Mobile Marketing

Kraft Foods’ Nabisco continued to showcase celebrity chef Guy Fieri (see Related Promotional Activity), this time in a football-themed FSI containing a QR code that linked to a promotional website (nabiscotastevictory.com) providing game-day party tips and recipes.

Revlon Inc. presented new Revlon RootErase by ColorSilk SKUs using a QR code that linked to a video demonstration of the products on YouTube. This tactic repeated on April 1.A co-equity FSI on April 29 presented the products were introduced as "available at Walmart."

Smithfield Foods’ Curly’s used a QR code to link to a mobile webpage offering a 75-cent coupon. Consumers had to submit an email to receive the coupon. The page also linked to a recipe bank spotlighting Curly’s sauceless meat SKUs. (TP Analytics, New York, is collecting data from the campaign.)

Pfizer Inc. ran an FSI dangling a $10 mail-in rebate with three-item purchase of products from various brands. Consumers mail in a form within the FSI, store receipt and UPCs to redeem.

Apps should offer value and engage the shopper, with tools such as Walgreens' Refill by Scan and Kimberly-Clark’s iGo Potty.

Shopkick, Palo Alto, Calif., has teamed with Visa for a "Buy & Collect" program. Visa cardholders register their cards with Shopkick, and when they collect "Kicks" they collect Visa rewards.

A co-founder of Zappos has launched a new social site called RNKD (pronounced ranked), Burlingame, Calif. The idea is to be rewarded for what's in your closet.

Staples revamped its iPhone app with new services (Android on the way, but it wasn't available when I checked in late December): Users can now scan bar codes to build a shopping list (no more typing in product names); find the nearest store and check for a product's availability; use the app to red

CheckPoints, Venice, Calif., has announced a new brand partner and some serious new capabilities. The Coca-Cola Co. is the latest to sign on with the mobile app, which drives shoppers down store aisles to scan products and earn points.

Part of a site revamp, Twitter developed new brand pages and is placing ads on its mobile app. It's a pure profit play.