T-Mobile Sees Success From Guerilla Marketing Campaign, Mulls Expanded Program For ’10
Posted: 11/25/2009 11:26:42 AM by
William Chipps | with 0 comments
Festivals, Hispanic events and other types of local properties may want to put T-Mobile on their prospect list for ’10.
T-Mobile this year saw success from a five-month guerilla marketing campaign in which the company sponsored more than 25 events ranging from local festivals to state and county fairs.
Case in point: T-Mobile conducted more than 26,000 “Mobile Makeovers” and activated more than 5,000 new accounts at the events.
T-Mobile launched the marketing campaign in late ’08 as a platform to better connect with consumers on the local level, an effort previously managed by local sales staff. From December through May, T-Mobile tested the effort by hosting events at malls, festivals and other types of properties, around which it touted a value offer through a partnership with www.BillShrink.com, an independent service that allows consumers to compare prices of wireless service plans based on usage. BillShrink shows that consumers on average save $24 a month over two years by switching to T-Mobile.
T-Mobile ran the promotions in several markets including Los Angeles (Pasadena Rose Parade) and San Francisco (Southwest.com Chinese New Year Festival & Parade).
“The events were our Petri dish to learn the ins and outs of using BillShrink as a value tool for consumers, and how to work with sales associates in the field,” said a source involved in the program.
Based on the success of the test, T-Mobile then focused the initiative on four markets where it has wide coverage and distribution: Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia and San Francisco. To incent Mobile Makeovers, the company ran an on-site promotion dangling the chance to win the highest amount of money a consumer saved on that day using the BillShrink service.
Sponsored events included the Taste of Chicago, State Fair of Texas, Texas’s Frisco Freedom Fest and Wilmington, Del.’s DuPont Clifford Brown Jazz Festival.
When vetting events, T-Mobile looks for access to databases, dedicated advertising and other added value opportunities, the source said.
Jeff Hopper, T-Mobile’s vice president of marketing, managed the program. San Francisco-based marketing agency Brand Force negotiated and executed the sponsorships.
Read more blog posts
Filed under: agency, entertainment, evaluation, events, how to get sponsorship, malls/developments, selling, sponsorship ROI, activation