Marketing Communications

MOBILE MARKETING 507

Privacy and legal issues were once a hot and controversial issue in the e-mail marketing

industry, but now most markets have restricted and regulated the use of commercial e-mails.

Spam (unsolicited e-mails) is forbidden in Europe and opt-out possibilities should be off ered in

each message sent, creating a good environment for permission-based programmes. Permission

and privacy must be cornerstones of every e-mail marketing programme. Successful e-mail

campaigns are based on trust. Opt-in means that users have voluntarily agreed to receive com-

mercial e-mails about topics that they fi nd interesting. Th ey do so by subscribing on websites and

checking a box. Opt-out means that users have to uncheck the box on a web page to prevent

being put on an e-mail list. ‘Opt-in’ is better than ‘opt-out’ as the quality of the database or

list will be better.^90 Companies should always stress the purpose of collecting addresses and

guarantee that the information will not be disclosed to third parties or misused. However, the

real threat for e-mail marketing is overuse due to its low cost and reputation for outperforming

other online actions and traditional direct marketing. Some analysts predict that response

rates will seriously be driven down due to each consumer’s inbox being fl ooded by thousands

of commercial messages and massive opting out. Another limitation is the lack of good opt-in

e-mail databases. Supply is limited, which results in companies renting the same lists, with

bombarded and tired consumers as a consequence. Oft en the fi rst and most diffi cult challenge

for marketers who want to launch an e-mail campaign is to create a good target database of

prospects and customers.^91 Th e second challenge is then to deliver the right content as low

relevance of content and high mailing frequency both incite consumers to unsubscribe from

a mailing list. A survey among 1000 e-mail users concluded that the preference in e-mail

content diff ers between males and females. Men are more interested in thematic content such

as compelling news and information while for women promotional content like discount

off ers and samples are welcome.^92

Argos, a UK-based online retailer, wanted to introduce a product review section on its website. E-mail was identified

as the best channel in achieving this goal. Two weeks after the purchase of a product on the Argos website, the

customer was sent an e-mail, ensuring that he or she had time to use the product and that the experience was still

fresh in his or her mind. In a bid to increase the sales of the reviewed products online, the e-mail thanked the shopper

for his or her purchase and offered the opportunity to write a review. Instead of sending generic e-mails, Argos

personalises its messages depending on what products the recipient has purchased. This approach resulted in a CTR

of more than 42% and open rates of more than 30%, as well as low unsubscribe rates. The target was to generate

209 000 reviews in six months. In only four months, Argos received 203 095 reviews. The communications agency

of Argos received the Revolution Award 2009 in the category ‘Best use of e-mail’ for this campaign.^93

BUSINESS INSIGHT

Argos’s winning e-mail campaign

Mobile marketing

Mobile marketing or wireless advertising consists of all the activities undertaken to communicate

with customers through the use of mobile devices to promote products and services by pro-

viding information or off ers. In 2008, mobile media began to catch up with the hype, as both

consumers and advertisers embraced mobile technologies like never before. Th e introduction

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