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Clorox optimizes awareness with retail-agnostic mobile receipt promotion

A Clorox campaign that lets consumers earn the right to enter a $1,000 monthly sweepstakes by submitting product purchase receipts leverages a retail-agnostic strategy to drive sales and enhance customer relationships with the consumer packaged goods brand.

The program, which launched Jan. 26 and will run through May 30, awards participants one entry for registering on clorox.com, another 10 entries for submitting a receipt showing purchase of two Clorox products, and an additional entry for daily site visits. By allowing the consumer to start their journey with a purchase, the campaign builds sales alongside customer relationship management, showing how mobile can tie location, purchase, registration and immediacy to keep the brand top-of-mind.

?This is the first program that is optimizing awareness strategy based on product sales in a retailer agnostic way,? said John D. Fauller, chief operating officer of Snipp, a mobile-marketing firm based in Washington, D.C. ?This has been done before at the retailer level, since retailers have immediate access to their sales data. 

 ?Now, through mobile and receipt validation, brands have that immediate access to actual sales data as well,? he said.

Submitting receipts
Receipts can be submitted through mobile by texting CLOROX to 811811, through email by emailing a photo to , or via Web upload at  https://www.clorox.com/offers/coupons-and-offers/rewards-program/. 

Building engagement with a retailer-agnostic strategy.

Unregistered users are prompted to register.

Purchase validation promotions generally are a great fit for mobile, since the consumer is able to act immediately after visiting the store. 

?In fact, 40 percent of receipt submissions on our platform occur through MMS,? Mr. Fauller said.

It is also natural and easy for consumers to send a text message to a short code and complete the action in-store.

?This program has a great incentive to register, a great incentive for repeat visits to the clorox.com site, and a great incentive to purchase Clorox products,? Mr. Fauller said.

?Additionally, Clorox is using geo-targeted mobile ads to message consumers within proximity to retailers to purchase Clorox products and enter the program. 

?By measuring response through mobile ads, we are able to optimize for location over time by tying specific regions to actual purchase, and adjusting location and strategy,? he said. 

?The concept of tying mobile digital spend and strategy to actual sales in offline stores is a groundbreaking event.?

The campaign simultaneously is meeting a number of brand goals, including sharpening targeting accuracy and the tracking of media spend.

?Efficacy of media channels, media location, and program messaging can be adjusted in real-time to optimize response and spend,? Mr. Fauller said. ?By capturing and analyzing the consumer's receipt data, we can also gather additional shopper insights into the Clorox shopper to further improve media strategy. 

?We can see which Clorox items were purchased, at what retailers, along with what else was purchased to incentivize shoppers differently,? he said.

Clorox is gaining a reputation for putting its customers? needs first with a mobile strategy that combines providing consumers with useful products and engaging with them on an ongoing basis. 

In the fight for customers, Clorox uses customer data and its own content to engage with customers.

Clorox?s mobile effort has been successful because it offers customers what they need in specific mobile moments. Clorox?s mobile application, for example, offers advice for removing specific types of stains from clothing under context-dependent conditions ? whether the user is ?at home? or ?on the go.? 

Updating content
The detergent maker also continually updates the content on its app based on data garnered from customer use, and it varies the content based on time of year. It offers advice for removing chocolate stains after Valentine?s Day, for example, and for removing grass stains in the summer. 

A great fit for mobile.

?In this case, mobile is the conduit for both awareness and measurement, and can show immediate sales and registration list,? Mr. Fauller said. ?This would be near-impossible through other media channels in a real time environment.? 

Final Take
Michael Barris is staff reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York