Nestlé's Arrowhead water used a mobile sweepstakes to build awareness around its association with Universal Studios' The Mummy and to build a database of consumers to remarket to.

Nestlé tapped mobile marketing firm HipCricket to power the campaign. Signs at convenience stores nationwide asked consumers to text to enter the sweepstakes to win an action packed day at Universal Studios Hollywood, CA and an ARCO gas card.

"This was a point of sale program and it was a good way to reach and influence the consumer closest to purchase time," said Steve Siegel, vice president of brand solutions at HipCricket, New York. "The promotion was also meant to help reinforce the association of Arrowhead water with Universal Studios' The Mummy."

Consumers were asked to text AH to the shortcode 825890.

In return texters recieved the folllwoing text: "Thx 4 entering Arrowheads's See The Movie, Ride The Ride promo! For rules, visit ThirstAdventure.com. For future Nestle promos, reply YES. Standard charges apply."

The campaign ran July 1 through July 31.

HipCricket did a post campaign survey, polling the people who opted in for future marketing messages.

The survey found that 44 percent of the opted in consumers will consider buying Arrowhead products after seeing and participating in the promotion.

Also, 25 percent felt more favorable about the brand after seeing the promotion.

Lastly, 38 percent have already bought Arrowhead products because of the promotion.

The campaign also had a very high level of awareness, as 80 percent remembered participating after the fact.

"When we polled all the folks in the database we found that mobile was their preferred medium in terms of participating in this type of sweepstakes," Mr. Siegel said. "Over 70 percent said they preferred a text entry as opposed to online or any other mediums listed.

"Mobile positively affected both brand affinity as well as direct response purchase intent," he said.

Mobile response
HipCricket also recently announced its 2008 Mobile Response Survey.

The survey is meant to provide insight into consumer attitudes towards mobile marketing and their mobile behavior.

The survey was conducted in August 2008 via email and is based on 517 respondents.

Each day, the American consumer is exposed to thousands of advertisements, but how many of those do they actually recall?

The 2008 Mobile Response Survey, sponsored by HipCricket, found that mobile/SMS marketing recall rates were extremely high compared to other forms of media.

Of the respondents that received mobile marketing messages within the past year, more than half recalled at least one brand.

Further, 96 percent remembered the promotion's call-to-action and more than a third reported that the promotion made them more likely to buy the brand's product or service.

Most importantly, 37 percent told a friend about the message and 6 percent forwarded the promotion to a friend.

U.S. consumers interested in mobile couponing
The survey also found that 58 percent of consumers are interested in receiving mobile coupons and nearly 40 percent would be willing to receive location-based, time-related offers and coupons.

Forty-seven percent of those surveyed said if they received a mobile coupon it would be 'likely' or 'very likely' that they'd redeem it, with 70 percent of those respondents expressing interest in redeeming mobile coupons both online and in-store.

Consumers said they would also use their mobile phone to:
â?¢ Locate a store or restaurant -- 39 percent
â?¢ Enter a contest -- 28 percent
â?¢ Download a ringtone or wallpaper -- 27 percent
â?¢ Visit a mobile website -- 20 percent
â?¢ Sign up to receive future offers and promotions -- 14 percent
â?¢ View nutritional facts while at a restaurant -- 13 percent

Mobile advertising can't stand alone
More than half of respondents never access the mobile Web and only five percent would use their phone to click on a mobile ad.

Market segments that consumers are most interested in receiving messages on their mobile phone include:
â?¢ Food and beverage -- 51 percent
â?¢ Entertainment/media -- 40 percent
â?¢ Retail -- 24 percent
â?¢ Apparel -- 23 percent
â?¢ Mobile carriers -- 21 percent

"We anticipate growing interest in advertising on the mobile Web as consumers continue to adopt Web-enabled devices with superior online experiences, such as the iPhone," Mr. Siegel said.

"Mobile is an excellent way to drive action and positively impact the brand," he said. "My advice to marketers is to keep it simple."