How to Run a Successful SMS Trivia Campaign

Whether you’re a new business trying to make your mark, or a well-established industry fixture, a compelling mobile marketing campaign can help you reach more potential customers. A well-executed, original idea can easily set your brand apart from the competition. If it’s really special, it might even go viral.

Trivia marketing is a tried and tested framework within which you can flex your creative muscles. While it’s not a new idea per se, there is so much you can do with quizzes, competitions and other participatory contests to engage users. The fact is, people love to put their skills to the test. Give them the right sort of challenge and you will foster a long-term sense of brand loyalty that translates directly into revenue.

The best way to attract interest is by concocting a truly unique spin on the trivia concept. Still, it’s wise to look at examples of successful SMS trivia campaigns so you can begin to chart a path to your own jumping off point.

Starbucks

It’s no coincidence that the coffee behemoth is on top of its mobile marketing strategy. You don’t consistently remain the largest coffeehouse chain on the planet without having some pretty creative brains in your marketing department.

Last year, Starbucks used SMS messaging to winning effect with a trivia campaign offering customers prizes. Like any good mobile marketing strategy, it offered something of value whilst growing the company’s opted-in SMS contact list. After determining which kinds of devices users owned, Starbucks even followed up with an MMS message containing a short clip and information about a Happy Hour special offer. By leading with a teaser trivia question, the campaign reminded subscribers that they were part of the mobile campaign, effectively engaging them with the brand.

The campaign began with a trivia contest that quizzed subscribers about the company’s Frappucino. Users were enticed to respond quickly, with the first 100 correct respondents being offered a copy of The Great Gatsby soundtrack. Once recipients had sent in their answer, they received a follow-up message letting them know if they were correct, and encouraging them to reply with the keyword READYSET if they wanted to receive summer alerts.

This type of time-limited offer is crucial to the efficacy of trivia campaigns. The longer users sit on a text message from a business, the less likely they are to engage, and the SMS is soon forgotten entirely. By incorporating the first-to-respond element, Starbucks ensured that recipients participated quickly.

Chipotle

More recently, Chipotle had their own take on the SMS trivia idea. The brand sponsored and developed an original series for Hulu called Farmed & Dangerous, a biting satire on petro-chemical agriculture that encouraged viewers to think about where their food comes from. Already, the series had the makings of a brilliant marketing campaign that cast Chipotle in a positive, ethical light. Then they threw in a dose of SMS magic to engage viewers with the show and, by proxy, the brand.

The SMS trivia campaign was advertised during commercial breaks, and offered viewers a buy-one-get-one-free offer from Chipotle. By texting BADMILK to a short code, viewers were taken to a series of trivia questions relating to the current episode. Once three questions were answered, viewers were prompted to reply with the keyword REMIND to get future SMS alerts about the latest episode of the show. Each text message included a link to a mobile coupon.

Chipotle and Starbucks are two of the big boys to have successfully used SMS trivia marketing. If you lack the budget to create a web series or run movie soundtrack giveaways, there are plenty of other ways to leverage the power of SMS trivia marketing. See what you can come up with this summer!