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Fleming's Steakhouse Stakes Out Mobile Territory With Wine List, Locator Services

I'm not ashamed to admit I'm a big fan of Fleming's Steakhouse.

A really big fan. As in a gorging, stuff-your-face kind of fan.

For this reason, I was excited, and a little bit disappointed, by an email I received today about Fleming's new mobile site.

See, the mobile site - from Direct Partners and Where 2 Get It -  is nice. Users can access information on the "Flemming's 100" wine list, complete with labels and information about each of the wines - great for pairing that perfect wine with your meal.

(Actually, that would be a far more useful application - actually recommending the perfect wine for the meal's main course, or the perfect main course for the wine. That's really something guests would appreciate.)

You can even enter zip code information for find the nearest Fleming's. (A reservation system could be a nice enhancement, too.)

The only thing I was bummed about - and it's a minor issue, really - is that, like most press releases, this one included that boilerplate information about how great the company is. This one just happened to point out that Fleming's is owned by the the same company that runs Outback Steakhouse and something called Cheeseburger in Paradise. While I don't know CiP, I go to Outback from time to time - even went through a phase when it seemed I craved it weekly. Curbside pick-up is a little too tempting, sometimes.

But I could have gone without knowing Fleming's is the same company - even if they have completely different operations.

Minor point - nice use of mobile. And yet another reason to gormandize on a Fleming's steak.

Read all about it, here.

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How Location Based Search Could Deliver Real Value For Advertisers, Consumers Alike

I've never been that big on Location Based Services (LBS) that ping your phone with offers based on where you happen to be standing at any point in time - and I've said as much in BRANDING UNBOUND the book.

But mobile search could take on new value with the addition of augmented reality, in which you wave your camera phone at a landscape and are able to see, along with, say, information about nearby landmarks,  offers from local stores.

The consumer drives - and this virtual world information is overlayed over the real-world landscape. You could search, say Pizza (which, by the way, has been comical on Google's new voice based app when tried here at the office), and see/hear directions to the nearest joint. This video, by way of adverlab, shows an Android phone running Wikitude, which tells you what you're looking at.

Could represent some very cool opportunities for advertisers without ticking off consumers. I'm just saying.

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Food Network Cooks Up New Mobile App

Never mind that it's called "Food Network Everyday Chef" (it should be "Every Day Chef" - unless you mean an average, run of the mill chef) - it's going mobile in a new subscription-based mobile application.

The new, unfortunately named service was developed in conjunction with mobile media firm Airbourne Entertainment, to enable consumers to tap into recipes and meal ideas from every chef's favorite TV network.

In just a few easy clicks, you can browse a collection of more than a thousand Food Network recipes that are personalized to your eating habits, according to the company. There's a weekly meal planner, and a grocery list feature that totals up everything you need to buy. In fact, it's so cool, it was a finalist in the "Best Handset Application" category for the global 2008 Mobile Content Awards. 

"How many times have you stopped at the store but you don't have a print up of the recipe you want to make with you because it is in your other purse or on the counter at home?" asks Deanna Brown, President of the Interactive Group at Scripps Networks, parent company of Food Network, in a statement.

"Now with Food Network Everyday Chef, just in time for the busy holiday season, it is no problem. The interface is friendly and the search is very strong; so by purchasing or subscribing to this mobile application straight from the phone, you have access to recipes from FoodNetwork.com. Being where consumers need us, when they need us, such as through this mobile application, is key to our strategy for continued success and leadership in the food category."

The advertising opportunities for a service like this are enormous as well. Imagine brands paying to put their own recipes in the system (as long as they're approved by Food Network, of course).

Services like this are usually hesitant to enable such insertions. But if they're clearly labeled and maybe offset from content - it's easy to see how recipes like say, a "Philadelphia Cream Cheese Ultra Scrumptious Vanilla Bean Frosting" recipe or a "Ciao Extra Virgin Olive Oil Tuscan Tapenade" recipe could be part of the experience. Makes for easy grocery buying, too.

Okay, now I'm just hungry.

Start cooking, here.

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JCPenney Brings 'Red Box' Campaign To Mobile, Just In Time For Black Friday

JCPenney isn't content to just wait for you to chant "open, open, open" outside the store doors this Friday. 

It wants to give you a wake up call to get you there.

As part of its integrated "Red Box" holiday campaign, the store is letting customers opt in to a Black Friday wake-up call - which also entitles them to receive text messages with sales information and a link to a WAP site for more information.

Penney has been using mobile heavily this year, particularly during its back-to-school promotions.

For those of us who wouldn't be caught dead near a mall this Friday, well, forgive us if we can do with out. 

Read about the entire integrated campaign, which includes some interesting email and in-cinema components, here.

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You Scream, I Scream: Ice Cream Chain 'Marble Slab' Lays It On Thick For Mobile Marketing

First it was Baskin-Robins and Carvel's "Fudgie The Whale" went mobile.

Now a chain called "Marble Slab" says it's going mobile, too.

(What a name...though I'm still getting over "Fudgie the Whale")

The chain is doing the usual send this key word to this short code to receive coupons, and, if you like, register to receive email messages.

Yawn. Nothing against Marble Slab - I'm just waiting for somebody to come up with something new.

Even the way the company's describing the effort sounds too everyday. 

Stop me if you've heard this before:

“We wanted to tap into a new trend, which is being top of mind for customers on the one device that they keep with them all the time − their cell phones,” a representative from NexCen Franchise Management tells DM News. "It's great because it's purely opt in, and it lets us create an ongoing conversation." 

Well, to be fair I may be getting jaded, but the company isn't.

It tells DM that in the first two weeks of the campaign, more than 4,500 people texted in - and 50% of those people opted in to receive those email messages. Along the way, the company's Facebook page soared from 1,000 fans to 7,000.

Nothing too everyday about that.

Read all about it, here.

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A New Tradition: Butterball Launches Blogs, Text Message Advice For Turkey Day

Frazzled home chefs may have something else to be thankful for next week: Butterball's going Web 2.0, cold turkey.

AD AGE is reporting that Butterball's "Turkey Talk-Line" 800# call-in line will now be augmented by blogs and "turkey texts."

It could be huge. The call-in line, launched in 1981, helps out over 100,000 consumers every year.

"When the Turkey Talk-Line started 28 years ago, the phone was the best way to give people the important turkey-cooking information they needed," Bill Klump, senior VP-marketing, Butterball, tells the pub. "This year, Butterball continues to evolve and reach new cooks with initiatives like turkey text messages, a new mobile website and web chats, so that we can provide Butterball's expert holiday advice the way modern cooks want it, anytime and anywhere."

The product becomes a service that, with luck, will result in far fewer spoiled Thanksgiving feasts.

Read all about it, here.

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'Quantum' of Success: Over 10,000 People Respond To New James Bond Mobile QR Code Promotion

007 appears to be bonding with audiences - via mobile.

That big UK-based mobile promotion I posted about in October was just the beginning. In Australia, promotion for the film includes Quick Response (QR) codes that lead people through a treasure hunt for the chance to win $15,000 in cash prizes. And it seems to be paying off for Her Majesty's secret servant.

Created by Euro RSCG for "Quantum of Solace," the 22rd installment of the Bond franchise, the campaign received over 10,000 entries despite a total absence of mainstream media support, according to Australian IT.

As Sony head of strategy and brand development Toby Barbour tells the pub, the success of the 007 movie promotion had prompted the studio to consider new ways to use the technology.

"We see QR codes as being extremely interactive and flexible," Mr Barbour said.

"QR codes let us do things we could not have done in the past."

Mr Barbour added  he expected QR codes to make the transition from a promotional item linked to a campaign, to in-store packaging on every product, effectively giving customers immediate access to a complete electronic brochure about a product through their phones.

"I think QR codes in 12 months' time will be a standard medium in many promotions for different brands," he said. "Across the board we have the ability to provide content." 

Not that there's a direct correlation, but "Quantum" dominated the box office in both the UK and the US, raking in $322 million so far, according to the Los Angeles Times.  In the US, where the film opened this past weekend, Bond busted out over $70 million in ticket sales, making it the most successful 007 opening ever.

Read more about "Quantum's" QR mobile campaign, here and here.

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United Nations' 'Voices' Campaign Wins Multiple MMA Awards For 'Best Use Of Mobile Marketing'

And then some.

The campaign, from The Hyperfactory in Australia, received top honors in several categories during the Mobile Marketing Association's 2008 Global Awards ceremony, held this year in San Diego.

Among the wins:

•  Best Use of Mobile Marketing, Cross-Media Integration (Global): The Hyperfactory & Saatchi & Saatchi Sydney, United Nations "Voices" Campaign

• Best Use of Mobile Marketing, Cross-Media Integration (Asia Pacific): United Nations "Voices" Campaign in conjunction with Saatchi & Saatchi Sydney

• Best Use of Mobile Marketing, Direct Response (Global): The Hyperfactory & Saatchi & Saatchi, United Nations "Voices" Campaign

• Best Use of Mobile Marketing, Direct Response (Asia Pacific): United Nations "Voices" Campaign in conjunction with Saatchi & Saatchi Sydney

• Best Use of Mobile Marketing, Product/Services Launch (Asia Pacific): Nike T90 Kick-Off Launch in 3D Augmented Reality on Mobile

The campaign was, indeed, quite innovative. Launched in March, the campaign included outdoor posters, print and online elements that featured people in need. Consumers were invited to snap a camera phone picture of the featured person's mouth and send the image to a number as a text message.

Using digital image recognition software, the solution then would send a pre-recorded message from te the person the consumer photographed, giving them a voice on some of the issues they face.

Consumers were then prompted to visit a UN website where they could leave their own comments and thoughts.

As Says Saatchi & Saatchi CEO Simone Bartley told Campaign Brief: "The voices of this campaign tell an Australian story that is completely outside the experience of most people. It’s easy to tune out, to ignore the fact that many Australians face a life in which they suffer abuse, poverty or neglect. By creating new and exciting ways for our consumers to engage and interact with brands we’re able to ensure we remain at the forefront of creativity and effectiveness. This campaign has allowed us to do both for a great cause."

Read more about this amazing campaign, here.

Kudos to all involved.

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Study: One-Fifth of Online Retailers Now Use Mobile Microsites To Push Promotions

Multi-platform campaigns are extending from the digital world out, as well as the other way around.

This piece from the other day indicates that in the UK, at least, one-fifth of online retailers have used mobile micro sites to push specific promotions, according to a study from Sponge.

The study, which looks at how the retail industry perceives and uses mobile as a sales and communication tool, also revealed that 40% of those surveyed said they already had an information-led mobile internet site, or were considering building one.

The survey showed that retailers considered mobile to be a useful customer communication channel - half said they had used mobile as a direct response channel in television or press advertising campaigns.

Meanwhile, 60% of these had done so by featuring an SMS code in TV ads, while 20% did so in print magazines and newspapers. 

The study focused on ten prominent online retailers across sectors, including travel, fashion, leisure, catalogs, communications and publishing, showed that overall 70% use mobile to communicate with their customers.

Of those who don’t currently use mobile to communicate with customers (30%), two thirds intend to start within the next 12 months.

When asked what the main purpose of contacting customers via SMS was, Sponge found that 40% of these use messages to send product information while a further 40% use SMS to send stock alerts and delivery time confirmation. 20% said they inform their customers of special offers.

That's pretty significant. But don't get too excited; half of retailers said a mobile Internet site was not in their immediate growth plans. And while 30% plan to add mobile to their marketing plans, the rest said they'd tried it and didn't see any benefits.

And although a high number of retailers use mobile to communicate with customers, only 20% currently use ‘m-commerce’ as a transactional sales channel.

“Our survey shows that the use of mobile among retailers is high but the benefits of having m-commerce capabilities are yet to be recognized,” said Jon Beverley, Commercial Director at Sponge, in a statement announcing the study's results. “Recent research by analyst firm Juniper predicts that more than two billion mobile users globally will have made a purchase via their handsets by 2013. A fifth of retailers that took part in our survey already offer customers this capability – the option to make purchases via mobile phones is keeping them ahead of their competitors.”

Another interesting nugget: 50% of retailers said they believe online and mobile are dependent on each other.

As Beverley put it: “Something else the research showed was a common misconception that you have to have e-commerce to use mobile successfully – you only have to look at multi-channel retailers who have store footfall to realize this isn’t the case. Retail is a service industry and whether purely online or multichannel, mobile can help inform, manage expectations and reduce the pressure on customer service departments.”

You'll want to read more, here.

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'Heroes' Micro Series Coming To Mobile Phones

Save the cell phone, save the show?

NBC's once-red hot "Heroes," which has fallen from the sky during its third season run, is hoping to generation some new heat via your handset.

MEDIAWEEK is reporting that NBC Universal and Sprint Nextel have teamed up to create a four-part micro series titled "Heroes: Destiny," that will span three different platforms - online via NBC.com and Hulu, TV and mobile, via Sprint phones. 

There's a reason for the little-too-late scenario here. The micro series has been in development for a year, and has been heavily influenced by viewer input. Consumers have been able to vote on new characters and their powers.

There are two facets to this that are interesting. First, Sprint won't just broadcast the show, its phones will be featured in what's being described as a "subtle integration." And second, the micro series will get promoted during so-called pod busters this month. 

The agency behind the effort, Mindshare, created a similar spin-off built on Fox's "24" for Unilever's Degree anti-perspirant.

For its part, "Heroes" is no stranger to mobile content. The show has used web and mobile exclusives to build fandemonium virtually since it's premiere. While the show's overall viewer base is shrinking, die-hard fans will no doubt flock to this new series.

Now if only AMC's "Mad Men" would come up with something like this.

Read more about the "Heroes" effort, here.

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