Musical instrument manufacturer Fender is running a product promotion campaign allowing consumers who purchase select amplifiers to register for a free product rebate via SMS. The company is working with digital marketing firm Knotice on the promotion.
Fender is using SMS as a redemption channel, in addition to mail-in and online forms, to cater to teenage and twenty-something consumers, said Chrissy Mauck, website content producer and editor at Fender.
“We know that fewer and fewer teens are opening emails. They’re using SMS marketing. So it’s a space we need to get in, and we need to find out more about the consumers that are interested in it,” she said, adding that Fender had looked at ways to activate SMS’ promotional capabilities “across channels for a long time.”
The initiative, which will run through July 31, incentivizes the purchase of six Fender “Hot Rod Series” amplifiers. Consumers who buy the Hot Rod Deluxe, Hot Rod DeVille, Blue Deluxe or Blues DeVille models receive a free messenger bag and instrument cable. Consumers who purchase the Pro Junior or Blues Junior models receive only the messenger bag.
To redeem the rebate via SMS, consumers must respond to a series of six text messages by submitting their name, street address, ZIP code, email address, purchased product serial number and purchase location. Mauck said the company will use that information for market research.
“We know what we sell to our dealers, but because we don’t sell direct to consumers, this is one of the ways for us to find out exactly who is buying our products,” Mauck said. She added that Fender will not use the data collected via SMS for remarketing, but that the online rebate form features an email opt-in.
Dave Lawson, Knotice’s director of mobile engagement, said the SMS inclusion will broaden the rebate’s reach.
“SMS is a pretty widely adopted channel, so not only are most phones capable of doing it, but most people are capable of having that back-and-forth conversation,” he said.
