the ‘RedPlay’ mobile platform to deliver a solution for Telecom that not only successfully attracted new customers, but also educated the market to the fun aspects that are possible using SMS technology. This in turn lead to an increase in average revenue per user (ARPU) and retention of existing customers.
Objectives:
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Telecom wanted to run an innovative text campaign to raise the profile of Telecom Mobile and educate its customers on other uses for text messaging
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To link Telecom’s growing mobile services offering with an already established awareness of Louis Vuitton and America's Cup
Promotion of Campaign:
Strategy:
The America's Cup Text Challenge was developed in a quiz format. Challengers registered for a player name by texting to a dedicated short-code on their mobile and then answered multi-choice questions on the America's Cup and general sailing knowledge.
How it Worked:
Players received a universal daily question, and having answered that correctly, could then request a bonus question. As the player progressed through their bonus questions the points received for correct answers increased and accumulated in their personal account, which was monitored by Run The Red.
The more questions you answered, the more chances you had of winning.
In addition to receiving questions, players could text to access their personal account, check on how many points they had, request more bonus questions, and unsubscribe from the competition.
There was also a web site dedicated to the competition where users could witness their progress of participation, and access additional information such as the prizes on offer and the points of the top ten players.
In addition to the major prizes on offer there were hundreds of weekly prizes, with recipients selected on a random basis.
Results:
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New Zealand’s largest ever mobile marketing campaign at the time
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Over 30,000 registered players engaged with the campaign, generating over 1.6 million text responses
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The prize pool value increased from $150 000 to $300,000 due to overwhelming response
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The campaign established an important connection between Telecom and America's Cup
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The campaign accessed a niche market of older text message users (outside of 16-30 yr old demographic isolated as SMS' target market)
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