Taking advantage of scope of online marketing

Cell C's direct marketing manager Audrey Price-Dix comments, “The campaign makes use of the full spectrum of available media, including MMS, the Web, e-mail and traditional phone calls. With one medium working off the other, a Cell C subscriber might, for example, be informed of a code telephonically that can be entered at a certain point in the Hummerville game, and so stand to win a prize.”

Similarly, information about the competition and the website address are sent to subscribers via MMS and email.

Stuart Stobbs, creative partner at proximity#ttp, explains that the questionnaires typically used to obtain crucial customer information are mostly a waste of time. “People simply don't reply. There is also a clear trend towards using creative more effectively not only to stimulate interest and participation, but also ensure customers are rewarded for their effort.”

How it works

Cell C is giving away six Hummers to its subscribers, which can be won by either entering via TV and radio commercials, or by playing the Hummerville game online (www.hummerville.co.za). According to Stobbs, the campaign was developed in collaboration with design agency Gloo.

Visitors are required to enter their cellphone number when arriving at the site. Once verified as a Cell C subscriber, the game begins with a number of clever and fun ideas used to collect more data from the customer base.

“Visitors are, for example, required to interact and provide information at various stages of the game by guessing songs played by a roadside busker, or do things most travellers do like stop for a rest-room break.

“This way, the audience is fully engaged and not simply filling in details on a static sheet of paper. By playing the game, which incorporates sophisticated design and game-play, subscribers are entered into a competition to win a Hummer as well as various other prizes along the way,” says Stobbs.

The competition closes at the end of March this year.