Question

Topic: Advertising/PR

How To Promote Mobile Tools To Parents Of Teens.

Posted by NilaNealy on 5/8/2012 at 2:56 PM ET 500 Points
I'm writing general recommendations, things to keep in mind while promoting awareness and usage of a set of mobile tools (SMS, mobile web, smart phone app). The client is a not-for-profit distributing information about a public health topic. Their audience is parents of teens in the U.S. The tools are intended to work on engagement, not just pushing out information. We want users to ask questions.

Starting from scratch, how would you promote these tools? What are the highest value or most cost effective methods of marketing these resources?

What else should I or my client keep in mind as they pursue the development and promotion of this campaign?

What else do you need to know to offer suggestions? (I can't get more specific about the client in terms of name or public health issue.)

Thank you!
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by CarolBlaha on 5/8/2012 at 5:43 PM Accepted
    Starting from scrach, you need to find the parents who want to manage their account via these apps.

    That is your challenge. Do not assume all parents want this or are capable of this.

    Moving forward, I work a lot with an insurance co that wants clients to manage their policy online. Its a very simple statement, "Ms Jones, you can manage your account online via our smartphone app" That shoud be a part of everyones closing statement when setting up account.

    If your question is"is this a selling statement" maybe. But its getting to the point everyone requires it as a part of doing biz.

    To start from scratch, I'd make it newsy, send to the mobile. Send partner messages to keep it new. xyx store says if you are a friend of xyx nonprofit so are we. Do discount code. xyx and lets rock
  • Posted by Gail@PUBLISIDE on 5/8/2012 at 7:10 PM Accepted
    The most important thing to consider is where parents hang out and what they read, and communicate your messages there. There are hundreds of categories of apps, and you will likely find ones that are health-related to which you can promote yours, as well.

    Share your information via school handouts, doctor's offices and clinics. Pitch your local media's health reporters with your information, stressing that your company provides a tool for parents to receive up-to-the-minute news on your topic.

    Launch a catchy word-of-mouth campaign for parents who may not consume media. Give them a reason to talk about your apps.
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 5/9/2012 at 8:21 AM Accepted
    You have 2 different issues: getting parents engaged and having them use your specific technology to do so. Your core issue is the first (engagement) - and to that end, your marketing message needs to be aimed at the question "Why should they care?" If you answer this question well, so its obvious that active engagement is necessary to stay abreast of the details, then the second issue comes into play (how to find out more). Keeping connected means you want them to be able to use their daily habits to find out more - whether that be Facebook, SMS, etc. Lastly, to close the loop, you need to ensure that people are getting the value from the connection - so it's more than you telling them it's valuable, they must find it so (so they tell others).
  • Posted by NilaNealy on 5/9/2012 at 9:00 AM Author
    Ha! Phil, I've definitely purged the subtle nuances and lots of surely useful detail from the way I'm describing this issue. I'm using "tools" for our conversation here, as in these are tools for engagement and information.

    For all, this project is still hypothetical and in the investigation stage. The organization, using a nonprofit consultant (my client in this case), is researching how the audience uses technology and engages with the sort of information they feel the audience needs.

    The consultant wants my brain dump on what the organization might keep in mind as they market whatever information channels they use (SMS, mobile web, etc.) if they choose to move forward. The goal is to make sure they're informed of opportunities and risks should they choose to invest the time and dollars. I'm interested in rounding out what I already wrote with other thoughts and making sure I'm not missing something important.

    As a few of you have noted, it's about knowing the audience: Will they use it - and keep coming back? And, where can we reach these parents to market our resources?

    Working with the assumption that they will use it, we're making a big list of possibilities, approaches, caveats, etc. for the marketing part - everything one might consider in planning for promotion. Additionally, I'm giving them some information on the ups and downs of app development, for instance.

    Important to note: we are not promoting the nonprofit. We aren't looking to generate donations, volunteers, etc. for the organization itself. They are fulfilling their mission to provide education aimed at reducing the incidence of this particular health issue. We are promoting the interactive access to information via these tools (sorry Phil!).

    Thanks for all the input so far! I really appreciate all of you!
  • Posted on 5/13/2012 at 11:11 AM Member
    Consider a Joint Venture strategy.

    Find a relevant business message with strong engagement and suggest your app as a way to add value to their message. (Give them a reason to help you)

    Good Luck.
    -Valerie

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