Fresh fruit brand Sunkist Growers has tapped Hipcricket to power its mobile strategy as the brand continues to focus on mobile point-of-purchase campaigns and building a database of opted-in consumers.

Hipcricket?s self-service Ad Life platform will be used by Sunkist to power point-of-purchase campaigns in retail locations where Sunkist products are available. Sunkist enlists QR codes, text messaging and other mobile techniques to help it build stronger engagement and brand affinity with its customers.

?You will see Sunkist continue to grow their mobile campaigns where it makes sense to help drive sales, in-store,? said Julie DeWolf, director of retail marketing at Sunkist, Los Angeles. ?This is key for our business ? in store execution.

?We have now had multiple years of mobile campaigns and the growth in consumer response has been consistently doubling in numbers each campaign,? she said. ?We are using mobile as an impulse engagement and a staple ?go to? in varietal education.?

Increasing QR code scans
Hipcricket will be Sunkist?s technology provider for its mobile campaigns. The brand continues to work with OneMediaGroup and DACS to develop and manage the campaigns.

Sunkist has been actively engaged in using mobile at the point of purchase over the past couple of years and reports that it is seeing increased QR code scans and increased opt-ins over time.

The brand is also experimenting with mobile in other ways and recently introduced a mobile gaming app called Sunkist Speedway.

There are also mobile sites dedicated to various citrus varieties that consumers can browse for information such as recipes.

Via the partnership with Hipcricket, Sunkist will focus on forming ongoing relationships with consumers via mobile phones.

Mobile calls to action will include QR codes that shoppers can scan for more information as well as keywords that can be texted to a short code.

Consumers who engage with the brand via mobile will be able to opt-in to receive ongoing communications such as recipes and special offers. Opted-in consumers will be part of a database that Sunkist will use for future re-marketing purposes.

Users will also be able to enter contests and access product information across the brand?s multiple mobile Web sites.

?Connecting with consumers through in-store calls to action and customer loyalty programs enables Sunkist to make sure its products are top of mind for consumers and encourages brand loyalty,? said Doug Stovall, senior vice president of sales and client services at Hipcricket, Seattle, WA.

New campaigns coming
Hipcricket will also be providing Sunkist with analytics to measure campaign results in real time, enabling the brand quickly and easily adjust campaigns to drive performance.

Sunkist plans to expand its mobile marketing initiatives in the next year with increased mobile advertising and post-click engagement programs, including mobile couponing, loyalty programs and location-based services.

?The big news for Sunkist is that mobile will continue to be a consumer engagement tool we will use to increase purchases and usage,? Ms. DeWolf said. ?Mobile usage is growing in the area of consumer information gathering and in-store usage,? she said.

?We are planning new campaigns and mobile executions that will be a first in the fresh Produce industry.?