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Express embraces mobile predictive analytics to provide contextual content
Author
Caitlyn Bohannon
Fashion retailer Express? entrepreneur campaign that has been running in Condé Nast-owned men?s magazine GQ is leveraging new messaging technology from Iris Mobile that personalizes content delivered to each user.
The Saas platform combines behavioral data analytics and a personalized content recommendation engine to build relationships between brands and their consumers. The tool learns the interests and preferences of each user and then delivers offers based on these to drive conversion.
?Social media has transformed our expectations of personalization,? said Marc Grabowski, CEO at Iris Mobile, Chicago. ?When consumers experience the world around them, they communicate to brands and celebrities in the way they historically communicated with friends.
?They expect an immediate response from that brand and it has to be personalized,? he said. ?Consumers now control the experience and brands are trying to earn their right to communicate with their customers.
?Personalization helps marketers earn that right as marketers who understand how to communicate with customers on an individual level, foster deeper understandings of their customers' needs. For instance, how you communicate with a discount-sensitive customer versus one who is fashion forward should be vastly different. Understanding how geography, demographics and specific product interests lead to initial and future purchases allow a brand to better service their customers with timely information or offers that are completely relevant to the customer?s needs.?
One-on-one conversation
While Express? campaign was set in place seeking consumer response via text, it also gave the brand the ability to further connect with subscribers for future offers.
Iris Mobile?s new platform is set up to mimic a one-on-one conversation between the brand and consumer.
It first delivers a couple of products and asks users to choose which product most closely defines their style.
Based on users? selections, the tool generates offers that it thinks will best serve the users and entices them to use the coupon.
In addition to coupons, the tool notifies users about upcoming events, and responds accordingly if users are unable to attend by offering a coupon.
The Express campaign, called Back-to-Business, awards one selected entrepreneur with a grant based on public votes submitted via text. Furthermore, one voter will win a trip to New York City for a tour through GQ?s headquarters and a $1,000 Express shopping spree.
These incentives entice the public to participate.
Once subscribed, users will receive optimized images and video messages in part of the campaign to offer an interactive experience. The campaign goes beyond text-only and offers images and video to make users more likely to participate (see story).
Contextual content
Other brands are learning that context is now crucial.
The Clorox Co. puts its customers? needs first with a mobile app that both provides solutions for users and helps the company engage with them on an ongoing basis.
The detergent maker also continually updates the content on the 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 (see story).
Iris Mobile provides a form of technology that makes incorporating context into a brand's marketing efforts easy.
?The Iris Mobile platform enables brands to connect on a person-to-person level using mobile messaging,? Mr. Grabowski said. ?The platform uses rich content to engage the customer, encourages a two way, programmatic dialogue, segmenting customers in real time.
?These insights allow brands to personalize future marketing efforts and empowers them to get smarter about how they incentivize customers to act,? he said. ?Using predictive modeling, this platform can help brands create millions of unique conversations with their customers to achieve maximum customer lifetime value.
?Most importantly, brands own this data asset as all information is tied directly to a double-opted in mobile phone number. Brands don?t have to rely on this data being housed with a publisher or inventory originator who requires media to be purchased to unlock the targeting identifier. Brands want more control and Iris Mobile Relationship Management gives them the safety and control they need.?
Final Take
Caitlyn Bohannon is an editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York
