Shopping centers have been ripe for mobile marketing integration for a long time, especially with the proliferation of location-based services and the devices they run on.
We recently covered General Growth Properties, one of the largest networks of malls in the US, and their introduction of a mobile marketing solution powered by MOBISIX to engage shoppers with relevant offers and information as they shop. Today marks the release of a similar solution from Mallfinder aimed at providing an all-inclusive solution for shopping centers backed by lots of research and SMS trials to see what works the best in these types of situations.
Built solely for use in shopping centers, Mallfinder’s SMS-based solutions include Instant Win, Sweepstakes and Loyalty Club Blast campaigns. In addition, the company is also developing location based services (LBS) applications for the iPhone and other GPS-enabled smart-phones, to deliver contextually relevant offers and promotions to shoppers while they are on the premises of their shopping center.
Mallfinder has seen success with its award-winning “social shopping community” dubbed Shoptopia, and also plans to introduce a mobile version of the site to coincide with the release of its new mobile marketing solutions.
Mallfinder’s new offerings come on the heels of recently completed SMS campaign trials on behalf of several clients, and also the launch of mobile web versions of twenty shopping center websites the company manages on behalf of Forest City Enterprises. In addition, the company used data from a recent Universal McCann study which indicates that 81% of smart-phone users interact with mobile media while shopping. The study also revealed that 53% of smart-phone users click on ads and 35% request more information or a coupon. Utilizing the data and experiences from this research, Mallfinder created its new solution to be an all-inclusive shopping center marketing platform.
This is another great example of a company that picks one solution and executes it very well. Instead of trying to accomplish to much (the jack-of-all-trades approach), Mallfinder has chosen to target mobile marketing in shopping centers and nothing else. This approach usually pays off well, we’ll have to keep our eyes on this one to see what happens.
