TIPTON Ind. —A new mobile-marketing tool in use in several central Indiana restaurants is changing the way operators promote specials to customers. The tool, called Tetherball, is a nickel-sized radio-frequency identification, or RFID, tag that sticks to the back of a mobile phone and simplifies the redemption of offers sent by text message.
Operators using the tool say redemption is both trackable in real time and fraud-proof. Once redeemed, the system recognizes that customer’s specific RFID code and stops further redemption. —A new mobile-marketing tool in use in several central Indiana restaurants is changing the way operators promote specials to customers. The tool, called Tetherball, is a nickel-sized radio-frequency identification, or RFID, tag that sticks to the back of a mobile phone and simplifies the redemption of offers sent by text message.
Dave Reasner, an 11-unit Dairy Queen operator in Tipton, said not only is the system secure, his redemption rate using the device exceeds 22 percent—10 times the average redemption rate of direct mail. —A new mobile-marketing tool in use in several central Indiana restaurants is changing the way operators promote specials to customers. The tool, called Tetherball, is a nickel-sized radio-frequency identification, or RFID, tag that sticks to the back of a mobile phone and simplifies the redemption of offers sent by text message.
“The Tetherball [tag] keeps customers from using the offer again and again,” said Reasner, president of J.D. Restaurants Inc. “It’s really simple for our customers and our team to use.” —A new mobile-marketing tool in use in several central Indiana restaurants is changing the way operators promote specials to customers. The tool, called Tetherball, is a nickel-sized radio-frequency identification, or RFID, tag that sticks to the back of a mobile phone and simplifies the redemption of offers sent by text message.
Tetherball LLC, a Carmel, Ind.-based mobile-marketing firm, introduced the technology in early June. Reasner began testing the tags in some of his units three months prior to the product’s official debut. —A new mobile-marketing tool in use in several central Indiana restaurants is changing the way operators promote specials to customers. The tool, called Tetherball, is a nickel-sized radio-frequency identification, or RFID, tag that sticks to the back of a mobile phone and simplifies the redemption of offers sent by text message.
Point-of-purchase signage in Reasner’s stores prompts customers to sign up for the program by texting a mobile-phone code for a freebie, such as a Blizzard dessert. A response signaling their acceptance into the program bounces back immediately, and the customer is directed to retrieve a Tetherball tag at the counter. That tag, which for ease of use is typically stuck to the backs of mobile phones, is then waved in front of an RFID reader, either at an RFID-enabled POS terminal or a freestanding kiosk, and a coupon is dispensed allowing for redemption of the offer. —A new mobile-marketing tool in use in several central Indiana restaurants is changing the way operators promote specials to customers. The tool, called Tetherball, is a nickel-sized radio-frequency identification, or RFID, tag that sticks to the back of a mobile phone and simplifies the redemption of offers sent by text message.
Neither Reasner nor officials at Tetherball wanted to discuss pricing. “I’d rather not get into exact dollars, but we paid a set up cost, a cost to run the program and a small amount per message sent out or received,” Reasner said. Jay Highley, president and chief operation officer of Tetherball, also noted that he’d rather not discuss specifics given the program’s newness. —A new mobile-marketing tool in use in several central Indiana restaurants is changing the way operators promote specials to customers. The tool, called Tetherball, is a nickel-sized radio-frequency identification, or RFID, tag that sticks to the back of a mobile phone and simplifies the redemption of offers sent by text message.
“But how it’s paid is through a monthly flat rate to administer the plan and a cost per each [text] message sent and each received,” he said. —A new mobile-marketing tool in use in several central Indiana restaurants is changing the way operators promote specials to customers. The tool, called Tetherball, is a nickel-sized radio-frequency identification, or RFID, tag that sticks to the back of a mobile phone and simplifies the redemption of offers sent by text message.
Although all of Reasner’s stores are using mobile marketing, only about half are on Tetherball’s RFID system so far. At stores that aren’t yet using the program, customers bring their mobile phones to the counter, show the alphanumeric coupon code to an employee and then receive their offer. The opportunity for fraudulent, repeat redemption exists between the time the deal is redeemed and the time that code is entered manually into a tracking system that ends the deal for that particular user. —A new mobile-marketing tool in use in several central Indiana restaurants is changing the way operators promote specials to customers. The tool, called Tetherball, is a nickel-sized radio-frequency identification, or RFID, tag that sticks to the back of a mobile phone and simplifies the redemption of offers sent by text message.
“You could have somebody abuse the system by forwarding their code to someone else and having them use it before we get it into the system,” Reasner said. “This truly closes the loop.” Reasner is fond of the program because it’s a nonintrusive way to reward customer loyalty. Neither his stores nor the Mobiquitous software that manages the Tetherball program has any personal customer information. All it knows is the frequency with which customers, identified by their RFID tags, redeem offers and frequent his stores. —A new mobile-marketing tool in use in several central Indiana restaurants is changing the way operators promote specials to customers. The tool, called Tetherball, is a nickel-sized radio-frequency identification, or RFID, tag that sticks to the back of a mobile phone and simplifies the redemption of offers sent by text message.
“There’s nothing less expensive than marketing to your existing customers,” Reasner said. “We don’t have to educate them about what Dairy Queen is and what our stores are like.” —A new mobile-marketing tool in use in several central Indiana restaurants is changing the way operators promote specials to customers. The tool, called Tetherball, is a nickel-sized radio-frequency identification, or RFID, tag that sticks to the back of a mobile phone and simplifies the redemption of offers sent by text message.
Nikki Halcomb, director of marketing for six-unit, Indianapolis-based Hot Box Pizza, notes that having control over when and to whom messages go out gives her confidence customers aren’t overwhelmed by too much advertising. —A new mobile-marketing tool in use in several central Indiana restaurants is changing the way operators promote specials to customers. The tool, called Tetherball, is a nickel-sized radio-frequency identification, or RFID, tag that sticks to the back of a mobile phone and simplifies the redemption of offers sent by text message.
The 6-unit chain also has been testing Tetherball 90 days prior to its launch. —A new mobile-marketing tool in use in several central Indiana restaurants is changing the way operators promote specials to customers. The tool, called Tetherball, is a nickel-sized radio-frequency identification, or RFID, tag that sticks to the back of a mobile phone and simplifies the redemption of offers sent by text message.
“We were trying to find the line between being relevant to our customers without being annoying,” Halcomb said. —A new mobile-marketing tool in use in several central Indiana restaurants is changing the way operators promote specials to customers. The tool, called Tetherball, is a nickel-sized radio-frequency identification, or RFID, tag that sticks to the back of a mobile phone and simplifies the redemption of offers sent by text message.
Hot Box, she added, is enjoying a 25-percent redemption rate on a half-price “pie of the month” offer. —A new mobile-marketing tool in use in several central Indiana restaurants is changing the way operators promote specials to customers. The tool, called Tetherball, is a nickel-sized radio-frequency identification, or RFID, tag that sticks to the back of a mobile phone and simplifies the redemption of offers sent by text message.
“We send about four offers a month, and they expire in two days,” she said. —A new mobile-marketing tool in use in several central Indiana restaurants is changing the way operators promote specials to customers. The tool, called Tetherball, is a nickel-sized radio-frequency identification, or RFID, tag that sticks to the back of a mobile phone and simplifies the redemption of offers sent by text message.
Reasner said he believes the fact that nearly everyone carries a cell phone is one reason why Tetherball is effective. —A new mobile-marketing tool in use in several central Indiana restaurants is changing the way operators promote specials to customers. The tool, called Tetherball, is a nickel-sized radio-frequency identification, or RFID, tag that sticks to the back of a mobile phone and simplifies the redemption of offers sent by text message.
“You could ask somebody for a loyalty card at the counter, and they’d say, ‘Oh, I left it at home,’” he said. “But you don’t even get out of car without your phone anymore.” —A new mobile-marketing tool in use in several central Indiana restaurants is changing the way operators promote specials to customers. The tool, called Tetherball, is a nickel-sized radio-frequency identification, or RFID, tag that sticks to the back of a mobile phone and simplifies the redemption of offers sent by text message.
Through mobile phones, operators also can reach people where they are and when they’re hungriest. Print pieces and even e-mail lack the same luxury, Reasner said. —A new mobile-marketing tool in use in several central Indiana restaurants is changing the way operators promote specials to customers. The tool, called Tetherball, is a nickel-sized radio-frequency identification, or RFID, tag that sticks to the back of a mobile phone and simplifies the redemption of offers sent by text message.
“When you send out a message at 11 a.m. that says, ‘Today, from 3 to 6, we’re having a Blizzard Happy Hour where you can buy one, get one free,’ you’ve put Dairy Queen on their to-do list for the day,” he said. “At one store, we have a high school nearby. And on the day we send out a coupon, we get staffed and ready to go because we get pounded. That’s when it gets fun.” —A new mobile-marketing tool in use in several central Indiana restaurants is changing the way operators promote specials to customers. The tool, called Tetherball, is a nickel-sized radio-frequency identification, or RFID, tag that sticks to the back of a mobile phone and simplifies the redemption of offers sent by text message.
Reasner and Halcomb stressed that their mobile-marketing campaigns are like all others in that one must build membership base through regular promotion inside and outside the store. —A new mobile-marketing tool in use in several central Indiana restaurants is changing the way operators promote specials to customers. The tool, called Tetherball, is a nickel-sized radio-frequency identification, or RFID, tag that sticks to the back of a mobile phone and simplifies the redemption of offers sent by text message.
“Until you have a mass of people you can take care of, it’s not that effective,” Reasner said. —A new mobile-marketing tool in use in several central Indiana restaurants is changing the way operators promote specials to customers. The tool, called Tetherball, is a nickel-sized radio-frequency identification, or RFID, tag that sticks to the back of a mobile phone and simplifies the redemption of offers sent by text message.