Cracking offers from Roadchef

A couple of weeks back I wrote about Roadchef and its mobile marketing efforts with a text-based loyalty scheme. Well, I've joined up and have received a couple of messages since I signed up and here they are:

Reply path: 447786201349 | Received 4/7/07 at 14:59
Roadchef: Have a FREE KitKat 4 finger (std or dark). Quote code 5798206 to Retail Store cashier at till. Valid to 17/07/2007. Reply STOP for no more offers.

Reply path: 447786201349 | Received 22/06/07 11:00
Roadchef: Have a FREE 500ml Coke or Diet Coke on us. Quote code 8666734 to Retail Store cashier when paying. Valid to 05/07/2007. Reply STOP for no more offers.

Do offers like these really work when the value of the freebie is so small? I wonder how many customers are really going to make the effort to quote the offer code (why couldn't it have been KIT01 for example?) at all for the sake of saving 50p on a bar of chocolate. Is this really 'loyalty'?

Looking at the positive, they do have a reply path and you are able to unsubscribe from getting more offers which is a good thing.

However, judging by Roadchef's website, it looks to me like marketing isn't necessarily their thing - not least, as they're not even promoting the SMS loyalty campaign on the website. In fact, there isn't even a news section. So they seem to be new to this consumer marketing lark and are taking baby steps. But unless they really go for it, I can't see the scheme working and they'll be giving up before they've even begun.

Any loyalty scheme afficionados out there want to add their 2p?

A couple of offers from the folks at Spinvox

I've been a big fan and customer of Spinvox (the visual voicemail people - i.e. the service where your voicemail messages get turned into text messages) pretty much since they launched here in the UK. Well the good news for my Stateside readers is that they've launched their visual voicemail service in the US too. And even better, they're giving away a limited number of free US voicemail accounts valid for one year and guaranteed no spam (I don't know how many are up for grabs, so best be quick if you're interested as they can stop the offer at any time).

So how do you get your mits on one of these accounts then? Well all you have to do is Click on this link to indicate that you are in fact in the United States and then fill out the form. To get the free one year account, you need the 'golden key'... which is where you need to put 'technokitten' in the Company field. If you don't put 'technokitten' in there, you won't get a free account. If you don't do this, you'll just get the free trial rather than a one-year account. You have been warned!

And if that's not enough, Spinvox has also launched their Spin-my-blog service which offers bloggers the opportunity to call in with their blog posts and they automatically get transcripted and posted to your blog. I'm going to be trying this out myself as it seems a really cool idea and a good way to blog when you're out and about. And what's more, they've got some free blog accounts for my readers too. If you're in the UK, then you can click on this link.

If you're in the UK, you'll automatically be set up with a Spin-My-Blog number and then all you have to do is save the numberon your phone and save or remember your PIN and call the number issued whenever you want to use the service. If you're in the US, then Spinvox will be in touch with you to set it up. It looks like the service should also work in Germany, France, Spain and Canada.