REDMOND, WA ? During a presentation at a Microsoft workshop, an agency executive at Meredith Corp.?s The Hyperfactory revealed how Kraft Foods Inc. integrates mobile into its overall CRM strategy to drive acquisition, engagement, brand support and product trial among high-value target consumers.

When formulating its multichannel CRM strategy, Kraft?s planning and preparation is geared toward consumers? shopping behavior and driving them in-store with its brand top of mind. Its mobile initiatives include a mobile Web site, 2D bar codes, SMS programs in English and Spanish, mobile coupons, applications for various smartphone platforms and Apple?s iPad, as well as mobile advertising and sponsorships.

?Kraft, a CPG mass-market client with a great history, touches all of our lives in many different ways, and it has looked at the mobile channel holistically and integrated it into everything it does,? said Geoffrey Handley, cofounder of The Hyperfactory, New York.

?The brand has covered everything from a technology perspective and from a business objective perspective and asked ?How do we integrate mobile?? he said.

?Kraft is incorporating mobile calls-to-action on packaging?whether it is an SMS keyword and short code or 2D bar codes?various apps?one for recipes, one for moms and one for kids. There?s a huge the amount of stuff that they?ve done in mobile, all based on the no-mobile-left-behind principle.

?That?s at the top of everything we do with them??This is the consumers? channel of communication, and we are not going to alienate someone because they have a different type of phone??and they?ve seen fantastic returns on their mobile investment.?

Headquartered in Northfield, IL, Kraft Foods is the largest food and beverage marketer nationwide. It markets many brands in more than 155 countries.

Eleven of the Kraft brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Kraft, Cadbury, Oscar Mayer, Maxwell House, Nabisco, Oreo, Philadelphia Creme Cheese, Jacobs, Milka, LU and Trident.

Start with idea, not tech
When helping Kraft formulate its objective CRM lead strategy, Mr. Handley stressed that the idea should drive the marketing program, not the technology. It is important to be technology-agnostic to cast the widest net and reach the most consumers.

In addition, it is not just about the activation?always ask what about the engagement? What happens when consumers get to the experience?

When looking at how mobile fits in with all of a brand?s touchpoints, keep in mind the core CRM initiatives and how mobile can be used to attain scale and inspire loyalty.

Brands should look to support as many mobile platforms as possible to get that scale.

Mobile is becoming increasingly social and vice versa. Mr. Handley dubbed the trend ?mo-cial.?

Key objectives for any marketer are driving purchase intent and influencing purchase decisions while consumers are in store. Mobile is a key medium marketers can use to reach those objectives.

Brands, especially those with the resources of Kraft, must not be too timid, but rather focus on innovation to stay ahead of competitors. Marketers can do so much more in the mobile space than just simple banners that drive to a landing page.

?What you end up with Kraft is a completely different mobile experience based on who you are,? Mr. Handley said. ?The iFood Assistant iPhone app has gotten a ton of downloads and a lot of attention, but most people don?t realize that it is also available for BlackBerry, Android and Windows Phone 7, as well as the mobile Web.

?Kraft has mobile properties in English, French, Spanish, et cetera, with different content for those different audiences and those different target groups," he said. "The Spanish version of the mobile Web site is the most used version, but there is no Spanish language app.

?The stats dictated that the mobile Web was the way to go a year ago, but that?s already changed?we?re not going with an iPhone app, but we?re looking to support other platforms that Hispanics use more.?

Big Fork Little Fork
In June, Kraft Foods launched an iPad application aiming to teach users about healthy eating while drilling love and loyalty for the food giant?s brands such as Kraft Singles, Ritz Crackers, JELL-O and Mac & Cheese.  

Targeting parents in their 20s and 30s, the Big Fork Little Fork application offers users about 300 recipes, tips via in-depth articles, videos and games.

Kraft brands are built into the experience, which is also meant to help families, eat, cook and live well together (see story).

?Kraft launched one of the first branded iPad application, and everyone thought it would be iFood Assistant for iPad, but what we came up with was Big Fork Little Fork,? Mr. Handley said. ?The target audience is young urban families, parents with kids who were the first on the block with these tablet devices, and we wanted to engage with them and their children.

?Kraft offers up nutritional and product information on mobile in a very smart way,? he said. ?We didn?t build it on the iPad because just because it was out, but because it was the first tactile tablet device out in the market to make some noise.

?We have a massive toolkit in the mobile world, literally tons and tons of tools we can use, and we have to let the brand objectives drive where we?re going and not the technology.?

Final Take