Samsung Mobile: Viral to track stolen
mobiles
Tarana
Khan
agencyfaqs!
NEW DELHI, March 30
Online
viral
campaigns are gathering a momentum of their own. Take a look
at Samsung Mobile’s recently-launched email viral to promote
its E250 ‘mobile tracker’ technology, which lets the owner of
the phone track it down in case it’s stolen.
Here’s how
it works: An email lands in the inbox promoting a website (http://www.chorikamaal.com/) that promises
to sell ‘stolen’ mobile phones at a 90 per cent discount. By
clicking on the link, users are directed to the site, which
has a notice saying it’s out of business, and the promoters
are in jail, thanks to a bad experience with Samsung’s ‘mobile
tracker’ technology.
Users can then click (they are
taken to http://www.lossproofmobiles.com/) to learn
more about Samsung’s E250 phone. The viral campaign developed
by interactive agency Media2win, will be sent out to
registered users of samsungfunclub.com.
Vikas
Tagra, product manager at Samsung Mobile, explains, “We wanted
to create awareness about the technology and we knew that when
people saw the ‘Mobiles at 90 per cent off!’ headline, they
would be interested!” It is estimated that mobile phones worth
Rs 500 crore are stolen annually.
To time with the
launch of a related TV commercial for the product, Samsung
called for a pitch to develop the viral, and Media2win won.
The agency developed the website www.lossproofmobiles.com,
which includes a lost-and-found blog where people can share
their experiences with their lost phones or tell others if
they have found one.
Media2win then developed the
campaign further. Says Krishna Kumar, CEO of Media2win, “There
was scope for a lot more: lost phones, mobile thieves and
mobile resellers. That’s when we came up with the idea of a
website that sells stolen goods.”
The company says
it’s too early in the campaign to judge success in terms of
numbers. All the same, it shows how viral campaigns are
finding favour. Not only are they budget-friendly, virals are
the online equivalent of worth-of-mouth, as all it takes to
spread is a touch of the forward button.
Recent
examples include the ‘Arey Baba and Chalis Chor’ video, a
co-promotion for ‘KBC3’, developed by WebChutney. Brands such
as Airtel, Mircosoft, MakeMyTrip and Happydent have also
adopted the viral strategy.
Specifically, Samsung is
promoting the website through online banners. It’s also doing
a search marketing campaign and has bought 20,000 keywords to
generate a buzz. It is certainly creating a buzz, but it’s
hard to say whether mobile phone thieves have seen the
campaign that’s putting them out of business!
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