ConAgra’s Pam cooking spray, Kellogg’s Special K, Cadbury Adams’ Trident gum, Tyson Foods, Sara Lee Corp.’s Jimmy Dean Foods and Kimberly-Clark’s Huggies and Kotex brands are now offering consumers mobile access to coupons.

The brands are tapping News Corp.’s News America Marketing and its SmartSource coupons platform, which will be going mobile on Oct. 25, the day that the SmartSource Magazine coupon insert will be carrying a message to 68 million households that they can get additional coupons by texting the keyword COUPONS to the short code 87415. Augme Mobile is powering the mobile aspects of the program.

“There isn’t enough reach in the digital world of coupons to satisfy the coupon companies,  which are looking for other ways to reach consumers,” said Henri Lellouche, senior vice president at iGroup, the interactive marketing division of News America Marketing, New York. “We’re well into the Internet in terms of Web-based delivery, and now we’re looking at mobile.

“Our goal right now is to try to get digital coupons to critical mass, and mobile is a component of a larger plan for News America Marketing to provide a mass-reach digital vehicle,” he said. “This is a reach play—we’re trying to get more reach by looking for new consumers.

“More so than any specific demographic, we’re looking for a different psychographic, people using their phone more than their PC for Web browsing and communication.”

As of June 30 of this year, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. had total assets of approximately $53 billion and total annual revenues of approximately $30 billion.

News America Marketing, a division of News Corp., is a single-source provider of consumer marketing services.

The company’s product portfolio, marketed under the SmartSource brand name, consists of the branded free-standing insert SmartSource Magazine, various in-store marketing products, merchandising services, database marketing tools and online promotions.

These products and services let marketers deliver a brand message to more than 200 million consumers each month via a network of 1,500 newspapers and 50,000-plus supermarket, drug, office, mass-merchandisers and dollar-store locations nationwide, including Kroger, SuperValu, Safeway, Publix, Food Lion, CVS, Rite Aid Walgreens, Staples, Family Dollar and Dollar General.

While newspapers are still far and away the leading source for most coupons in North America, News America is intent on finding new ways to reach coupon users.

According to Scarborough research, 8.6 million, or 8 percent, of U.S. households currently acquire coupons via text messages and/or e-mail.

The FSIs in the Sunday edition of newspapers across the U.S. and Canada will carry the SMS call-to-action urging consumers to text in the keyword to the short code.

In response, consumers will receive a text message containing a link to a mobile Web site. Once the site launches in the phone’s browser, consumers will have access to thirteen exclusive coupon offers with an opt-in prompt asking for their email address and permission to send them additional mobile offers in the future.

The coupons will then be sent to the email address that is entered, letting the consumer print them at their convenience using SmartSource.com’s secure printable coupon technology.
 
Big brands galore
For the Oct. 25 launch there will be coupons from Kotex, Huggies, Trident, Jimmy Dean, Kellogg and Tyson, totaling $17.50 in savings and ranging in value from 50 cents to $3.00. The coupons will remain available until Nov. 8.
 
Pam is a brand of cooking spray currently owned and distributed by ConAgra. The mobile coupon offer is “Save $0.50 on one can of Pam Cooking Spray.”

Kellogg Co. is the world’s leading producer of cereal and a leading producer of convenience foods, including cookies, crackers, toaster pastries, cereal bars, frozen waffles and meat alternatives. Its global headquarters are in Battle Creek, MI.

Its mobile coupon offer is “Save $1.00 on any two Kellogg’s Special K Cereals and/or Kellogg’s Special K Protein Products.”

Trident is a brand of sugarless chewing gum that is a subsidiary of Cadbury Adams headquarted in Parsippany, NJ. It is offering a mobile coupon letting consumers “Save $1.00 on any two single packs of Trident Layers gum.”

Tyson Foods is an American multinational corporation based in Springdale, AR, that operates in the food industry. The company is the world’s largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef and pork and annually exports the largest percentage of beef out of the United States.

By texting in and accessing News America Marketing’s mobile Web site, consumers can “Save $1.00 on one Tyson heat and serve entrée.”

Jimmy Dean Foods is a food company that was founded in 1969 by country singer/actor Jimmy Dean, who appeared regularly on Grand Ole Opry and co-starred on NBC’s “Daniel Boone” TV series from 1968-70. It was later purchased by Consolidated Foods, who then renamed it the Sara Lee Corp.

The mobile coupon offer is “Save $1.00 on any Jimmy Dean Frozen Breakfast Product.”

Huggies is a brand-name disposable diaper marketed by Kimberly-Clark, a consumer products corporation active in more than 80 countries.

The company’s various mobile coupons include “Save $2.00 on any one Pull-Ups Training Pants,” “Save $2.00 on any one Huggies Overnight Diapers,” “Save $1.50 off any two packages of Huggies Baby Wipes,” “Save $3.00 on any two Huggies Diapers” and “Save $2.00 on any one Huggies Little Snugglers or Huggies Little Movers Diapers.”

Kotex is a brand of feminine hygiene products, which includes the Kotex maxi, thin and ultra thin pads, the Security tampons, and the Lightdays pantiliners. Kotex is also owned and managed by Kimberly-Clark.

Its mobile coupons include “Save $.75 on any one package of Kotex Security Tampons,” “Save $1.00 on any one package of Kotex Pads” and “Save $.75 on any one package of Kotex Lightdays Liners.”

“We’re very excited about this to say the least,” Mr. Lellouche said. “These brands were all looking for a mobile solution, and we finally offered them one that is practical and consumer-friendly.

“The message will the mobile call-to-action will be sent out to 68 million households, but frankly the short code and coupon language could be put on a billboard, poster, TV or online ad, anywhere really,” he said. “One brand said to me, ‘Could I put this on the side of my packaging and use it as a way to capture cell phone numbers email addresses?’

“It’s all opt-in, and it’s a great way of expanding your presence into mobile, beyond just having a Web site URL on the package or ad.”