Using a technique that we’re pretty sure drug dealers of a smaller variety have used for a while, Walgreens has seen big time success with SMS text alerts. The national chain is using text messages to alert pharmacy clients that their prescriptions are ready. Registrations for the SMS alerts have exploded in the 8 months since Walgreens launched the program. In fact, the SMS program currently is spanking Walgreens’ e-mail marketing programs.

This article at Mobile Marketer profiles the company’s chief of technology Abhi Dhar as the strong arm who has led the company into mobile marketing success. Dhar points to SMS texting alongside iPhone app development as the backbone behind of the retailer’s strategy. He notes a multichannel approach that integrates social media marketing and traditional advertising (like the giant video screens outside Walgreens’ Times Square store) has pushed the brand into a category previously dominated by hipper, younger companies. The company has used its text database to offer discounts and coupons to customers who have signed up for the service.

Dhar says the demand for mobile marketing is high. “The customers want it,” he says.

Mobile marketing like Walgreens has been exploding all summer long and it’s not just an app developer’s game. Chic W Hotels across the country have tapped mobile marketing for Foursquare-types of location-based contests. Kenneth Cole, ESPN and Kraft have all announced big-time mobile marketing plans for the upcoming holiday season. The trend is an encouraging one for marketers. Mobile marketing is now big business and another way businesses can creatively contact their clients instantly. SMS texting is a no-brainer way to alert customers about new products, discounts and special events. Walgreens’ mobile marketing domination plan can be tinkered with and tailored to fit companies of all sizes.

So what does your mobile marketing plan look like? Would you answer business-based text messages? Holler at us in the comments!

With all this snore-inducing iAd talk and endless battles for smart phone ad space, it’s easy to get discouraged by the prospect of mobile marketing. After all, it looks expensive, time consuming and not very effective. Many people pooh-pooh the whole notion and move on. Well, Negative Nancy, mobile marketing is something small businesses can do without loads of money, time or stress. And the secret weapon for you, my small-business-owning friend, is plain old SMS text messages.

As it turns out , SMS could be the next big old/new thing in mobile marketing because of its effectiveness and affordability. Primarily used by companies for sweepstakes or one-time deals, SMS marketing is ready for new innovations from small business. Pulling from your already massive client contact resources, text can be used to simply reach out. After all, studies prove that most people are more apt to answer a text than they are an e-mail or call. Personalized SMS messages like “Hey Claudia! We got some new jeans in that you would love,” or “Alex, we haven’t seen you in forever! Mention this text and receive 20% off of your next order” are great ways to use text to invite folks back into your business. I recently listened with a bit of jealousy to friends talking about a chic Santa Monica bakery that sends out text messages to let clients know about special cookie tastings.

Why not take it a step further? A friend of mine in the art supply business recently created a text and photo treasure hunt for loyal customers. Folks on the e-mail and phone list received a list of things to look for and snap pictures of. The winner received a $100 gift certificate while the promotion itself ended up in local papers. SMS also is a great addition to Facebook pages when it comes to promoting special events like store openings or parties. Texting clients with deep pockets or fabulous entourages to remind them of your event is another personalized way to reach out to special audiences. And why should the big guys get to have all the fun with contests? Anybody can run a text-based giveaway using trivia or rapid response. Engage your customers in a battle of the wits or text savvy with a DIY contest that promotes your awesome goods and services.

Right or wrong, we live in times where all of us are constantly checking our phones. As marketers, we’d be foolish to not try a homespun version of mobile marketing that reaches our clients where we know they’ll always pick up.

We here at Brandsplat aren’t big on patting ourselves on the back, but I’ll go ahead and do it anyway. I predicted a while ago that mobile marketing would catch on thanks to geolocation applications like Gowalla, Foursquare and Shopkick. We even talked about how the Brits were using cell phone marketing to achieve smashing success in this very blog. So it is with more…

Recent articles floating around the web seem to indicate that overseas, mobile marketing is huge. So huge, in fact, that the spending dollars on mobile marketing have grown 32% since last year. The industry has morphed into force to be reckoned with.  A recent Adidas mobile campaign that invited users to track runners of the London Marathon attracted nearly more…

“Ball of confusion, that’s what the world is today. Hey. Hey.”   - The Temptations.

The new health care package, the lady from eBay who wants to be governor, the gravity defying awesomeness that is Justin Bieber’s hair are all things I really do not understand. In fact, at the risk of sounding like Ed Anger or Andy Rooney, there’s a bunch of things I don’t understand.  So thank God for the more…

more…

The 2010 version of South X Southwest Interactive, or as I like to affectionately call it “Nerdchella”, won’t even get started until the weekend but the stampede of press releases, teasers, and critiques have been hurled out of Texas like empty  shot glasses at Jenna Bush’s wedding.  SXSWi, unlike it’s uber-cool music counter part, which starts on March 17th, is an unabashedly dorky affair celebrating all more…

What with all of this Google, Apple and Twitter news this week it seems like it has been an eternity since we’ve heard a peep out of the bombastic yet reliable Facebook publicity machine. Well, fear not. I was able to dig up the latest in Facebook dirt in the suddenly neglected (yeah right!) social media superstar’s life.

For starters, this spiffy, little study showed that Facebook as well as Twitter both experienced a big bump last year in use on more…

In a move that could be only described as a dis, T-Mobile told Yahoo, the previous default server for the wireless network, “thanks but no thanks”. T-Mobile has instead signed with Google to serve as the network’s primary search engine as well as the default server as reported on Monday. Yahoo will continue to server in messenger and mail capacity for the phone company while Google will be doing the majority more…

That chorus of “I Told You So” heard around the world on Monday came from media watchers and marketers who have been patiently waiting for this day to happen.

A study released this week by OutSell notes that spending on digital advertising will be up 10% this year and will, for the first time ever, surpass, money spent on print advertising. Of the $368 billion to be spent by marketers this more…