01.31.2007
Catchwind named a finalist for the Technology Association of Iowa's annual Prometheus Awards. More

01.25.2007
Catchwind Co-Founder and COO to address AMA chapters.

12.18.2006
Catchwind launches Mobellie - a simple, affordable SMS appointment reminder service. More

11.09.2006
is proud to sponsor the MMA's Mobile Marketing Forum on November 28th in Los Angeles. 

10.01.2006
Catchwind's TextPromoter product featured in Nightclub & Bar Magazine. Read Article

07.22.06
Catchwind featured on NBC affiliate for mobile marketing initiatives. See Video.

06.01.2006
Catchwind's TextPromoter product featured in International edition of Bowling Industry Magazine. Read Article

Paging Profits - The Reach and Response of Electronic Marketing
Published October 2006

The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA) reported that 9.8 billion text messages were sent in the month of December 2005, up 109 percent from December 2004. Five years ago, only 33.5 million text messages were sent per month. These numbers are up over 10 billion per month currently. And that’s just the icing on the electronic cake, as e-mail’s household presence only grows.

“People check their e-mails an average of three to four times a day,” says Ziad Gappy of Email Media Group Inc., a firm specializing in e-mail communication tools. “People are checking their e-mails from their cell phones. Promoters can reach 10,000 people in 10 minutes compared to passing out 10,000 flyers which could take them weeks.”

Text, Drinks and Rock ‘n’ Roll
The majority of mobile phones currently support the ability to send and receive text messages without the need for additional enhancements to the mobile phone, and increasing numbers of bar patrons are open to marketing messages. If a venue’s demographic is text-savvy, there is no good reason for not utilizing the medium.

Tread Lightly, with Meaning
As with any electronic communication, it’s important to make sure you don’t wear out your welcome.  Ron Masters, owns three venues Mt. Clemens, Mich. — the Emerald Theater, Hayloft Liquor Stand and Johnny G’s —with plans to open two more, Full Kilt and Bedrdaze. “I try not to inundate them with messages,” he says. “Every time I send one, I give them something of value, such as free food, no cover or drink specials. I also try to be witty. They love it when you make fun of yourself.  “I let them know about everything that I do,” Masters says. “I’ve noticed that some people won’t read them; they’ll just come in. So if I say $1 shots every time the Red Wings score, they miss out. So we’ll make announcements during the night, which makes other people sign up.”    

The text campaign is just one element of Masters’s marketing, but it’s an element he feels is unique.  “I use radio, local club papers and flyers. I like text the best for seeing results. It feels good to see someone pop their phone open at the door and get in free, then forward it to his friends. One example is Tuesday nights at Johnny G’s. We were (messaging) 50 people. I did only text marketing. Within two months, we were up to 400-plus and have stayed that way for over a year.”

Staying organized and tracking results is important.
“The savvy operators are doing two main things to make effective use of (text messaging): they’re building lists and tracking ROI,” says Scot Talcott, director of marketing of TextPromoter, a mobile marketing platform for the service industry.  “The first, list-building, is a process that is done continually over time,” Talcott says. “The best operators are training their entire staffs — security personnel, waitstaff and promoters — on how the text message campaign works and are encouraging them to assist customers in signing up. These operators also add the response component — i.e., the free cover callout — in every ad and on every flyer they order. It’s a relatively small investment, time-wise, that can yield huge results and profits for the operator.”

This article references Catchwind's service-industry product, TextPromoter.  To learn more about TextPromoter visit the website; www.TextPromoter.com.