During the “Mobile Meets Retail: Matching Products with People on Mobile and Social,” the executive discussed the strides the company has taken since it dipped its toes in the mobile space. The session was moderated by Andrea Henry, vice president of business development at mphoria, Charlotte, NC.

“Since Omaha Steaks was a catalog company and we had an online store within AOL, the demographic has continued to age,” said Steve Morse, manager of search and mobile marketing at Omaha Steaks, Omaha, NE.

“We’re trying to pull-in a much younger crowd and we’re hoping that mobile will facilitate that,” he said.

Steak time
Omaha Steaks has a mobile-optimized site, as well as a Steak Time iPhone and iPad application that provides tools that help consumers serve the perfect steak.

The mobile offerings include how-to videos, tips for grilling and hundreds of recipes that consumers can search by category.

Additionally, the company has a commerce-enabled mobile site that lets consumers browse the deal of the day, best sellers and by category.

“With the mobile space we’ve experimented with QR codes, in-app advertising, mobile apps and a mobile site,” Mr. Morse said. “Our strategy has been to keep up with what other big brands are doing with apps.

“We really wanted to have a strong presence with a mobile shopping cart because we did see an increase in traffic via mobile devices and tablets,” he said.

One size does not fit all
According to Mr. Morse, although the company has dipped its toes in different mediums, it is looking to put more of a focus on its mobile site and apps, as opposed to SMS or location-based technologies.

“We are direct response, so we’re always pushing offers,” Mr. Morse said. “Often times, especially with SMS, people don’t want offers continuously.

“Our mobile site, however, has grown leaps and bounds in the last 18 months and we’ve improved the mobile experience and have seen steady growth,” he said.

In terms of redemption methods, Mr. Morse said that one of the best mechanisms is paid search.

Marketers can target mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets to better reach specific users.

Additionally, although location-based technology is a hot commodity for many marketers, Omaha Steaks finds it to be a challenge.

“We push out so many offers, but to push out a different offer in 85 locations is a challenge for us,” Mr. Morse said.

Final Take