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Retailer Planet Funk sees 377 percent ROI from mobile coupons

Planet Funk, a chain of clothing stores for men and women, ran a mobile coupon campaign that resulted in a 377 percent return on investment.

The retailer saw a 91 percent redemption rate on the coupons. Also, twenty percent of revenue for the month of December was generated by the almost 2,000 coupons that were generated and sent as text messages via the mobileStorm digital marketing platform.

"Mobile is a natural fit for our customers and being able to give them such coupons, both in the store and online, that can be instantly received on their phones is a no-brainer," said Kitri Lomaka of Planet Funk, Burbank, CA.

Planet Funk has 21 branches in California, Texas and Colorado. Visitors to the shops and Web site at http://www.planetfunk.com will find hip clothing from brands such as True Religion, Frankie B, Marc Ecko, Brad Butter, Ed Hardy and Betsey Johnson.

Planet Funk was facing what many experts call the worst holiday season in decades last year and so the company thought outside the box. The retailer knew it needed something that would work in-store and online and could be tracked.

Planet Funk targets hip youngsters and that is why mobile was the ideal medium for this campaign.

The retailer had been using mobileStorm for its email campaigns for years and turned to the company for mobile as well.

The mobileStorm 4.0 digital marketing platform's Mobile Coupon system features allowed Planet Funk to set up and launch a mobile coupon program. Planet Funk wanted discount tiers based upon customer spending at coupon redemption, a built-in feature in the mobileStorm platform.

The program offered the following discounts:
-$100 - 249.99 - $10 off
-$250 - 399.99 - $30 off
-$400 or more - $60 off

Consumers were asked to text the keyword PFUNK to short code 38714 if they were interested in offers from Planet Funk. The call to action was on signage in the stores.

Signage placed in the stores showed the short code and keyword and promoted a coupon as an incentive for joining the Planet Funk mobile club.

Planet Funk also pushed the mobile coupons via its Web presence, blog, and a number of sites belonging to malls in which Planet Funk is located. Importantly, the discounts could only be redeemed via the mobile coupon.

The Planet Funk blog, covering celebrity trends, also helped drive traffic and business to its stores and Web site.

According to research by Juniper Research, consumers are most likely to respond to mobile marketing offers that result in clear personal benefits.

"Mobile coupons are a prime example of how mobile can be used in this way, combining relevance with immediate, tangible value for the consumer," said Peter Johnson, vice president of market intelligence and strategy at the Mobile Marketing Association, New York.