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Frito-Lay, Colgate reimagine mobile receipt promotions with enticing rewards

Frito-Lay and Colgate are bringing a revamped spin to SMS-based receipt promotions by offering participants alluring rewards from other brands instead of standard money-back offers.

The consumer packaged goods marketers are just two of the companies opting to employ a new approach to mobile receipt promotions after discovering the added value of brand partnerships. Frito-Lay and Colgate are currently running mobile campaigns, powered by Snipp Interactive, that offer users the ability to redeem their receipts for rewards such as magazine subscriptions and popular iPhone cases.

?Customers are interested in more than coupons and discounts as rewards for their interactions,? said Camille Kennedy, senior director of marketing at Snipp Interactive, Toronto. ?In the bid to attract participants, value-added offers, both experiential and digital, are very appealing to key consumer demographics, such as the 83 percent of shopper moms who prefer value added products or services from a brand.

?Snipp?s approach is to create rewards that that appeal to the audience profile of our campaigns,? she said. ?We have vast rewards catalog spanning a combination of physical, digital and services, to target specific customer segments.

?For example, we now offer Uber credit as a reward, which is proving to be very popular with alcohol brands. Other rewards, such as magazine subscriptions, appeal across many segments of consumers and brands.?

Revamped promotions
An increasing amount of CPG brands are leveraging mobile receipt promotions to drive product sales and simultaneously boost awareness. The trend of moving away from tried-and-true incentives, such as cash back or discounts, and toward experimental ideas done in collaboration with brand partnerships, will likely continue to gain steam.

Frito-Lay is tapping Snipp?s platform for a relaunched promotion that enables consumers to receive an iPhone case from Society6, a popular online marketplace. Customers who purchase multipacks of Frito-Lay Classic or Flavor Mix products may snap a photo of their receipt and submit it to 811811 with the keyword CHIPS.

The SnippCheck receipt processing system will validate the submission, and send eligible users a code for $10 toward any iPhone case featured on society6.com/fritolay.

The promotion is running through January 22. However, all redemption codes may be used through April 15.

This may prompt smartphone users interested in a new case to purchase several packages of Frito-Lay chips, even if the snacks were not originally on their shopping lists. The novelty of receiving an offer to use on popular iPhone cases will set the Frito-Lay campaign apart from its competitors.

Meanwhile, Colgate Optic White is also hopping on the revamped mobile receipt promotion bandwagon, this time attempting to drive an increase in item sales with a brand collaboration.

Individuals who purchase three qualifying Colgate Optic White items in one transaction will be able to receive a one-year subscription to Conde Nast?s Allure magazine. Participants must submit their receipt photo to 811811, via the keyword BEAUTY, send an email to or upload the image to www.colgateallure.com.

This promotion is available through February 15.

Consumers may be much more likely to participate in these campaigns due to the differentiated rewards. Instead of offering tedious prizes such as a coupon redeemable on a future Colgate or Frito-Lay purchase, the brands are placing themselves in the minds of their customers to better judge what incentives they will find exciting.

Mobile has proven to be the best-suited channel for these types of promotions.

?In the fun and simple exercise of texting in their receipt, digital SMS campaigns get consumers engaging with a brand on their mobile devices right there in the store,? Ms. Kennedy said. ?Nearly 60 percent of consumers want real-time offers and promotions directly to their smartphones when in the retail aisle. 

?Mobile is the device consumers use as their primary shopping companion, with 90 percent of consumers using their smartphones in-store , and allowing the brand-consumer interaction to occur on the same platform means that consumers will feel a stronger affiliation to that brand over others that traditional campaigns.?

Building on the past
Snipp has previously teamed up with a slew of food and beverage and CPG marketers for SMS-based promotions, which are growing increasingly more interactive and enticing to users.

Over the summer, Unilever?s Axe leveraged an in-store partnership with Walmart designed to attract the brand's young male audience with relevant music downloads on mobile as a reward for purchasing products (see story).

Meanwhile, PepsiCo took to mobile to promote its National Football League sponsorship by encouraging users to text football-related keywords to a designated number and receive links to microsites offering sweepstakes entries to win Pepsi merchandise (see story).

The company predicts that 2016 will also be a big year for mobile-based promotions, thanks to the plethora of new devices and wearables permeating the space. 

?The proliferation of mobile in all areas along the path-to-purchase will continue into 2016 and brands need to innovate to keep up,? Ms. Kennedy said. ?In this way, consumers will be less forgiving to brands that are not putting in this same effort in their mobile and digital marketing.

?The SMS campaigns that do keep up with the current, however, will see huge success as they stay relevant and personalized to their mobile consumer base,? she said. ?In fact, over 52 percent of consumers globally reported favoring a more personalized experience from brands, and texting is a great way to achieve this, with 90 percent of text messages read within six minutes of receipt. 

?With new trends such as wearables, augmented reality, mobile wallets, and more on the horizon for the year to come, the potential for mobile campaigns is exponential.?