Bank uses text messages to support sponsorship activity

MEDIA & MARKETING:VOTING CLOSES tomorrow in one of the largest text marketing campaigns conducted in Ireland. In a scheme organised by AIB bank, an estimated 175,000 people have used their mobiles to "vote" on which children's charity should receive money from the bank's Better Ireland programme.

Since 2001, charities in the areas of drug and alcohol abuse, education and poverty have received €16 million from AIB. All very worthy, but it would seem that the marketing benefits were not being maximised, as AIB branches around the country didn't always have charities in their area that fitted the award criteria. A new strategy was created for 2008 whereby each of AIB's 185 branches around the State would be given €10,000 to award to a charity in their community. In February, AIB invited charities to throw their hat in the ring for the opportunity to receive a €10,000 award. Of the 1,300 applicants, 550 charities were then allocated across each branch in the bank network.

The idea is that each branch has three nominated charities. Customers of the branch, or anyone in the locality, then vote for their favoured recipient. The charity that gets the most text messages wins.

AIB enlisted digital marketing firm Púca to set up and manage the text campaign. The text campaign was supported in branches with leaflets and posters and AIB supplied the shortlisted charities with marketing support kits to help them to canvass support.

The challenge in a marketing exercise like this is to get "buy in" from the local branch managers and some branches, at least in Dublin, seem to have limited their engagement to just placing pocket brochures in stands on the cashier countertops.

While there can only be one winning charity for each branch, the runners up will receive the proceeds of the text votes they received, which will work out at 23 cent per vote. According to the bank, the promotion got the best response from the public in Donegal, Cork and Kerry. The Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority does not permit text campaigns for financial products but the bank intends to go down the text message route again to support its community sponsorship activity.

• • •

Polish people living in Ireland are to be targeted with three special editions of Fakt, the largest selling newspaper in Poland, to coincide with the country's three pool games in the Euro 2008 football championship which starts on Saturday. Fakt, which has a daily circulation of more than 500,000 in Poland, will publish its three special Irish editions on Saturday, June 7th, Wednesday, June 11th and Saturday, June 14th.

Targeting Poles has been a challenge for RTÉ, according to commercial director Geraldine O'Leary. In the absence of Ireland and England in this year's championships, O'Leary and her sales team tried to drum up extra interest from advertisers by putting together special airtime packages around the games featuring Poland, Italy, Spain and Portugal. "Take-up has been disappointing so far," she said.

• • •

Ad agency group Omnicom Media is expanding its presence in Ireland with the establishment of a new media agency PHD which will operate alongside its existing media-buying agency OMD Ireland. Both companies will answer to the newly-formed Omnicom Media Group Ireland which will be led by chief executive Dave Harland.