The Luxor Las Vegas hotel and casino will launch a mobile campaign early July to promote the Criss Angel Believe Cirque du Soleil show. The effort will encourage consumers to text to win a prize that can only be discovered by visiting the hotel box office.
Consumers will be able to text the keyword “win” to the short code 25025 during the promotion. The hotel will respond with a message instructing recipients to “bring this message to the Believe box office at Luxor to claim your prize.” The campaign, which is slated to kick off early next month, is a joint effort between the casino and mobile partner Cellit.
“The goal of the campaign is to spark additional interest in the show and generate additional ticket sales,” said Natalie Glover, interactive marketing manager at Cirque du Soleil. “The campaign will target people staying at the Luxor Hotel and Casino, as well as foot traffic from visitors to the hotel and casino.”
Consumers will be able to place the image they received via mobile phone under a special piece of clear plastic at the box office to reveal their offer. Prizes will include a percentage off a ticket purchase or free tickets.
“It is essentially an instant win that is a fun and new way to reach people via mobile,” said Ilyssa Cohen, senior account manager at Cellit. “It drives people to the box office and is very interactive as well.”
“Programs like this are great because they encourage people to take action in the real world,” said Augie Ray, senior analyst at Forrester Researcher. “Getting people to visit the spot in the real world allows consumers to get excited and encourages them to take action. It is one thing to know that there is a Cirque de Soleil show nearby, but it is more exciting to show up and see the event going on.”
Luxor has worked with Cellit since June 2008 on the Cirque du Soleil mobile rewards club. The companies are also encouraging visitors to text to find out more information about Luxor’s shows through hotel signage.
Consumers can also text keywords to get show information and discounts for all of the Luxor’s shows, including Zumanity, Believe, Ka, Mystere, O and Viva Elvis.
Consumers can also opt in to receive regular updates from the hotel, which are distributed numerous times a month.
The hotel will send consumers specific messages, depending on what kind of information they want. Consumers will be able to text letters to prompt responses for showtimes or special offers, for instance.
Cellit is calling the effort “the image reveal campaign.” Luxor is the agency’s first client to use the platform, although Cohen said the technology will be available to other customers. She said client Feld Entertainment, which produces Disney on Ice shows and the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circuses, has expressed interest in the platform.
“For the live theater industry it is the perfect match,” said Cohen. “It could also work for retail; you text in for your secret percentage off. It could even work for restaurants.
Anywhere that there is mobile couponing, I think it would go hand in hand.”
