May
15

Vibes Offers Google Wallet Integration on Catapult Platform

Today Google announced at its annual Google I/O Developer Summit that it is developing a mobile wallet solution that will allow consumers to save objects to Google Wallet, such as loyalty cards, offers, tickets, boarding passes and more. With all the opportunities this new solution presents to marketers, we’re excited to announce that Vibes is launching an early adopter program for those marketers looking to incorporate Google Wallet into their mobile marketing mix.

What does this mean? Well, since it will be integrated into our cloud-based mobile relationship management platform called Catapult before Google’s consumer launch later this year, it means that our clients will be among the first to be able to experiment, test and measure this solution as a mobile marketing tool. Vibes can help marketers engage the Android-smartphone audience with offers and promotions that take advantage of time, location and interaction (the combination of which is proven to generate foot traffic and increase average order value). And, the best part: We can start immediately!

Our team has been working with the Google Wallet Objects API for the last few months and also has been proactively working to integrate Google Wallet functionality into Catapult, so our product is already developed. This gives our clients access to a broader smartphone audience using an incredibly simple, yet powerful, platform.

We’re looking for early adopters to sign up and test this new technology. Why should you consider being first? Because with nearly 50 percent of smartphone users on the Android operating system, this solution will create tremendous opportunities for you to leverage Google Wallet to drive engagement and loyalty with a significant percentage of mobile consumers.  And with Google’s location services, your customers can receive notifications when they are near your physical stores. This allows you to build one-to-one, ongoing relationships with convenient reminder notifications that create urgency and drive consumers to take action.

Want to learn more? We’re hosting a webinar Wednesday, May 29, at 1 p.m. CDT about the emerging mobile wallet space and what Google’s announcement means for retailers and marketers. For more information, and to inquire about Vibes’ Google Wallet early adopter program, please reach out to me at john.haro@vibes.com.

May
06

Winning with Mobile – Five Tips for Success

I’m excited to be participating in the MMA Forum this week, taking place in New York. I’m sure many “winning with mobile” ideas will emerge from the many thought leaders at the conference.

Mobile has changed the game for marketers. How effectively they reach and engage with their customers from this point forward will always depend on how successfully they leverage the power of mobile. At Vibes, we work closely with our clients to develop and implement their visions and plans for mobile marketing.

As we talk to CMOs and digital marketing executives about what they would like to achieve through their mobile efforts, the following five key success factors continue to rise to the top. Think about them as a blueprint for building your own list of best practices.

Tip 1: Create one seamless experience – Integrate mobile into your overall customer strategy

Tip 2: Demonstrate the ROI – Drive revenue with mobile marketing and show the value

Tip 3: Personalize mobile – Target your mobile customers with the right mobile experiences

Tip 4: Leverage data – Leverage the data unique to mobile to grow your business

Tip 5: Deploy one integrated platform – Grow your mobile relationships with an integrated mobile relationship management platform

How to get there: Leverage resources

Several outstanding resources exist to arm marketers with the knowledge and guidance they need to take their mobile program to the next level. A good place to start, if you haven’t already seen it, is this blog post from Melissa Parrish at Forrester. It talks about how to become a mature mobile marketer and outlines a framework for success centered in four key areas: discover, plan, act, and optimize.

Play to stay in the game  

Above all else, we highly recommend a “LEAN” approach to mobile. The steps you take don’t have to be perfect or overly complex, but they do have to align to your broader digital marketing strategies. Test, learn, repeat and improve – every time. Very few marketers, if any at all, are sitting on the sidelines when it comes to mobile these days.

So the question is: What’s your game plan, and are you running ahead or lagging behind?

If you are going to be at the MMA Forum, please reach out on Twitter using @marktack. 

May
02

Seen on the Mobile Scene: pay-by-phone with Pango!

If you have ever driven in Chicago, you know how tough it is to find a parking spot. And IF you’re lucky enough to find a spot on the street, let’s hope you have quarters or don’t mind charging $2.50 on your credit card. The big city parking experience has never been a pleasant one. However, if you happen to live in New York, Arizona or Maryland, you are one of the fortunate souls with access to pay-by-phone parking.


The concept has already caught on in Europe (Croatia claims to be the first country, by the way). Although slower to enter the market, the US has shown promise lately. Within the last year, pilot payment sites have been cropping up around the country.

Pango is the latest app that has been gaining traction for its pay-by-phone feature. Drivers can start and stop the parking meter with a simple text or tap of a button. This also applies to off-street parking. There are no additional fees to sign up, and all parking charges are linked to your registered credit or debit card. The app can even remind you when your meter is about to run out. Goodbye, parking tickets!

Oh, and that’s not all! In select cities, you can find a parking space, open and close gates, validate parking, valet your car and have it ready for you before you get to the valet stand. Best of all, the app is available on Android, iOS and Blackberry.

There are plenty of local parking apps out there—ones to help you find a spot and ones to help you pay in advance (shout out to SpotHero). But when it comes to paying for seven minutes of street parking so you can run into Starbucks for your grande vanilla soy no foam peppermint mocha, you’re out of luck.

So until Chicago adopts a convenient pay-by-phone parking program, I’ll keep a stock of quarters on me. Or take the El.

Apr
25

Seen on the Mobile Scene: Twitter’s app is my window to the world

Before you read on, I encourage anyone reading this blog post to reflect back on their usage of Twitter. Odds are if you’re a heavy Twitter user, you’re probably a “mobile-first” user as well. It doesn’t surprise me to hear that users who primarily access Twitter through their mobile device are almost 50% less likely to access the site via their desktop. Oh and yes, mobile users are 79% more likely to be on Twitter several times a day, when compared to the average user.

In looking at the engagement statistics below, I can honestly say that every, single one of these figures apply directly to me.

Although these engagement numbers are certainly exciting to look at, what strikes me as I write this blog is less about how much I’m accessing Twitter and more about why I’m accessing it as much as I currently do.

Like a majority of country, I was transfixed by the developing tragedy in Boston that began with the marathon and ended in a manhunt. There was seemingly an update every few minutes and I found myself checking in the news on my phone at an unprecedented rate to make sure I was saying on top of it. Everywhere I went, at all times, I was plugged in. Now when most people think of checking the news on their phone, they probably imagine opening up the CNN app on their phone, or browsing Fox News’ mobile website. But in this case, I found myself getting the latest, breaking news from none other than Twitter, and that’s when it hit me – by using Boston-inspired hashtags to keep news from a multitude of sources organized and digestible, Twitter was now breaking news and updates faster than any, single news network ever could.

What makes Twitter so powerful as a go-to news source is that it literally features everything. As long as contributors continue to use the correct hashtags as they tweet out updates, I can essentially look at the feed of a specific hashtag as a single news update, freely reading articles covering the story or topic as I please.

There’s also a great opportunity here for marketers to tap into the mobile-first Twitter community. While the average Twitter user only follows five or more brands, users who primarily access Twitter on their mobile device are likely to follow 11 or more brands. They are also 53% more likely to recall seeing an ad on Twitter than the average Twitter user. You see, building a fluid mobile strategy that includes a social media presence will help your brand stay top of mind (and top of phone) with your audience.

With social and mobile continuing to converge, Twitter has quickly become my window to the world. Whether I’m looking for breaking news, keeping tabs on where my friends are checking into on Foursquare, following my favorite brands or just browsing for the latest cat meme (here you go), I can do it all through my trusty Twitter app!

Apr
18

The Hubbl Pass Solution

How do you find out about new apps? Typically, I depend on suggestions from friends or an interesting blog article. However, one app discovery service recently caught my attention specifically due to its distribution channel. App discovery service, Hubbl, now offers its services via Passbook. The Hubbl Pass is positioned as an alternative lightweight solution to their brand.

I found this unique option enticing due to the low amount of friction involved in getting started. Instead of having to search my app store, enter my device ID, and download the discovery app; I simply clicked a link to add the Hubbl Pass to my phone. The Pass requires no additional work. Each day, the Pass is updated to feature a new app which I can learn more about on the back of the Pass.

The app of the day is announced via push messaging. Responsive design on back of Pass leads to the app store. An additional service the Hubbl Pass offers is the ability to provide app suggestions based on my recent activity. The service can update my Pass with apps similar to those I’ve recently clicked to learn more about.

Hubbl is a great example of how brands can leverage Passbook as an additional avenue to communicate with their customer base. Tracking click-through information on links within Passes lends strategic capabilities and functionality. I mainly fill my mobile wallet with coupons, but am drawn to the potential to add more. I’m excited to see what future creativity may come.

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