Prom gone Mobile

QWASI launches integrated mobile marketing campaign for David’s Bridal Prom Mobile

PHILADELPHIA, May 6, 2009 – QWASI, a leading mobile marketing company, announced the launch of David’s Bridal Prom Mobile which allows girls to access the latest fashions for prom on their mobile phones. The Prom campaign was launched on QWASI’s Mobile Marketing Platform that enables David’s Bridal to tap into the power of mobile marketing. The campaign includes SMS promotions, a mobile site with a click-through slideshow of the retailer’s latest fashions, a store finder and send-to-friend capabilities.

Teenagers- or anyone for that matter- can text the keyword “PROM” to 74362 to get content on their cell phones, vote for their favorite dress styles, and get special targeted promotions leading up to the big day. They can also browse styles at the new mobile website, http://m.davidsprom.com,

“We have seen a positive reaction to our initial mobile marketing messages from our customer base. We utilized the mobile channel to communicate an urgent ‘last chance to enter’ message for a scholarship contest running on davidsprom.com. The mobile call to action produced a spike in contest entries 24 hours following the message, notes Carol Steinberg, VP, Internet, David’s Bridal Inc.

David’s Bridal launched their mobile initiative at the start of the Spring 2009 prom season. Interactive by nature, teenagers are the heaviest users of text messaging; according to a 2008 Nielsen Mobile report, the typical U.S. teen mobile subscriber (ages 13–17) now sends or receives 1,742 text messages per month (compared to making or receiving 231 mobile phone calls).

“We’re excited to see the early results from this text messaging campaign. It’s obvious that teenagers desire to engage in mobile campaigns. Brands have realized that it’s important to reach customers and David’s Bridal is clearly demonstrating the power and reach of mobile marketing,” says David Geipel, Co-Founder QWASI, Inc. “We created a complete mobile experience for their customers that helps teens identify their styles and browse dresses directly from their cell phone. They can then receive additional targeted offers, share the mobile site with their friends and have access to a store finder to locate local stores. Mobile is all about relevancy and interaction and they’ve nailed it in this one.”

QWASI provides agencies and retailers of all sizes the means of driving in-store traffic, increasing order size, building customer loyalty, improving communication and reaching new customers through an interactive mobile ordering solution. The Mobile Marketing and mCommerce Platform makes it easy for catalogers, ecommerce, retailers and brick-and-mortar companies to quickly realize the benefits of mobile through measurable mobile marketing campaigns.

ABOUT DAVID’S BRIDAL With more than 50 years of experience, David’s Bridal understands the importance of providing teens and brides-to-be with a vast selection of exquisitely crafted dresses, available at affordable prices. Today, with over 300 locations nationwide, David’s Bridal continues to expand its retail store locations, while maintaining its philosophy of superior quality, value and service. To locate a store nearby, consumers can call 1.877.706.PROM or visit www.davidsprom.com.

ABOUT QWASI
QWASI, Inc, is a leading Mobile Consultancy and Solutions provider of interactive applications for over 10,000 clients across the US utilizing SMS (text messaging), MMS, WAP and iPhone applications, Since 2004, QWASI has been providing mobile solutions including mobile marketing, mobile retail & mCommerce (mobile commerce), mobile search, chat and other interactive mobile platforms to Fortune 1000 clients in industries such as eCommerce, Retail, Financial Services, Real Estate and Enterprise Communications. The company has received multiple awards for its CellSigns Real Estate & Publishing services from Inman News and the NAA (Newspaper Association of America). QWASI can be found online at http://www.qwasi.com.

May 6, 2009 in Press Releases   |   No Comments

CellSigns by QWASI Featured in REALTOR Magazine

Reach out and Text Someone Article points to Texting overtaking Voice on your cell phone.

If phone calls and e-mail are still your preferred way to share information with clients, it might not be long before text messaging takes priority. According to the 2008 REALTOR® Technology Survey, 35 percent of real estate practitioners use cell phone texting on a daily basis; another 27 percent text on at least a weekly or monthly basis.

The general public has also embraced the convenience of texting. While the number of phone calls made or received by wireless subscribers in the United States remained relatively steady from 2006 through mid-2008, text messaging skyrocketed nearly 450 percent, according to a Nielsen Mobile analysis.

Many real estate practitioners have recognized this phenomenon and are incorporating text messaging into their client communications. “One of the first things I ask when I meet new clients is if they can receive text messages on their phone, and if they would like to be updated by e-mail or text,” says Richard Van Kluyve, broker-associate with Century 21 Premier in Mount Juliet, Tenn.

About half of Van Kluyve’s clients tell him they prefer text, including one house-hunting couple in their 20s who’ve taken texting to a whole new level: “We may have spoken on the phone 10 times, but we’ve probably sent 100 text messages back and forth in the weeks I’ve been working with them,” he says.

But don’t just assume that only younger clients are apt to text. With texting now available on all mobile phones, consumers of all ages are appreciating the ease of using their keypad to send real estate practitioners a quick question, arrange a meeting, or comment on a home they’ve toured. In fact, a whole class of mobile marketing services has emerged to deliver listing data directly to a consumer’s cell phone—and capture leads for real estate practitioners in the process. Once you’re subscribed to services like CellSigns, you can post a special text code on your listings’ For Sale signs. Consumers who drive by the home can punch the code into their phone to receive a return message with property information and photos. Van Kluyve hopes for the day when clients can even receive text alerts as listings are added to the MLS, similar to e-mail alerts that are now commonplace.

Even as text messaging goes mainstream, there are times when it’s better to do things the “old-fashioned” way—with an e-mail, a phone call, or a meeting. Texting’s casual convenience is ideal for any situation in which a quick and informal message will do. Messages that are long or complicated or that can potentially spark questions from clients are better left to other media. Here are some other general guidelines:

•    Don’t text without permission. Ask clients if it’s OK for you to send them text messages. They may not be familiar with the medium, or they may simply be annoyed by it. Depending on their phone service, they also may have to pay for received messages. And never text a prospect you don’t know; it can land you in legal trouble. A pending revision to the CAN-SPAM Act prohibits sending unsolicited text messages to a wireless phone number unless the recipient has given prior consent or you have an established business relationship with the recipient. Also, the federal Do-Not-Call registry applies to text messaging.

•    Learn the lingo. Texting is all about fitting the most words into a maximum of 160 characters for the sake of speed and convenience. Even if you feel silly using shortcuts like BTW (by the way), QQ (quick question), or THX (thanks), you’ll want to be familiar with the terms so you can decipher clients’ messages. For a list of common abbreviations, visit Webopedia (www.webopedia.com).

•    Be considerate. Texting can quickly become addictive. But when meeting with clients or colleagues, don’t be absorbed with your cell phone—reading messages and hammering out replies. Let clients know at the outset if you’re anticipating an important message that will require your immediate attention. Otherwise, turn your ringtone off and reply to messages when the meeting’s over.

•    Set limits. When you encourage others to text you, you’re implying that you’ll always be ready to take their message—and customers often expect a quick response. You may want to establish hours you’ll be available.

Mike Antoniak is a journalist and technology expert with a focus on real estate applications.

May 2, 2009 in Press Releases   |   No Comments

Mobile Agent Puts Home Info in the Hands of Buyers & Agents

July 23, 2008 in Press Releases   |   No Comments

CellSigns awarded 2008 NAA Innovative Operations award

CellSigns wins award for on-demand Mobile Alert System
with the Palm Beach Post newspaper

By LaShell Stratton

At The Palm Beach Post in West Palm Beach, Fla., taking a good idea and making it even better is a strategy for success. Since 2004, the Post has built on previous award-winning online products to create even more innovative digital media systems.

This year was no exception. The Post adapted a classified advertising technology, Classifieds on the Go, that it developed with mobile vendor CellSigns (www.cellsigns.com) and created an on-demand mobile alert system to notify users about hurricane and tropical storm activity in the Atlantic Ocean during hurricane season from June through November.

“One of the responsibilities of newspapers is to help protect people and their property,” says Dan Shorter, former general manager of PalmBeachPost.com.

In January, Shorter was named president of digital media at the Star Tribune in Minneapolis.

Classifieds on the Go, which won a 2007 Innovative Operations Award, allows readers to access classified ads on demand by typing a text message code in their cell phones (“Good Ideas,” April 2007, p. 52).

Last year wasn’t the first time the Post was recognized for its mobile technology. The newspaper earned recognition as a NAA Best Practices Award winner in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

The Post brainstormed other practical uses for the Classifieds on the Go technology, says Gina C. Wilcox, digital operations director. The Post also wanted to build a system that advertisers could sponsor, which led Shorter and his award-winning team to the mobile alerts.

The Post development team realized that many residents rely on their cell phones to communicate and find information during storms so, in May 2007, it began working on the alert system.

Technical Manager Dale Swain wrote a PHP automated script for the newspaper’s server that monitors the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (www.noaa.gov) every five minutes for updates about hurricanes near South Florida. The script pulls key information, such as the hurricane’s wind speed, category, direction and speed of movement, and translates it into XML before sending it to CellSigns.

The files are then dropped into CellSigns’ database, and the hurricane data are placed into fields. When mobile device users dial the word STORM to the Post’s mobile short code, they receive a text message about the hurricane’s progression. Mobile users also can view the newspaper’s STORM WAP site, which contains breaking news, live radar images and more. Users can access the alert system and the WAP site even if they don’t subscribe to the newspaper.

As an added precaution against failure during hurricanes, CellSigns placed the alert system on corporate servers outside Florida.

The final product took about three months to develop, Wilcox says, and a few weeks later, the newspaper sold a sizable sponsorship package to Publix Super Markets Inc. As part of the package, Publix could include its brand as well as a link to its Web site with alert text messages, says Wilcox. The package also includes promotions in other STORM services such as subscriber-based mobile alerts, the newspaper’s weekly HTML newsletter containing preparedness tips and advisory e-mails that are automatically generated every time the National Hurricane Center issues an update on active tropical activity.

The on-demand alert system can be easily adapted by other newspapers, whether they are in the Midwest and want to alert residents about tornadoes, or are on the West Coast and want to send updates about earthquakes, says Bill Bolger, vice president of production at The Indianapolis Star and a member of NAA’s Printing Technology Committee, which helped to judge the I.O. Awards.

“It probably didn’t hurt that we had tornadoes around here about two weeks before I reviewed the entries,” Bolger says. “I looked at this and thought, ‘We could use something like that here.’ ”

April 20, 2008 in Press Releases   |   No Comments

CellSigns’ client wins a 2008 NAA Digital Edge Award

The Palm Beach Post wins for Best Mobile Shopping Directory

NAA Digital Edge Awards – February 2008

The newspaper industry can’t let Google and Yahoo! and a slew of other international companies come into our local markets and take away mobile advertising revenue. Many of these dot-coms already are offering business directories via mobile, which list area hotels, restaurants and the such. We can’t give up this on-the-go audience. We need to own this local market as we do print and online.

To fight back, the staff of PalmBeachPost.com decided to offer every element of every display ad plus our classifieds via a mobile site and text messaging. Revenue for the first year is close to $750,000 with the largest sale being $40,000 to a grocery store.

Gina Wilcox, the digital development director, along with technical manager Dale Swain, mobile coordinator Shaun Flagg and online GM Dan Shorter created our site at shop.pbpost.com. “You can search about 25,000 goods and services that have appeared in Post ads in the past week. You can search for homes, pizza, cars, jobs or anything else that appeared in the paper. These items are also available on our Shopping channel. We even offer photos,” says Wilcox.

Some are images taken from display ads and then associated with the part of the print ad that was searched for. An example would be searching for a plasma TV and getting all the details in the display ad plus the color photo that ran with it.

We are already seeing people not just searching for plasma TVs but putting in specific UPC codes. It appears they are standing in one electronics store with their cell phone checking out inventories on our mobile site for competitors across town.

We also allow mobile device users without Web services to search via text messaging. They text shop to 72727 and then select a category. It takes a few more steps but they see the same items as on our mobile site.

We think mobile has a tremendous upside, since we know that more people in our market have cell phones and PDAs than have Internet connections.

Our vendor partner is CellSigns.

February 24, 2008 in Press Releases   |   No Comments