On a recent flight to Chicago I thumbed through the Sky Mall catalog and discovered that you can order via text message. A really cool idea and convenient service to offer. My only question is how am I supposed to order what I saw in the catalog on my flight if cell phones cannot be used? Are they expecting me to send my order before taking off, or during the busy scuffle to exit the plane? This, in my opinion is a good idea executed badly.

The latest buzz in marketing is text messaging. Many companies have some sort of tie in to texting, whether it is text to win, or text to have fun. Such is the case at a recent Linkin Park concert that I went to late this summer. On each side of the main stage was one huge LCD monitor which would display a number you can send a text message to, which would then be qued to be displayed on those main screens. These screens would display the text messages, as well as advertisement for the “live” concert CD and were displayed between the band performances which made for a fun wait time between the bands, which led to very few people getting up and walking around between the bands because they were all waiting to see their messages get displayed, as well as the fun and funny other text messages from the other concert goers. This was genious of Verizon to do so. It was both entertaining and fun. I’m sure their sales in the days following each concert in each of those cityies increased. How could you not remember the company whose logo you were staring at on the large screens next to the text messages for 8 hours? I mean, I can’t even tell you the names of the other advertisers with crap plastered all over the concert.

I remember reading the article “Reaching More Customers With a Simple Text Message” in the New York Times about text messaging being a new way to communicate with consumers and this was a great example. Just thinking about some of the clients I work with, I know that they could do something as compelling as this and similar to get consumers to think about their brands. A few weeks ago, after reading the story I started brainstorming ways for my clients to use this marketing tool. I was astounded how easy it was to come up with ideas that revolved around using a text message. One idea was to allow customers to sign up for my client’s text message list to receive special coupons via text message that could be shown at purchase. Another idea I had come up with was a trivia game at local sporting events. Fans could send a text message with who they thought would win, or who the MVP of the game would be, etc. and it would take a poll to display throughout the game. As a reward for playing along, they would be sent a coupon incentive for use later at restaurants to receive discounts on food after the sports event.

I’m sure every agency could brainstorm fun and engaging ways for consumers to interact with our clients’ brands through this creative medium. Why would some of our clients pass at this idea? Well, some reasons might be because of budget, some might be because a client might not be comfortable trying new marketing ideas, others might have a different reason. I do not consider myself a brand advocate of Verizon Wireless and I have never even considered them when searching for my wireless provider, but I had a fun, engaging experience with the brand at the concert, which I have to say has made me like the brand more.

I’m raising my digital glass to cell phone marketing!