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Top 10 mobile messaging campaigns of 2015

A slew of major brands found the right ingredient to marketing success in mobile messaging this year, resulting in the introduction of campaigns leveraging aspects from branded emojis to personal concierge solutions.

The Oxford Dictionary?s choice for word of the year, emoji, highlights the meteoric rise of mobile messaging as a marketing tactic to complement consumers? communication preferences. A startling amount of retailers and brands have forayed into messaging to offer customers exclusive deals, one-to-one service and fun ways to chat with friends and family via branded emojis.

The constant connectivity that smartphones and tablets offer has made it easier than ever for marketers to tap into location-based technology and send relevant push notifications or messages to passersby. As beacons finally hit their heyday in shopping centers, retailers will likely lead the charge in adopting mobile messaging strategies with an even bolder focus.

Here are the top 10 mobile messaging campaigns of 2015, in alphabetical order.

American Eagle tries on mobile contest in fitting rooms
In a reflection of the vast range of possibilities for in-store customer engagement on mobile, American Eagle Outfitters brought a mobile contest into fitting rooms in its bricks-and-mortar stores, enabling shoppers to text a designated number for a sweepstakes entry.

The millennial-friendly retailer sought to offer a back-to-school contest to drive more in-store traffic and prompt visitors to stock up on wardrobe staples. Consumers who tried on a pair of Denim X or Flex jeans were asked to text the word JEANS to 32453, where they received an entry to win $10,000 or new Apple products.

All entrants received a 15 percent off coupon to use toward a purchase of $75 or more as well. American Eagle was able to prove that mobile messaging tactics can follow customers into the fitting room, and offer enticing contests to fuel future interaction with the brand.

Cheezburger's mobile chat program with Kik sees 8pc CTR
Online publisher Cheezburger used a mobile chat solution back in February to cement conversations at scale with its 80,000 chatters, resulting in eight percent of them clicking through to the network?s Web site.

Cheezburger leveraged mobile messaging app Kik?s Promoted Chat tool to grab keywords from conversations with visitors so that it could respond with relevant content. Kik?s 200 million-strong database enabled the publisher to develop a bundle of keyword responses that offer contextual tidbits to consumers.

Cheezburger also sent mobile users humorous, witty replies to maximize chatters.

Chubbies revamps mobile messaging to effectively engage male shoppers
Online men?s shorts retailer Chubbies recently experienced a 16 percent uptick in engagement after using new mobile messaging tactics through its app that tapped effective timing and comedic content to cater to its audience?s interests.

The brand began sending out push notifications to consumers that went beyond the standard advertising push to buy certain products. Instead, Chubbies dispersed messages containing several comedy references in a bid to make its app users chuckle.

Fans who opted in to receive Chubbies? push notifications were greeted with texts including ?Utah, get me two,? a well-known reference to the film Point Break, which is popular with many young male consumers. Another notification contained a coded message saying ?Let?s Party,? which was scrambled in Pig Latin.

Dove tackles need for greater diversity among female emoji characters
Although many brands in a plethora of different industries have begun tapping into the popularity of emojis, Unilever?s Dove aimed to capture a new area with the release of a keyboard featuring a wide range of hair types and styles.

The CPG marketer?s research proved there is a need for a greater variety of styles among emoticons representing women, prompting Dove to discover which types of hair mobile users were most interested in seeing as emojis.

Dove?s recently-released emojis cater to women of all skin tones and hair colors, ranging from dark to light-skinned, alongside emojis with dark, light brown, blonde and red hair. Women with curly or red hair had previously felt underrepresented in the emoji world, prompting Dove to alleviate this problem.

Elephant Bar drives 30pc of loyalty members into a location via geofencing
Restaurant chain Elephant Bar?s 2015 mobile campaigns saw 30 percent of its rewards members visit a bricks-and-mortar location on the same day they received a geofenced SMS message, proving the tactic's potential to drive sales.

The brand used a geofencing module that determines which loyalty members are in proximity to a restaurant location, and then sends reminders to those users regarding existing rewards points or offers. Consequently, consumers feel inspired to take advantage of their coupon for a free appetizer or discount to use toward a meal.

All information was pulled from customers? rewards accounts, and later personalized in the SMS message. For example, some consumers received messages enticing them to spend their existing points balance on their favorite beverage, prompting them to walk inside an Elephant Bar restaurant.

How Gilt uses app messaging to drive mcommerce
With more than 50 percent of Gilt?s revenue stemming from personal devices, the marketer leverages a sophisticated approach to mobile messaging by tapping automation, personalization, push notifications and more to keep its app users visiting regularly.

Gilt ensures that it sends a personalized sale to each user once a day. While many brands track user behavior via mobile, Gilt brings this strategy one step further by developing a unique profile for each customer over time and then matching each day?s single best sale to that individual.

The company also uses a custom soft sound to signal to consumers when a sale is starting, thereby informing them of new commerce opportunities without requiring users to glance at their phone or view the message. Gilt offers each customer complete control over what he or she would prefer to be messaged about, so as to not inundate him or her with unwanted content.

HBO taps into Game of Thrones' immense fan base through SMS
As the fifth season of hit show Game of Thrones came to a close in June, HBO was prepared to keep fans engaged through the nearly year-long hiatus before season six hits screens. Prior to the season opener, HBO unveiled a mobile messaging and mobile Web site experience, called Three Eyed Raven, to interact with fans via sneak peeks alluding to plot twists.

The text-powered service, named after an aspect of the plot, sent subscribers reminders and links to additional content related to the program. Once users received the text, they could access the temporary mobile site, where sneak peeks of the upcoming season were available.

Three Eyed Raven boasted approximately 70,000 subscribers within the first two months of its launch.

How Marriott is using mobile messaging to transform visiting a hotel
Marriott Hotels redefined the hotel experience with mobile at the center by allowing its loyalty program members to interact in real-time conversations with employees before, during and after a visit through the brand?s app.

Instead of forcing busy guests to spend minutes searching for their hotel?s contact information, Marriott enabled its Rewards members to simply tap once on the Marriott Mobile app icon and get instantly connected to a staff member. The Mobile Request Anything Else? chat feature means that customers can now confirm their reservations by messaging an associate instead of calling, and request various room amenities prior to their arrival on premises.

Mobile Request also offers a drop-down menu featuring the most requested amenities, such as extra towels and pillows. Personal concierge messaging platforms on mobile have taken off with a number of international hotel brands, including Hilton and Starwood Hotels and Resorts.

Universal Studios scares up mobile engagement via Facebook Messenger
Over the summer, Universal Studios excited more than 100,000 people and subsequently boosted awareness for horror film Unfriended by allowing users of the Facebook Messenger app to communicate with one of the movie?s characters.

Consumers could virtually speak with one of the deceased main characters? ghosts by messaging her on mobile. The ghost spoke to Messenger users with phrases such as ?ur secrets keep u up at night,? and ?ur a waste of life.? Other content threatened to expose visitors? secrets, such as ?want2 keep ur secrets private? Who posted the video?? and ?u think ur safe??

Horror film buffs also had the option of messaging the ghost via Kik or visiting a mobile-optimized microsite.

Victoria?s Secret, Express use exclusive SMS giveaways to forge lasting relationships
Victoria?s Secret and Express both underscored the key role that SMS contests play during the holiday season by encouraging mobile-savvy shoppers to opt-in to receive texts and share the link with friends to receive more entries for sweepstakes.

To fuel hype for its annual fashion show, Victoria?s Secret advertised text-in-to-win giveaways through social media, text and email, enabling users to receive more perks for each invitation they sent to a friend. Express rolled out a similar campaign, in which fans could opt-in to messages to win an all-expense paid trip to New York City for New Year?s Eve as well as a shopping spree.

Once entrants signed up and shared the competition with friends, Express sent multiple links through SMS, with the fastest-responding users eligible to win the prize.

Final Take
Alex Samuely, staff writer on Mobile Marketer, New York