| Flytxt goes to Hollywood with Orange |
| Monday, 31 May 2004 | |
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Incentive Today Magazine - A new link between mobile phone giant Orange and the cinema industry marks a significant step forward in the use of mobile phones in promotional marketing. The Orange Wednesdays campaign involves the use of mobile coupons to give Orange customers a “two for one” ticket to go with a guest to any movie on Wednesdays, traditionally one of the quietest nights of the week in the cinema.The technology has been developed by Flytxt, which is also managing the delivery of the m-ticketing campaign. Its commercial director, Dave Barker, described it as innovative and a significant advance in the use of mobile coupons. “Nobody has ever done anything like this before,” he said. “It’s a complete first.” The basics of the promotion are simple. Orange customers text the word “film” to 241, or ring 241 from their mobile, or go to special Orange Wednesdays pages on the company’s website, Orange World. They then receive a text with a reference number which can be redeemed when buying a ticket at over 90 per cent of Britain’s cinemas, such as the Odeon and Vue chains as well as many independents. Flytxt arranged more than 2000 terminals to be installed over 450 cinemas nationwide, with more planned as the three year campaign develops. They are linked to a centralised database, which can be used to ensure that coupons are not transferred or re-used. It also means that, if a customer accidentally erases the SMS carrying the code number, they will receive the same unique reference if they contact 241 a second time. It will also provide useful data on customer behaviour, such as how often they visit the cinema and what sort of movies they are interested in. Barker said this was the first time that a loyalty promotion involving mobile phone coupons had been rolled out on a nationwide basis. “People have talked about mobile couponing for years, but this is the first time something concrete is happening” he explained. He said the first few weeks of the campaign, which launched on March 31 were a “phenomenal success”. It’s a fantastic experience for the customer,” he said. “They don’t have to cut out bits of paper and send them off. About 5 billion coupons are printed in the UK every year, but only 10 per cent of these are redeemed. The campaign is supported by above-the-line activity, including the slot before the adverts are screened at cinemas nationwide. They build on the award winning adverts featuring the Orange Film Funding Board, in particular the characters of Mr Dresden and Mr Burnley, played by actors Brennan Brown and Steve Furst. Developed by agency Mother, the new treatments involve Hollywood stars such as Patrick Swayze and Darryl Hannah pitching ideas to the board but being thwarted with by Dresden and Burnley trying to shoe horn mobile phones into every plot. Other through-the-line activity includes the print media promotions at Orange outlets, direct marketing and in-foyer marketing promotions in cinemas. The print creative is based on classic genre posters such as romance, horror, action and science fiction. The campaign links into a broader initiative to provide Orange customers with exclusive content on the Orange WAP portal, Orange World, such as trailers and games. The first two “Orange Featured Films”, will be Troy and The Day After Tomorrow. Orange is building on an established link with cinema, including sponsorship of the British Academy Film Awards since 1998 and an initiative to promote screen-writing. It developed the promotion in conjunction with All Industry Marketing for Cinema and its Cinema Marketing Agency (CMA), which was set up to develop and implement generic initiatives for UK cinema. The CMA expects the Orange promotion to broaden the audience for cinema, helping the industry to increase the average number of cinema visits per person per year in the UK from 2.8 to five. The m-ticketing activity will also channel “substantial funding” to finance a range of activities, such as combating film piracy, work with schools and creating tools for mapping cinema going patterns. © Copyright Flytxt Ltd 2006. Unauthorized use of any content constitutes a material breach. |
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