Calvin Klein: Knovolo Mobile Marketing Review

 

Introduction

Calvin Klein implemented a mobile campaign this summer with QR codes on billboards in New York and Los Angeles.
Read more

 

 

---

The Basics

Company	Calvin Klein
Date	Summer 2010
Description	This campaign used large QR codes to promote Calvin Klein jeans.
Mobile Services Provider	Ace Group
Location(s)	NY City, LA
Mobile Technologies Used	QR Code, Mobile Web, Mobile Video
Company Response	“It was very successful and you will see QR codes continue to be integrated into our upcoming campaigns,” said Jennifer Crawford, vice president of corporate communications at Calvin Klein, New York.” Jennifer Crawford: VP of corporate communications at Calvin Klein
More Information:	Mobile Marketer

 

---

Mobile Technology Rating

QR Code
	The QR codes points to a mobile-optimized site, which worked well on all of our testing devices. At this point, many marketers are smart to use QR codes, but they often direct mobile users to websites that aren’t mobile-optimized. On a side note, while the use of QR codes continues to grow, many mobile phone users (perhaps around 60% in America) don’t have phones capable of running the proper software, and they simply can’t interact with this ad. To be the most inclusive, there should also be an SMS call-to-action.
Mobile Web
	Although the mobile website is optimized for mobile, the content is lacking. There are simply two social icons and a video. It’d be nice to see some pictures of models wearing jeans (perhaps screenshots from video), and information about nearby Calvin Klein stores. However, the domain, ckj.mobi, is great the mobile.
Mobile Video
	This video played on most smartphones that we tested, but not on my T-Mobile MyTouch (Android 2.0). On other devices, it usually took a long time to load, and stopped often for buffering. There was no pause button, so you couldn’t stop it from playing and actually let it buffer.
Social Networks
	The inclusion of social network icons (Facebook and Twitter) is 100% amazing and definitely the way to go. However, these two icons don’t point to their respective CKJ social profiles, but rather they act as a “Like This” button and point to a page that prompts you to share the link. To share the link on either network, you have to already be logged in from your phone, and if you’re not logged in (or if you don’t have an account – gasp!) you can’t see anything. I’d rather click on the F icon and be taken to the Facebook profile (same thing for Twitter) whether or not I’m logged in.
Device Detection
	If you hit ckj.mobi from a computer, the Calvin Klein should recognize that you’re not on a mobile device and send you to the desktop website www.calvinklein.com. Similarly, if a mobile user ends up on www.calvinklein.com, that site should automatically redirect to the mobile site, which it doesn’t.
mCommerce
	There is a lot of opportunity here for CKJ to have used Mobile Commerce. From the mobile website, one should be able to – at the very minimum – locate the nearest CK store based on GPS or zip code. It also should be assumed that consumers might be interested in browsing through a mobile store after watching the video. As a bonus, the mobile user should be able to buy and order from the comfort of their mobile phone, just like they can do from a computer.

 

---

Final Rating

Although Calvin Klein and Ace Group did a great job with the QR Code and mobile-optimized website, the mobile video and social network buttons were troublesome, while mCommerce and device detection weren’t present at all. This mobile campaign was a start in the right direction, but is still lacking.

---