CTIA's best consumer messaging application: Cellfire
Cellfire walked away with the Best Consumer Messaging Application Award at the CTIA E-TECH Awards. Good news. Cellfire are doing wicked things with mobile coupons. They’re not just selling the technology, no sir, they’re actually implementing the whole thing. If, for example, you’d like $2 off your next Supercuts haircut, you can text right now and get that coupon on your mobile. Or get a free Quiznos Sub. Or a free cookie/coke from Subway. There are just TONS of cool deals.
Here’s how it works:
It’s particularly neat, the way they’ve implemented it. Download the app and it’s sat there on your phone ready when you’re hunting for a deal. Flick through to find something that takes your fancy and simply show the code at the checkout. Nice.
It’s a pretty straight forward, compelling concept for consumers. The big challenge for Cellfire is persuading consumers to install the service on their handsets in the first place. I doubt many people would object to it, particularly in America, based on the huge coupon-culture here. More people have mobiles than PCs in the States (243 million mobile users, according to Cellfire’s recent blog on mobile grocery coupons. Going to the operators and having them offer the service to their subscribers is a sensible customer acquisition method — one that Cellfire are most certainly pursuing (they just recently signed Cincinnati Bell Wireless).
Deploying applications to hands is always an experience fraught with total arse. However Cellfire have implemented a nice and sensible 1-2-3 easy install approach that should be easily understood by most.
It’s also a straight forward offering for their business to business customers — those who’re actually offering coupons via Cellfire. You get your product/service in front of an audience of potential customers who are (one imagines) keen to act on any incentives you provide. It looks like Cellfire will continue their story of success well into the foreseeable future.
Congratulations to the Cellfire team on the award!
Runners up: Reply with Jott for Blackberry (2nd place) and SnapNow Mobile Visual Search (3rd place).
