Mvive rings up customers in beta test of mobile coupons, or moupons

Coupon clippers' days are numbered. So, put down those scissors and pick up your cell phone. Last week, Mvive Inc., a Toronto-based mobile marketing service provider, announced that more than 50,000 customers registered for its mobile coupon delivery program during its beta phase. Mvive's initiative eliminates paper coupons and arms bargain-hunters with deals on their cell phones.The pilot involved more than 800 businesses and individual franchises, including La Senza, Pizzaville and Second Cup, and saw end users download mobile coupons, or moupons, to their mobile devices and redeem them at the participating retailers by showing their phones to the cashier. The test phase also used the delivery of SMS marketing messages to thousands of devices through Mvive's proprietary express gateway system.Mvive's mobile marketing system offers a multi-pronged approach that empowers both retailers and end users. The mobile conversion service enables companies to translate existing customer email databases into mobile databases, allowing retailers to send permission-based messages and discounts to their customers' handsets. Although Mvive declined to comment, they are poised to unveil a new operational platform, which will allow full commercialization of their services in the coming weeks. It isn't known if they plan to include mobile barcodes in their WAP messages, but at least one analyst is confident the company can overcome the hardware and infrastructure hurdles barcodes pose, by circumventing them altogether. "You don't really need barcodes. Most paper coupons don't have them. Cashiers can just type in a code to get the discount," states Ron Struthers, an analyst who covers the company and has dubbed Mvive the next Research in Motion Ltd.When pushed, Struthers admits its not technical ingenuity that will make or break Mvive. He points to company president Roy Choi and his background in marketing and sales. Prior to founding Mvive about two years ago, Choi was the youngest organizational director with AlphaClub.com. In only four years, under Choi's leadership, the company achieved more than $1 billion in sales across 28 countries."You can have the technology but you have to be able to market it. A lot of companies have great technology, but you never hear about it because they don't know how to market it," Struthers says. "I think that's where Mvive has an advantage. Roy Choi has been in marketing for years, and has a track record of success. This was also proven in the beta test, where he was able to sign up pretty much every company he visited."In-store moupons, where customers can download or text to receive a discount, are particularly promising, according to Struthers. "You're already in the store, you see the signs, you ask the cashier about the moupons, you download the messages, show the cashier and they enter the code," he explains. For Struthers, the relevancy of the message and ease of use are only part of Mvive's appeal.In recent years, marketers have championed mobile as the next wave in advertising. The appeal is self-evident. According to the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, there were more than 19.1 million cell phone users in Canada in September 2007, and wireless subscribers sent more 30 million text messages per day. The US wireless industry association, CTIA, pegged US penetration at more than 243 million handsets in June 2007, with nearly 1 billion text messages sent per day. Approximately 10% of all North American wireless usage is data services and Informa Telecoms & Media predict that mobile marketing will reach $11.35 billion by 2011.Consumers and retailers have been hearing about mobile coupons for years, but it seems like their time has finally arrived. Last month, San Ramon CA-based Netinformer also jumped in, launching their Xtra Coupons service. Its approach is different. Netinformer works with media companies that market the service to their advertisers as their own privately branded service. "We're essentially three- or four-tiered. We have affiliates and they can be newspapers, radio stations, any media company. They are our hands and arms, and they do everything in their own local area, because they know their business and advertisers better than we do," says Greg Pinter, CEO. End-users browse through the media's website, at home or on their phone, and search through available coupons, either by company name or a broader search, such as restaurants. They then download the desired promotion to their phone and show it to the retailer, who then enters a validation and promotional code. End users can also text in keywords such as dining and fun, or a specific promotional word to a local short-code to receive SMS coupons. The Las Vegas Review Journal, Tampa Tribune and several Oklahoma-area radio stations have already signed up for the service. And, according to Pinter, the Las Vegas Review Journal's coupons receive hundreds of views per day.Netinformer's advertisers, like Mvive's, create and track their own campaigns. A real-time web tracker allows advertisers to view how many views their WAP and SMS messages receive, as well as redemption rates. Much like Mvive's customers, Xtra subscribers are charged fractions of a penny per message delivered. "At this point in time, we are not using barcodes. You really do need a separate scanner to read them. Our web coupons are all graphical, so we include a code in there for validation purposes," Pinter explains. "We have a standalone piece of hardware that we've developed that goes in the retail outlets, where retailers can validate the codes. The cashier enters the coupon code, validates it, and says it's been used, so that particular message can't be used by the next person in line," he explains. Netinformer leases the hardware for $35 per month.Mvive has clearly left a lasting impression with Struthers. "I'm going to use their services for my newsletter," he starts. "I'm going to offer my subscribers cell phone alerts. I'll be able to get all my subscribers in a database, I'll type out a message and have it go out to my 2,000 or so subscribers." At only fractions of a penny per message, Struthers is certain it makes sense.

Mvive rings up customers in beta test of mobile coupons, or moupons

News | 01/28/2008 5:27 pm EST

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