Digby in this Year’s ATC Bowl-Off
For the fourth year in a row we participated in ATC’s Bowl Off and this year was just as enjoyable as ever. After a heated bowl-off between Digby staff, in which we competed for the best score in order to join the Digby Official Team, Jason, Bryan, Mike, Dave, and Sheila prevailed as our top bowlers.
Decked out in official, classic Digby bowling shirts our team was departmentally diverse. Dave represented our exec staff as our CEO & Founder, Bryan and Jason represented sales, Sheila is our team writer, and Mike is one of our very own developers.
All in all the team was rather equally matched but the most notable moment was when Sheila rolled two strikes in the tenth frame, finishing with a score of 138…beating everyone in that round but Dave.
Forgetting my physical wallet I reflect on mobile wallets
Today I forgot my wallet. The trouble with being a woman is that it is fantastic to own more than one purse—for any occasion—and this leads to a lot of switching items from various purses. I’ve credited myself for being talented at this musical chairs-esque game, but today, for the first time, I forgot my wallet.
Walking into work, without a packed lunch in hand, realizing my wallet was left behind, I considered the possible options. I could starve. I could drive the forty-minute round trip back home to pick it up during lunch, leaving me with twenty minutes to find and eat lunch. I could go somewhere that uses Square.
Unsurprisingly, the last option is the most appealing. My debit card is saved in Square, and I’ve become very fond of the app, having used it weekly at Houndstooth, my favorite coffee shop in town. All I have to do is walk into their store and say my name at the register. No pulling out credit cards, trying to find correct cash, or even removing my cell phone from my pocket. I just walk in and say my name. And not only is the device convenient, it has lead me to get to know the staff even better. Talk about a local place.
The only trouble is that Houndstooth is near my apartment. Also a forty-minute drive. And while Square is becoming infinitely more popular in Austin, it is mostly used by food trucks, an appealing spot for lunch, but not when the sky is looking ominous and rain threatens to put a damper on a quick, outdoor lunch.
So what’s a girl to do?
It is days like these we need a really excellent mobile wallet. Not a convenient mobile payment system like Square, not a clever card saving device like Lemon, but a really, honest to goodness mobile wallet. One whose security is trusted. One that saves every last loyalty card and gift card. One that leverages the amazing, convenient location-based knowledge that Square does, allowing my card to pull up when I need it most. The question is, who is going to make it first?
Google Wallet is, as far as I can tell, leading the pack. Storing all of your cards in one place, securely, the Google Wallet requires near-field communication (NFC) and an android phone. These two caveats are unfortunately rather cumbersome hindrances. As an iPhone owner, the Google Wallet is evasive as Google Maps was during the release of iPhone 5 and while NFC is an interesting technology it is a major investment for a company to undertake and as a result, has seen little traction.
Isis is the leader in advertising. They seem to have a large ad on every other bus in the city and their commercials are frequent on cable. Also relying on NFC, and an android phone, Isis fails to have the name recognition that Google does. It, like Square, also depends on companies consciously making a decision to offer it as a payment option, making it more rare.
Lastly, Apple has taken first steps towards a mobile payment system, without making the leap to mobile payments. Passbook’s location sensitivity and loyalty emphasis makes it easy to use and especially appealing for retailers. While not technically a mobile wallet, Passbook seems to be a first place for consumers to get used to payment technology, before actually making a mobile payment.
So after one year of being the year for mobile payments, it seems the market has little to offer. I look forward to watching the mobile payment race unfold and to one day, forgetting my wallet at home, not feeling like I’m missing anything at all.
Digby Names SapientNitro As A Strategic Mobile Partner
Today we are excited to announce a strategic partnership with SapientNitro, a division of Sapient, the world’s leading integrated marketing and technology services firm. This mobile marketing partnership will allow retailers and brands to benefit from the combination of SapientNitro’s brand communications, digital engagement, and omni-channel commerce offerings and Digby’s Localpoint Mobile Platform, a powerful location-based marketing system enabling real-time mobile engagement of consumers around brick and mortar locations.
We are also pleased to announce that Cabela’s–who previously selected Localpoint in a multi-year agreement to power its location-marketing engagement strategy–is utilizing SapientNitro’s Localpoint managed services including:
- Location-marketing strategy development
- Management of Cabela’s store and other target locations with the Localpoint patented location detection and management technology
- Development of location-sensitive campaigns through Cabela’s branded mobile app
- Deep analytics and consumer behavior insights via Localpoint Analytics.
Michael Leonard, Vice President of Mobile Marketing, SapientNitro commented on the state of retail, “This past holiday season marked a fundamental shift in how consumers personally connect with brands across all experiences. The Localpoint Mobile Platform allows us to help transform the retail landscape by creating an experience for the always-on-the-go shopper. This partnership with Digby provides an opportunity to elevate the mobile and retail industry.”
David Sikora, President & CEO of Digby is looking forward to working with the agency, “We are excited about this strategic alliance with SapientNitro, a company recognized and respected on the global stage—not only in the retail industry, but across many verticals, such as consumer goods, restaurant and hospitality, where Localpoint is a natural fit. We look forward to bringing this combined managed service offering to market, making location-based marketing much more accessible and successful for marketers and brands.”
To learn more about our new partnership, please check out our press release on the subject.
Michaels Webinar: How a Killer Mobile App Can Breathe New Life Into Brick and Mortar
Earlier this week we were proud to be involved in BestFit’s webinar on Michaels’s mobile strategy. Digby’s Eric Newman, VP of Product & Marketing joined Bazaarvoice, ShopLocal and Appcelerator to discuss best practices in mobile marketing, commerce and engagement.
Paula Puleo, CMO Micahels Stores shared how Micahels’s mobile goals have been customer-centric and interestingly enough, have not included mobile commerce. After surveying their customers and learning that shoppers were interested in finding and redeeming coupons, learning about weekly deals and earning loyalty rewards, they developed a groundbreaking mobile strategy. Among their goals:
- Discover which customers are in Michaels’ stores
- Drive in store visits and sales
- Increase customer engagement and loyalty
- Track mobile to in-store purchases
Eric Newman, in speaking on behalf of Digby, focused on the benefit context through location brings to a brand’s omni-channel strategy. Through mobile, brands can discover a wealth of information on the physical world to deliver targeted engagement to brands’ customers, allowing them to send the right message to the right person at the right place and time.
To learn more about Michaels’s mobile strategy and hear more from Bazaarvoice, ShopLocal, Appcelerator, Eric and Paula, you can catch the webinar on demand on BestFit’s website.