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WirelessDevNet.com Press Release
O2 Launches Location-based Mobile Marketing Service in Ireland
O2 has become the first operator in Ireland to offer large-scale location-based mobile marketing services, enabling brands to deliver relevant promotional text and picture messages to consumers in a more targeted, engaging and effective way than ever before.
Messages will only be sent to O2 customers who have given their permission to receive location-based marketing messages. The messages sent to customers will be relevant to their age, gender, interests and location. Through the new service, O2 is enabling Ireland’s favorite retailers and brands to reach consumers on their mobile phones at a time and place that really suits them. Location-based marketing has already been successfully launched by O2 in the UK where 6 million consumers are now receiving messages and the customer experience has been extremely positive.
Eugene Mitchell, Director of New Business for Telefónica Ireland, which operates the O2 brand in the Irish marketplace, said: “The growth of location-based services creates great opportunities for proximity marketing. It fuels a growing expectation among consumers for tailored advertising via their mobile phones, with messages that are directly relevant to their passions. Customers are looking to take advantage of relevant bargains and deals and want these to be delivered in a convenient and timely manner. Our innovative new service provides a great experience for customers, connecting them with their favourite brands at a time and a place that really suits them”.
Independent research undertaken on behalf of O2 by Behavior & Attitudes among 1000 mobile users (aged 16+) to test the acceptance of location based marketing in the Irish market showed location based came out as the most desirable method of receiving mobile marketing messages. Almost a third of mobile users said they would welcome location based promotions so long as they were targeted and relevant.
The new service uses location-based technology known as geofencing and is the result of O2 partnering with Placecast, a Californian company whose tried and tested platform, ShopAlerts, has transformed the mobile marketing industry in the UK and the US. Since September 2009, ShopAlerts has run programmes across the U.S. with several major retailers. 65% of customers who were part of the initial programmes made a purchase as a result of receiving a promotional message, and 60% of participants found the location-based messages to be “cool and innovative”.
How it works:
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O2 customers must provide permission to receive location-based messages. If they don’t provide permission they don’t receive the messages.
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When customers who have given their permission enter a specific geo-fenced area for a particular brand, they will receive a relevant promotional message relating to that brand. Customers are not charged for receiving the message.
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O2 does not spam customers with irrelevant or frequent messages – O2 customers who have given their permission will only receive a maximum of one targeted and relevant message per day and on average about 4-6 messages a month
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Customers can opt out of the service at any time
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The service works on any mobile phone (not just smartphones) and does not need an app.
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The service is not available to customers aged under 16 years and will be age appropriate for other specific promotions (e.g. over 18s)
Alistair Goodman, CEO of Placecast, said: “O2 is one of the most innovative mobile carriers in the market and we are pleased to be partnering with it to bring location-based mobile marketing to Ireland. This program is testament to the forward-thinking and innovative approach that Telefonica and O2 take. The success over the past year that the O2 UK program has seen confirms the fact that consumers are actually very receptive to location-based mobile marketing messages, provided they have control over the types of messages they receive, and the number of messages is limited.”
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