Marketers who read this blog want to keep up on the latest developments in the industry. So maybe some of you already read Event Marketer magazine’s June issue–specifically, the feature on the winner of its Grand Ex Award, the Stoli Hotel. If so, you’ll be interested to know how the mobileStorm platform played a crucial role in the Stoli marketing campaign.

The vodka-maker’s marketers created a traveling top-line hotel–described as an “ultra-luxe” “pop-up experience”–that appeared for just a few weeks Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, New York, and San Francisco. Think of it like a traveling circus big top–and when you think about it, as magical as the supernatural camping tents described in the Harry Potter books! The Stoli Hotel, all of 20,000 square feet, showcased bedrooms, bars, spa services, and lounges like you’d see in a permanent building–and where guests drank cocktails made from the brand of vodka in question, of course.

Because of the short-term nature and the immediacy of the event, Stolichnaya marketers had to quickly generate buzz prior to each Stoli Hotel stop. It started advertising in the respective cities about one month before arrival. On the website stolihotelrsvp.com, there was a dedicated landing page for each city—on which interested consumers signed up to receive more detailed email messages about the hotel.

Stoli marketers then used mobileStorm RSVP Manager to create and maintain its database of people who wanted to visit the hotel. As you may know, RSVP Manager is the first comprehensive event management software that incorporates multiple forms of messaging into a single system. It lets clients collect responses and more information about event attendees via SMS, email, and/or a Web form. Because RSVP Manager gathers so much data, clients can also get comprehensive reports on the success of their campaigns. (Read more about mobileStorm RSVP Manager here.)

“Thousands and thousands” of Stoli Hotel guests came each night, said the Stolichnaya brand director at Pernod Ricard. More impressive is how effective the campaign was: After attending the hotel event, 86 percent of consumers said they were likely to drink Stoli; 76 percent bought the vodka in a bar or restaurant; 80 percent said the experience improved their thoughts about the brand; and 94 percent told their friends about the Stoli Hotel.

Grand Ex-worthy results indeed. Thanks, in part, to RSVP Manager.

Eydie Cubarrubia, Marketing Communications Manager, mobileStorm

“I’d rather you text me”

The other day I received yet another political email message sent to my personal account. I’ve grumbled about such messages before, and was about to get irritated again over getting an email regarding a city where I no longer even live. Irrelevant emails are the worse kind!

But then, as I scrolled to the bottom and prepared to hit the “report spam” button, I noticed it: “Unsubscribe to this list.” I hit it, and was told I would no longer receive emails from this political organization. Yay!

The moral of the story: You should always, always act in the interests of what the consumer/message recipient might want–even if you’re not legally bound to do so.

See, while we’re all familiar with digital marketing laws and best practices (if not, check out this white paper for all you need to know), political groups don’t have to be. They’re exempt from the permission requirements of commercial email. Thus, they can send all the email they want, whether or not denizens are active voters. Because of their exemption status, such senders don’t have an “opt-out” on their messages.

Although they don’t have to offer opt-out, political message-senders should. After all, they’re trying to get on the message-recipient’s best side and convince them to vote their way. If they’re courteous enough visibly allow opt-outs, they’ll generate goodwill from the contituent. Even if the voter opts out of future emails, the voter may still agree with the message–and vote as desired come ballot time!

Or in my case, I just might mention the message-sender’s concerns to friends who still live in that town. Good word-of-mouth from a satisfied member of the public: That’s something all marketers strive to achieve.

Eydie Cubarrubia, Marketing Communications Manager, mobileStorm

“I’d rather you text me”

DUM! DUM! Dum DUM! DUM! DUM! DUM!….

I couldn’t help hum the Olymic theme, if only to drown out the anachonistic bagpipes being played during the march-of-athletes portion of Beijing’s opening cermonies. But the TV commentators suddenly caught my ear when I heard the words “text-messaging” and “contest.” Turns out that even among Olympic athletes, SMS marketing plays a big role.

Weightlifter Eva Maria Dimas carried her country’s flag during El Salvador’s entry into the Bird’s Nest stadium. While most flag-bearers are chosen according to their fame, popularity, or intriguing back story, Ms. Dimas won the honor thanks to an SMS contest. In a nationwhide text-messaging poll, she received a whopping 73 percent of her countrymen’s vote.

Details about the contest, unfortunately, are hard to come by. But likely it was either an Olympic or athletic organization in El Salvador that put on the SMS quiz–and the benefits likely reaped could also help sports groups in any country with their marketing endeavors.

If the El Salvadorans used the right platform, they could compile information from poll respondents. After someone texted their vote, contest organizers should have sent a reply SMS thanking them and asking if they wanted to receive further information related to sports–such as news alerts,ticket sales, and special merchandise offers. If the voter said yes, organizers could then (A) place the voter’s phone number in a database, and (B) ask for more information such as name, age, gender, and city of residence. Such data would be crucial for successful future targeted campaigns.

Heck, maybe Green Bay can rally its denizens by holding a poll on what they think should be done to Brett Favre for his defection. The only flag they’d allow him to wave would likely be one of surrender.

Eydie Cubarrubia, Marketing Communications Manager, mobileStorm
“I’d rather you text me”

Last week I wrote about plane crash survivors who were saved with SMS. Though public safety workers in British Columbia initially couldn’t find them, one of the victims was able to text-message information about their whereabouts, leading to rescue. But there’s been another dramatic SMS rescue: An Irish air traffic controller texted landing instructions to a pilot after the plane’s electrical power, communications, and radar failed—averting disaster and possibly the deaths of five people on board.

The Irish Times reports that the pilot had used his cellular phone to try calling air traffic control in Cork, but soon lost voice contact. The controller, however, then texted the pilot—using SMS messages to tell him he had a radar signal on the aircraft and to guide the plane in.

“The controller should be commended for his actions,” said air accident investigator John Hughes, who called the event a “serious incident.”

Talk about the ubiquitous-ness of SMS. Under high pressure, the air traffic controller (1) knew that texting often works in situations when voice calling won’t, and (2) quickly switched to SMS communications with the pilot, telling him what he needed to know to safely land. I’d say this shows that for denizens who use SMS, texting has become second nature.

And that’s why marketers really should pay attention to stories like these. The majority of consumers are texting like never before, meaning that SMS should be leveraged to reach them. The airplane incidents I’ve noted prove this, but marketers new to the technology might still be wary.

Luckily, here at mobileStorm we have blogs that explain even the most confusing aspects of text-messaging, and white papers that explain the basics of SMS marketing or that spell out why SMS is so important for savvy marketers. I won’t guarantee that you’ll be able to land a plane, but you just might save yourselves from being out-marketed by the competition.

Eydie Cubarrubia, Marketing Communications Manager
“I’d rather you text me”