Jack in the Box drives customer interactions via mobile social network

By Dan Butcher

November 24, 2009

Jack in the Box looks to mobile advertising to boost sales

Quick-service restaurant chain Jack in the Box, automaker GM�s Chevrolet and musical Jersey Boys are running ads via mobile social network Brightkite.

Brightkite recently launched a targeted mobile advertising platform that includes SMS, the mobile Web and in-application ad units after piloting it with more than 20 brands during the summer. Using the system, Jack in the Box, Chevy and Jersey Boys were able to break out of traditional age and gender targeting and target according to a wider range of more relevant criteria.

�Our core offering to advertisers is our ability to target beyond the traditional limits of age and gender,� said Jonathon Linner, CEO of Brightkite, Burlingame, CA. �Brightkite is a location-enabled social discovery service, so our members check in at particular businesses and locations.

�If you check in at Starbucks, a movie theatre or your local dive bar, we know something about both where you are and what you are doing,� he said. �This allows us to present the user with ads that are relevant and useful to them, and to provide the brand a campaign that performs.�

Brightkite lets users meet people around them and keep up with their friends, as well as explore and discover new places. More than 2 million people use Brightkite's free service every month.

Mobile social networks are an attractive platform for advertisers

Jack in the Box
Jack in the Box is an American fast-food restaurant headquartered in San Diego, CA. In total, the chain has 2,100 locations, primarily serving the West Coast of the United States.

Most of the outlets are in California (900), followed by Texas (560), Arizona (165) and Washington (132). The company also operates the Qdoba Mexican Grill chain.

For Jack in the Box, Brightkite targeted ads to people within two miles of restaurants in the week following the launch of smoothies in each restaurant.

A Brightkite user shares a pic taken at Blake Street Vault in Denver, CO

The smoothies launched in different places at different times, so the campaign staggered the ad campaign location by location. The campaign offered users an SMS coupon for a free smoothie.

�Jack in the Box was launching different menu items at different restaurants over a rolling time period,� Mr. Linner said. �As each restaurant launched the new menu items, we ran geotargeted campaigns to invite people into the restaurants.

�The campaign used both SMS and mobile Web,� he said.

Chevrolet
Chevrolet, also known as Chevy, is a brand of automobile produced by General Motors Co. It is General Motors' highest-selling brand. In North America, Chevrolet offers a full range of automobiles, from subcompact cars to medium-duty commercial trucks.

For Chevrolet, Brightkite targeted ads to people within three miles of a dealership on Saturday or Sunday afternoons. Chevrolet saw response rates between one percent and two percent based on the number of people who visited the dealership.

�Chevrolet wanted to drive people into its dealerships,� Mr. Linner said. �We have run different campaigns offering various incentives�free oil changes, a $25 gift card when you take a test drive, etcetera.

�Campaign ran across mobile Web, SMS and in-app,� he said. �Each campaign was geotargeted to dealerships and time targeted to the most relevant day-parts.�

Jersey Boys
Jersey Boys is a documentary-style musical based on the lives of one of the most successful 1960s rock�n�roll groups, the Four Seasons.

The musical opened on Broadway in 2005 and won four 2006 Tony Awards. The show has had a North American National tour, along with productions in various U.S. cities including Las Vegas, the West End in London and Melbourne, Australia.

For Jersey Boys, Brightkite targeted visitors to Las Vegas�people who were in Las Vegas, but had a home town outside of the Las Vegas area.

They were given a special offer to encourage them to buy tickets to the show. Redemption rates for the promotion exceeded two percent.

�Jersey Boys wanted to target visitors to Las Vegas to invite them to watch the show,� Mr. Linner said. �The campaign ran across SMS, mobile Web and in-app ad units.

�All three campaigns [Jack in the Box, Chevrolet and Jersey Boys] were focused on delivering real-world interactions, rather than interactions on the mobile handset,� he said.

Bright future for mobile social networking
It is no secret that social networking is a hot trend among consumers young and�increasingly�old, and more and more of them are accessing their profiles via mobile devices. Mobile-only social networks are also increasing in popularity.

�Many U.S. consumers are using social networks on their phone, but for many it is a shrunk-down version of their online social network,� Mr. Linner said. �Brightkite leverages what the phone does differently�a sense of location and the ability to capture photos�to help people stay connected while they are on the move.

�Consumers globally and in the U.S. are changing the ways they use their phones at an astonishing pace, and this is fueling strong growth for both Brightkite and mobile social networking in general,� he said.

Comments on "Jack in the Box drives customer interactions via mobile social network"

1. Chris Arnell says:

   June 16, 2010 at 12:56pm

   Dan,
   
   Great article. I have been using these methods for about 1 year for some of my clients. My company focuses on marketing Denver restaurants and the results have been very positive. The restaurant scene was tailor-made for this type of marketing. It has been a welcome addition to our arsenal of marketing methods.
   
   Sincerely,
   Chris Arnell
   
   El Dorado SEO
   Highlands Ranch, CO 80126
   303-882-0624
   http://www.eldoradoseo.com
   http://twitter.com/ElDoradoSEO