Bastian Lehmann, global account manager at 12snap, says: “With just a few clicks, people can access the latest World Cup results and download specially designed football services and content, such as games, video clips, and competitions.”

Lufthansa, as the official partner of the German Soccer Association (DFB) and of champion club FC Bayern Munich (FCB), is in the ideal position to offer this kind of service. The mobile portal is part of the Lufthansa – Partner of Football campaign, which also includes a dedicated website.

Lehmann says the mobile portal is available to both Lufthansa customers and to people who happen to come across an advert for the airline. “To enter the portal, you answer a simple question that appears in the advert – it’s a hook to get people to enter the portal. In return, you receive a link on your phone that takes you to a football quiz, and to the rest of the content and services on the portal.”

The portal was launched at the beginning of May and the news about the initiative has already reached more than 800,000 people, mainly through the Lufthansa newsletter and the onboard Lufthansa magazine. “Lufthansa is very satisfied with the service,” Lehmann says, adding that it is too soon to comment on feedback from users.

Lehmann says mobile marketing has generated a lot of interest from companies in the last couple of years. Some of the best-known brands in the world are on 12snap’s client list – including Adidas, Vodafone, and McDonald’s – and the company has an ongoing working relationship with them, as well as with many other brands.

“It’s really hard to reach consumers these days – people are always on the move and trends change fast,” Lehmann says. “I believe the best way to reach your consumers is to target the mobile phone, because that’s the one communication device people carry with them all the time.”

Lehmann says mobile marketing has many exciting possibilities. One of the more recent applications 12snap has created for one of its customers is the FunCam. The FunCam allows users to take photos with their mobile camera in a creative way, using different kinds of filters to spice up their pictures.

Lehmann explains: “For example, you want to take a picture of your friend, but you decide to add a filter to make it more fun. You add a filter of a Disney character, such as Shrek, to the viewfinder and take the picture. What you get is a picture of your friend standing next to Shrek. In your mobile phone, you will have a few different filters of Shrek – Shrek covered in mud, Shrek kissing, and so on. The options for taking fun photos are endless.

“When you watch a TV advert, there’s no opportunity to interact with it,” Lehmann says. “But if you participate in an ad campaign and receive something in return, such as a FunCam, you will probably remember the campaign long after it has gone.”

Lehmann believes user-generated content, such as the FunCam, is something we will see more of in the future. Another trend he sees emerging is the opportunity to personalize mobile content.

“You have to give consumers the option of personalizing what you want them to buy,” he says. “We have, for instance, personalized customers’ wallpaper by adding their name to it. Needless to say, that makes the wallpaper much more attractive to them.”

Lehmann has no doubt that mobile marketing is the way of the future and encourages more companies to reach out to their consumers in this way.

“It’s the most personal way to communicate with your customers, and the best thing about it is that you get instant feedback from them,” he says. “This kind of interaction is not possible through print and TV advertising.”

Torunn Hansen-Tangen