Route 66 Harley-Davidson Revs Up with SMS Promotion

Route 66 Harley-Davidson, an Oklahoma motorbike dealership, has run its 'VIP mobile club' with SMS marketing company 7 Media since February 2011. The mobile club – which has a membership of nearly 5,000 – is used to promote the dealership's events, and sales of accessories, merchandise and servicing. Over the Christmas period in 2011, Route 66 turned to 7 Media looking to push this latter element, and the 12 Days of Christmas promotion was born.

The campaign promoted the mobile club through in-store marketing and a social media campaign – members then received daily alerts, offering a 20 per cent discount on a different item of merchandise each day.

The items promoted saw a sharp increase in sales on the relevant day – T-shirt sales went up 250 per cent, as well high-cost items, including helmets, which matched the number sold over the entire previous week – as did dealership traffic. The mobile club also saw growth, which has been sustained to market further events, contests and promotions.

“We use radio and print advertising,” says Nick Edwards, marketing manager for Route 66, “but 35 per cent of our customers come to us from mobile advertising.”