BB&B Tests Mobile Link in Email: Have You?

October 24th, 2008

Retail email item: On August 27, Bed Bath & Beyond sent out a campaign that included a dedicated link for people who opened the message on their mobile phones. As part of my job of keeping an eye on as much of the email universe as possible, I signed up for a few BB&B segments – but not every single one of them – while registering at the site a number of months ago.

And according to my records, this was the first time the brand included the link for mobile readers in a campaign. To be fair, they might have tested it before on a segment that I did not opt into during the preference center phase of signup. At any rate, it was a pleasant sign that perhaps retailers are starting to understand that addressing on-the-go consumers is part of their messaging future.

Right next to BB&B’s “View in a browser” link at the top of the message appeared the clickable copy “View on mobile device”. People who clicked through were taken to a copy-only message with various links that could be tapped to address the offers. (The email campaign was titled “Reinvent Your Bedroom” and featured bedroom décor products.)

Well, I pinged the PR department at BB&B to see if we could talk shop about email, and, in a nutshell, they were uninterested in conversing about any form of business strategy. That was too bad because the email community needs to be educated about whether or not, at this juncture in the mobile movement, such a link can help a campaign’s bottom line.

For what it is worth, in the last message I received from them on Sept. 18, they were still employing the link in their design template….

So, here’s a blatant call-for-pitches from a reporter: Have you tested a mobile-dedicated link? If so, please email me at chrish(at)marketingsherpa(dotcom).

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