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Press Release
Zoove Corp. Releases Mobile Marketing Study
Results Call for Changes in Mobile Marketing Campaigns
Palo Alto, CA, May 8, 2006 — Zoove Corp. today unveiled the results of the Mobile Marketing Consumer Study, a study conducted in cooperation with Mediamark Research Inc. (MRI) and MPG, the global media buying and planning network of worldwide marketing communications group Havas.
"MPG's visionary leadership in new media and mobile marketing, coupled with MRI's expertise in audience and multimedia research have produced a landmark study," said Tim Jemison, chief executive officer of Zoove. "We see the results of the MRI study as a validation of our approach to the market, and we feel that consumer demand will be strong for our StarStar Dialing when it becomes widely available this fall."
Results of the study show that three years after the introduction of common SMS Short Code, only 47% of adult consumers know how to use it. Alternatively, 91% of adults found it easy to respond to mobile marketing campaigns using StarStar Dialing, a new format for direct response marketing recently introduced by Zoove. StarStar Dialing enables consumers to directly access information on the products and services they want via any mobile phone by simply dialing ** and a code unique to the products and services, without activating a text or wireless internet application.
"MRI is pleased to release the results on an important mobile marketing usability study with significant implications for the future of mobile marketing," says Paul Gold, senior vice president at MRI. "This study shows that Zoove's StarStar Dialing solves many of the issues that mobile marketing is facing today. Simply put, Zoove appears to have the potential to dramatically change the mobile landscape for both consumers and brands."
The MRI study found that while 72% of all consumers can open a text message sent proactively from a marketer, far fewer (only 47%) know how to initiate an SMS Short Code. Of those who can send SMS Short Codes: 70% say it takes too long to do, 65% say it is a hassle and 70% say they cannot remember the call to action because there is too much to recall.
"The strong appeal of StarStar Dialing was in direct contrast to consumer frustration with SMS Short Code dialing," said Gold. "Among the people who can SMS Short Code, 85% believe SMS Short Codes either take too long to do, are a hassle, are too hard to remember or present offerings of little interest. Because StarStar Dialing cuts across all age demographics, more brands can now enter mobile marketing, including brands targeting the 35+age group. And because StarStar Dialing is easy for consumers to use and does not require any training or education, the potential for growth in mobile marketing offerings and response rates is off the meter."
MPG and its clients Outback Steakhouse, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and others, partnered with Zoove in the study. CBS Television participated through the inclusion of a promotion for the primetime program CSI. "We are excited about the results of our experimentation with Zoove on behalf of our clients," said Charlie Rutman, chief executive officer of MPG. "We are big believers in the future of mobile media and our stated desire is to learn as much as we can as quickly as we can and the experience with Zoove was very enlightening."
The Mobile Marketing Consumer Study is the largest and most in-depth mobile marketing study MRI has done to date. MRI conducted more than 600 interviews for the study in 18 locations across 15 states. The study's goal was to test the public's awareness of - and ability to respond to mobile marketing campaigns using different response mechanisms including SMS Short Codes and StarStar Dialing. For a copy of the complete study, please visit Zoove's website (www.zoove.com) or contact Zoove's public relations team (RJ Bardsley or Derek Brookmeyer at 415.623.2085).
Zoove will also offer StarStar vanity codes for brands making it easier for consumers to remember the call to action while reinforcing the brand itself. "In these crazy times of media and messaging overload, the Zoove technology allows Royal Caribbean to engage a consumer on their own terms, and provide them with a response mechanism that is not only simpler to use, but also helps to expand the visibility and name-recognition of the brand," said Diego Vaccarezz, senior vice president, group account director at MPG.
About MRI
Founded in 1979, MRI interviews 26,000 U.S. adults in their homes each year, asking about their use of media, their consumption of products and their lifestyles and attitudes.
MRI is the country's leading provider of magazine audience and multimedia research data. The company releases data from The Survey of the American Consumer (adults 18+) twice yearly, in the spring and fall. MRI data have become the basic media-planning currency for the majority of the media plans that are created each year by national advertisers and their agencies. The company's 26,000 in-home interviews each year represent the biggest survey of its kind.
MRI is part of GfK Group AG, Nuremberg, Germany.
About Zoove
Zoove’s patented StarStar™ Dialing lets consumers directly access information on the products and services they want via any mobile phone quickly and spontaneously, without opening text messaging or wireless web applications. StarStar codes enable brands to bridge the gap between mobile and traditional media through easy to recognize vanity codes that consumers can dial directly to get more information about a product or service they see or hear on a billboard, in a publication, or on a broadcast. Zoove is based in Palo Alto, California. More information is available at www.zoove.com.
For more information:
RJ Bardsley
Racepoint Group
415.623.2086
rjbardsley@racepointgroup.com
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Quote
"We see the results of the MRI study as a validation of our approach to the market, and we feel that consumer demand will be strong for our StarStar™ Dialing when it becomes widely available this fall."
- Tim Jemison, Chief Executive Officer of Zoove
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