MMS drives JD Group sales

By Leon Engelbrecht, ITWeb senior writer

Johannesburg, 17 Jul 2007

Furniture giant JD Group is using MMS to promote its Bradlows stores - and says success in the form of higher sales on promotion days is apparent.

Bradlows marketing executive Mike Shimmon says the furniture chain sends out MMS messages to approximately 100 000 consumers per campaign.

"We decided to use MMS because it is an innovative medium and is substantially cheaper than direct mailing, which costs as much a R8 per letter (taking into account design, printing and postage)," he says. "While many consumers are tired of receiving promotions in the mail, MMS is new and interactive, capturing consumers' attention."

Unlike print promotions, MMS is multimedia-rich, with images and video clips, sound and text - enabling Bradlows to display products in a dynamic way and provide information about its promotions. It is a far more direct approach to reach customers, given the high penetration of cellphones in the market, he says.

Multimedia Solutions partners with Bradlows, using Bradlows' artwork and Multimedia Solutions' knowledge of how consumers respond to mobile marketing, to design the MMS campaigns, Shimmon says. Multimedia Solutions then sends the MMS to consumers and monitors the results of the campaign.

Monitoring results

Riaan Groenewald, Multimedia Solutions operational director, says MMS is one of the most direct forms of marketing available, and it is easier to monitor its success than most other forms of advertising.

"Our platform not only enables us to build the MMS, but ensures the MMS messages are only sent to MMS-enabled phones, preventing wastage. Furthermore, as the MMS messages are sent out, Bradlows receives detailed reporting on the progress of the campaign," he says.

Reports include information on when the MMS adverts are sent out, when they are received and how many consumers download them.

Groenewald says there is also a viral knock-on effect, which increases the impact of the campaigns. "The viral spread of MMS is an important benefit of an MMS campaign. When consumers receive an MMS informing them about a competition or a promotion, they want to pass it on to their friends and family, which means the campaign has a wider reach than the 100 000 people who initially receive the MMS."

The response

Groenewald says MMS campaigns can also include a competition, which consumers can enter by responding to an SMS five-digit short code.

"With these types of MMS campaigns, we've seen up to a 12% response on competitions to win prizes, while MMS campaigns which simply make consumers aware of promotional days, have seen at least a 3% response rate," Groenewald says.

While it is difficult to determine exactly how many people visit the Bradlows stores as a result of the MMS campaigns, a 3% response rate would translate into a minimum of 3 000 additional visitors to Bradlows stores.

"We will, therefore, continue to use MMS, as it holds relevance and interest for the market we are trying to reach, and is a unique and cost-effective method of communicating with our customers," Shimmon says.