Little, Brown is running its first mobile marketing campaign with the Kiss & Tell Mobile Club, a cell phone text messaging program to target teen girls for titles like “Gossip Girl,” “It Girl,” “A-List,” “Clique” and “The Dating Game.”
The New York company also features non-series titles like “Bass Ackwards and Belly Up” and “Secrets of My Hollywood Life” in the mobile club.
Little, Brown is using Flytxt, a London-based mobile technology provider, for this marketing campaign. Flytxt's Direct platform, which is called by the company's name, is used for viewing, sending and receiving text messages via an online interface directly connected to wireless operators.
“Basically, we were looking for a new way to reach teens, and they're constantly on their cell phones, and we know this is what they're doing,” said Tina McIntyre, associate director of marketing at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
Teens who join the club can opt in to receive text messages regarding the entire Kiss & Tell range of books. They can join the main club or one or more of the five sub-mobile clubs supporting each title promoted. The effort aims to gain readers for the Kiss & Tell books. The mobile club will offer text-based promotions like sweepstakes and giveaways, with polls, style tips, gossip and sneak peaks.
To enroll, children older than 13 can text the word “Join” with their date of birth and ZIP code. Here's a sample: “Join” 3/27/92 10013. Their wireless carrier's standard messaging rates apply to all text messaging. Other charges also may apply. Messages may include offers from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, its affiliates and partners.
More details on the club are available on www.e-kissandtell.com.
A print ad campaign in Ellegirl magazine will create awareness of the new club.
Little, Brown will get real-time reports of all activities in the club, with full visibility into the mobile database of users. Using Flytxt Direct, it can target consumer segments and send messages to club members based on geography, preferred book titles, age or a combination of criteria.
The Little, Brown mobile effort comes less than a year after rival HarperCollins Children's Books launched a club for the “Princess Diaries” and other books from author Meg Cabot. Called the Meg Cabot Mobile Club, the summer-launched effort lets HarperCollins, New York, target mobile marketing programs to teen readers of the “Princess Diaries,” All-American Girl sequel “Ready or Not” and the upcoming “Avalon High.” Fans also can expect messages from Cabot.
The HarperCollins interactive effort includes SMS-based promotions like sweepstakes, text-based trivia campaigns, book-signing updates, screensavers and voice tones from the author. Users can access the club at www.megcabot.com/mobile.
Flytxt helped with the Meg Cabot Mobile Club.
Little, Brown's Kiss & Tell concept was first developed last year for a print ad campaign that resonated with its audience. Once trademarked, Kiss & Tell became a platform to get readers to upgrade from one Little, Brown “chicklit” series to the next.
“I think our primary goal is to just solidify the genre of fiction in the teens' mind,” McIntyre said. “They already know the books are hip and cool. This takes it to the next level.”
Mickey Alam Khan covers Internet marketing campaigns and e-commerce, agency news as well as circulation for DM News and DMNews.com. To keep up with the latest developments in these areas, subscribe to our daily and weekly e-mail newsletters by visiting www.dmnews.com/newsletters
