Jetsetter Mobile App: Effective App Promotion & Conversions

Jetsetter is known for great design (see here). Here is a good example of good design and effective mobile promotion. I have written before that promoting mobile applications via the web is challenging: for instance, conversions are weak due to web to download and data is limited (device, OS, etc). SMS and email are powerful ways to promote applications because they are consumed directly on the device. Good examples by: Sparrow, Redbox, Groupon and Gilt.

Here is another good example by Jetsetter (whose parent is Gilt). Login and you get the following promotion: - awesome slogan: "travel made, travel sized" - good looking promotion - big action item of downloading the app via SMS (enter your cell number)

Much cleaner for users and more powerful for the brand.

Sparrow, Mobile: In the River Promotion

I frequently write about two ongoing themes: 1. the importance of "in the river marketing" (reaching targeted users at relevant points in the product / experience) 2. the difficult of driving mobile downloads from web, advertisement, other devices, etc

Here is a good example from Sparrow. They want to promote their popular Mac mail application to iPhone users. Within the initial product walk-through (now very popular within applications), Sparrow highlights their Mac app (Got a Mac?) and, to drive conversions, offers to send a download link. That's simple but effective (it's actionable), intelligent (captures some data / funnel measuring) and relevant (iPhone users are more likely to be Mac users than Android users).

Of course - if Sparrow were promoting their mobile product, SMS is more effective than mail. Groupon and Redbox do great work here.

Redbox SMS Program: Users Get Discounts; Redbox Gets Marketing Channel.

I write a lot about Redbox, in part because I am frequent users and in part because they are terrific marketers. Here's yet another example of Redbox leveraging SMS to drive promotions (and to collect user data ... and create ongoing marketing touch-points). The promotion: send Redbox an SMS and get discounted delivered via mobile. That's not entirely unique.

But, it's smart. As noted above, its a clever way to collect data about their users and create ongoing marketing touch-points... like the example below. Once you SMS Redbox, they follow up with an SMS that allows you download the mobile app (just reply APPS).

And that's the big takeaway here: be creative about driving engagement. Redbox uses SMS to deliver discounts and drive app downloads. The discount is the incentive for consumers and its a marketing cost for Redbox to distribute their app and drive engagement (a tactic they have used in email as well).

Both parties win. And Redbox has created a simple, low-cost marketing program that drives long-term benefits.

Redbox Delivers Rewards Through SMS Activation, Foursquare

Redbox continues its string of smart, rewarding marketing campaigns. Redbox has provided discounts and rewards for email and site activity - realizing that the value of certain acitvities (validated email address) far exceeds the cost of a free movie or two. Here's another: Redbox is running 10 days of discounts & rewards for users who active their mobile phones through SMS (Foursquare too). Again, Redbox intelligently views this as a way to acquire mobile users / activity. In that regard, it is a marketing promotion that will drive discounted short term activity but has longer term value thanks to deeper customer data / touch points.

Redbox is smart. And worth paying attention.

Redbox's Email Strategy: Reward Users for Engagement

I write a lot about email marketing campaigns and best practices... in part because it is such a vital, under-discussed lever for marketers (primarily for engagement / retention). But also because I get so many emails that it's easy to compare effective ones against the junky ones (which are the vast majority). I pay attention to emails from movie-rental company Redbox because they are intelligent and well crafted.

Redbox runs email promotions that have a clear purpose. I wrote before that about the email campaign / offer aimed at validating email addresses - it was smart because it rewarded an action that was worth longer-term value (free movie for an email validation).

Redbox has run similar offers / campaigns for Facebook Likes.

Below is a 2-for-1 email promotion. Seems like a great deal - and it is: three movies for <$2/night? Of course Redbox knows that the third movie is either no-cost to them OR results in greater value (from late return fees associated with incremental rental days... after all, is watching three movies in a night possible?). And the email arrives on a Friday (smart: if you're going to rent three movies, it should be for the entire weekend).

I love the fact that Redbox is eager to reward users who do a little work: whether its validate an email, like the company of Facebook or rent a couple movies.

Redbox's Smart Movie Promotion Aims to Validate Emails.

Redbox is a service I love, a product that is terrificly done and a business whose future is murky (negative: moving digital and Netflix as a competitor; positive: Netflix as an example of transitioning perfectly). One of underrated components of Redbox is their email interaction with customers... and in some ways, they are similar to Groupon, LivingSocial, Gilt Group and Rue La La: email marketing drives the business. So it wasn't surprising to me that, after my first Redbox rental, they followed up via email with the following promotion: confirm your email address and receive a free rental (DVD or Blu Ray). They understand the value of a verified, engaged email user... and they are willing to give free product away (they also make some direct revenue on the promotion because of rental 'late' fees). Smart.

Unrelated: they also do a great job with their website:

- crisp and good looking - four major actions: reserve, learn, find and research - big promotion for Facebook fanpage (1.9m fans!), their newsletter (per above) and the bog - easy-to-navigate list of available movies - with trailers and cast - the ability to send Redbox gifts (ie a Valentines rental via their Facebook app)

And Redbox.com: