There are just 17 business days between now and the Awards Ceremony for the 2011 Effective Mobile Marketing Awards, which takes place in London on 3 November.

So with the winners in 17 categories being presented with their awards on night, we thought it would make sense to preview the nominees in each category, one category each day, in the order in which the awards will be presented on the night, between now and then.

First category up is the Most Effective Mobile Couponing or Barcode Campaign, so let’s have a look at the three nominees, in alphabetical order.

Incentivated/M&S – M&S Mobile Loyalty Program – Redemption Coupons
M&S has an established loyalty points scheme, so the aim of this mobile CRM campaign was to increase the proportion of loyalty customers opted-in to SMS, and to retain these customers by issuing points-based loyalty coupons via SMS. Text messaging was used to remind customers to redeem their loyalty coupons, either in store or online, increasing engagement with the scheme, and driving footfall and incremental sales.

The company enlisted Incentivated, who set out to grow M&S’s CRM database from nothing to several hundred thousand in the space of a year. This target was exceeded several times over. Careful planning and sending relevant messages every fortnight ensured that opt-out rates were low.  Segmentation techniques were also employed to ensure customers went without a fortnightly message rather than receive an irrelevant one.

Sainsbury’s/Groupe Aeroplan – Sainsbury’s Mobile Apps
Sainsbury’s mobile app enhanced the company’s much-used Nectar points loyalty scheme, delivering offers of discounts to its customers’ mobile phones. The app is available on iOS, Android, and Nokia devices, and allows Sainsbury’s to engage with and reward its customers, drive store traffic, and generate return on investment.

Sainsbury’s enlisted agency Groupe Aeroplan to create the app. Offers can be targeted to customers that shop in certain aisles, and as the user base grows, more sophisticated targeting will be employed. Aside from Nectar points and discounts, the app also offers aisle and shelf store navigation, and provides online shopping options.

ScanBuy/Taco Bell – Unlock the Box
Taco Bell and MTV teamed up to help promote this year’s MTV Video Music Awards (VMA), and enlisted QR code specialist Scanbuy to help. QR codes were placed on all of Taco Bell’s Big Box Remixed packages and large cups. The codes delivered a variety of exclusive VMA content to users, including teasers, sneak peeks, artist interviews and performance footage. The content was changed each week throughout the six-week campaign to keep consumers coming back.

The QR codes received well over 250,000 scans in a four-week period, making it Scanbuy’s single most-scanned campaign ever. The company’s ScanLife analytics platform also determined that 55 per cent of the scans came from MTV’s core demographic.

To book your place at the Awards Ceremony, please email [email protected] or telephone +44 (0) 77696 74824.
The event is strictly limited to 250 people. Tables of 10 cost £2,050, while individual seats are priced at £225.