Mobilized Marketing: How to Drive Sales, Engagement, and Loyalty Through Mobile Devices

Chapter 16

Mobile Award For Dummies

To cap 2008, THE Mobile Marketing Association presented Hipcricket with the North America Cross-Media Integration award for work done with Wiley Publishing around the For Dummies franchise.

Complementing marketing spends in e-mail, online college newsletters, and out-of-home ads, Wiley and Hipcricket promoted the annual Dummies Month during March with texting, mobile advertising, and a mobile website intended to reach women ages 18 to 34, who are the primary purchasers of For Dummies titles.

The campaign’s objectives included driving awareness of the monthly promotion and $5 rebate offer, encouraging consumers to visit local retail stores to purchase For Dummies titles, and engaging consumers at the point of sale using mobile calls to action on posters and flyers.

The mobile marketing promotion of Dummies Month included a text-to-win sweepstakes to win high-end consumer electronics prizes via short message service (SMS), using the keyword Dummies to reinforce Wiley’s Dummies brand. Once consumers texted-in Dummies to a common short code, their e-mail address was captured and they were sent a rebate for $5 off any Wiley For Dummies title.

Hipcricket designed and ran mobile banner ads across a number of mobile websites to extend the program’s reach to millions of wireless data subscribers. The Dummies mobile website, also designed and developed by Hipcricket, supported the campaign and offered consumers an easy way to opt in to receive those offers ...