Cornetto Mobile Marketing Campaign

Ok, so I’m hot in the office this afternoon. I look up and see the rest of the WLM team flagging in the afternoon heat. A shout goes out from one of the creatives. “Who wants an ice cream?”…… You can imagine the response. Having spent 10 minutes trying to decide what choice to make (I gave 3 options, ranked by preference) I receive my Strawberry Cornetto. DISCO.

The packaging has a mobile marketing campaign plastered all over it. Brilliant I think. Nice to see Walls doing this. And so I get stuck in …

1. Text a code to a shortcode. Standard shortcode response mechanism - I have to enter a code that is on the bottom of the ice cream lid. So what, I hear you cry. Well, it is a 10 digit alpha-numeric code that means I have to turn off my T9 predictive text.

2. Back comes the response SMS text message. It says, and I quote “Not a winning code. Please try again.” It’s another text and lose! Where is the nice branded message reflecting the Cornetto values? I had a lovely feeling as I devoured my ice cream. Now I have a bitter taste in my mouth (well, only temporarily until the next mouthful). I didn’t get thanked for my purchase or for participating in the competition. Nor did I get any reward for my effort. And there was no link to a mobile internet site where I could perhaps get a second chance at a prize and get immersed a bit further in the world of Cornetto. And, as we speak, no follow up CRM text …

So, not the best brand experience. For many people, that might be their first direct engagement with Cornetto, apart from the actual purchase. It lacks imagination or any sort of insight into how a best of breed mobile marketing campaign should be run. So if the Brand Manager at Walls/Cornetto UK reads this, then please feel free to give me a call! Because We Love Mobile still love Cornettos (especially Strawberry) and we’d love to help you with your next campaign.

Also posted on www.welovemobile.co.uk