Freemans launches mobile customer communications with mkodo
August 2006: mkodo industry-leading Intelligent Mobile Platform (IMP) powers SMS voucher entry
London, 1 August 2006; mkodo, the mobile services specialist, is delighted to announce the selection of its Intelligent Mobile Platform (IMP) to power Freemans launch of mobile channel communications with its customers.
Freemans is a premier Mail Order and Internet based retail business, and is part of the Otto Group, the largest mail order company in the world.
The initial trial service run by Freemans provided customers with an instant entry method into prize draws. Customers were sent a direct mailing containing a unique code which was texted in to enter the prize draw. Entrants were sent back a message free of charge to confirm their entry. For previous prize draw mailings customers were able to respond via coupon or telephone only.
The mkodo IMP was used to validate the codes texted in and to match these against the name and address details held against the customer. The details were then easily downloaded from the web interface of the platform to enable fulfillment.
The mobile medium provides a highly convenient channel for the customer to communicate with Freemans. Benefits to Freemans include a) collection of mobile numbers for future communications and b) automated data collection which avoids resource-intensive manual processing.
"Freemans is always looking at new ways of attracting customers and we were extremely keen to test the mobile channel." commented Jon Dobson, Acquisition Campaign Manager, Freemans. "Working with the mkodo team, who are specialists in mobile services, has made implementation of our creative ideas straightforward. The functionality of their platform impressed us and although our initial campaign is fairly simple we are looking to utilize this further in future campaigns."
