Blockbuster® UK Boosts CRM with Innovative Mobile Strategy
Interactive services enhance customer experience
October 2003: Blockbuster, the leading home entertainment retailer of rentable videos, DVDs and games, has implemented a mobile customer relationship strategy to offer added value services and communicate with customers interactively. Working with mobile enablement specialist, mkodo, the Blockbuster team has developed a practical strategy to engage customers with the brand via their mobile phone and to build revenues from mobile premium rate activities.
Utilising mkodo's Intelligent Mobile Platform (IMP), Blockbuster has been able to engage customers via its direct mail programme and consumer magazines Games and Movies, by featuring exclusive offers, competitions and news. Activities are chosen that specifically target the interests of the Blockbuster customers.
For example, cheats and tips have been made available for gamers, movie-based competitions and prizes for film fans and prizes such as a year's worth of free rentals* for the most active customers. Participation and response rates have doubled each month, a trend that is common during the introductory phase of interactive messaging activities as consumers become increasingly more accustomed to mobile interaction with the brand.
Recent activity has included text 'n' win and text 'n' cheat offers to obtain tips for Playstation 2 games such as Hulk. Customers have also had the opportunity to win tickets to the premiere of Hugh Grant's new film Love Actually and to attend the post-premiere party.
Customers using Blockbuster's interactive services are also offered the opportunity to opt-in to the Blockbuster Text Club to receive details of exclusive competitions and new release alerts. This activity has received an encouraging take-up rate to-date, further boosting loyalty and adding additional services for customers.
The clear objectives of the programme are to offer Blockbuster customers positive brand interaction through provision of exclusive mobile activities and to build up an increasingly rich profile of these customers to enable targeted activities of direct interest. Going forward, mobile purchase opportunities may also be offered to customers including the ability to download exclusive mobile assets and to order products by text.
Steve Foulser, Commercial VP, Blockbuster UK said: "We have been trialling mobile communications with our customers in conjunction with mkodo since June of this year and have seen participation grow with each new activity. Developing a mobile strategy enables us to extend our customer relationship management programme and open up new communications channels.
"Mobile campaigns fit well with customers such as ours who have their finger on the pulse and offer a way for Blockbuster to further extend the customer experience. It is clearly a medium our customers enjoy, and one which provides us with a unique opportunity to speak with individuals on an immediate and one-to-one basis."
Sue Parker, Executive Director at mkodo commented: "Blockbuster is an exciting brand to work with - they have a clear understanding of the benefits of marketing communications and are integrating mobile messaging into their CRM strategy in a systematic and intelligent way. This is a successful approach that has yielded results. We are looking forward to developing the programme further with them to increase loyalty and drive revenue growth."
* 52 individual free rental vouchers
