Data Capture: New generation data capture

Texting for data

Companies are increasingly using their websites to capture basic customer details, such as name, address, phone numbers and e-mail address, and also to secure an opt-in to use the customer's e-mail address and mobile phone number for future marketing communications.

The currency for doing so can include anything from free, downloadable games or ringtones, to white papers in the b2b world. The key issue is to give something in return, and when you're not giving much, to avoid asking for too much at the point of initial registration. You can always go back to these customers once you have their permission to talk to them.

When it comes to mobile phones, there are obvious limitations to the amount of data a mobile user will be prepared to enter at any one time.

Sue Parker, executive director of Mkodo, which provides an interactive messaging platform for mobile marketing agencies and clients to run their campaigns, says companies often adopt a staged approach, asking perhaps for a date of birth and postcode in the first stage of a campaign, then more details later on.

But, given the limitations of the medium for data capture, why use it at all? "Because mobile is the communications channel of choice for much of the population. It's how people want to communicate," says Parker.

Lars Becker, chairman of mobile marketing agency Flytxt, agrees: "Ideally, you would have everyone inputting data via the web, because it's digital, accurate and cheap to process. Yet we still have people on the street with clipboards, direct mail, mobile and all the other channels. Why?

Because the web has a limited audience. Not everyone is online or wants to fill in a questionnaire. With mobile phones, you can't acquire the same amount of data, but you can acquire data on more people because it's easier for consumers to interact with you via their mobile phone."

Online operations

Not so long ago, lifestyle surveys were all paper-based. Today, they are fast moving online, with websites offering consumers points, prizes or special offers in return for their demographic profiles. They all follow a similar format - driving consumers to the site in question via online ads and affiliate programs, then inviting them to relate their personal lifestyle details in return for something.

Experian offers prize-draw incentives at Thesurveyplace, its general lifestyle survey site, and CanvassOpinion, seeks a consumer's views on behalf of a specific, named brand. Consodata Acxiom has offersclick.com, while Data Locator Group's Data Locator Interactive division runs a site called Vouch4me, which uses prize-draws and vouchers as incentives.

"People are sceptical about prize-draws, so we make sure everyone who completes a survey is guaranteed a voucher that they can print off and use that night if they want," says Diana Herriott, partnership account director at Data Locator Interactive.

Interactive Prospect Trading (IPT) runs several sites, including Myoffers, Csearch, Quizplayer, Payfinder and medical site, Medictra. Chief operations officer, Martin Kiersnowski, says the company prefers prizes to points and lotteries.

"With a prize scheme the consumer can say no to everything and still get entered, so there's no reason for someone to lie in their responses," says Kiersnowski. "If you ask someone to open an e-mail to receive points, you'll get a high response but a low conversion rate."

Ebiquita is bucking this trend with its own online project. Surveys are still the endgame, but the approach is more subtle. It has created an interlinked series of about 6,000 web pages covering 1,200 subject areas - from kitchen renovation to tax and financial planning (www.planning-finances.co.uk/). The URLs are a little long-winded in some cases, but once you're in the network, there are multiple links to other pages, so consumers rarely need them. Each offers independent advice on the subject in question, with no ads, and some sites offer an invitation to register to complete a survey.

"The market was getting swamped with competitions, points, and pop-up sites. We wanted to develop something more sophisticated, that acts as the consumer's friend, and enables them to investigate a subject area without giving data if they don't want to," says Ebiquita managing director Andy Taylor. "Consumers can access the pages with no need to register - but they are registering because we are gaining their trust."

It's certainly an innovative idea, but has Ebiquita created something of a monster?

"Maybe," says Taylor, "but we have a good team around the world keeping the content fresh and meaningful because we know we can't afford to let it go stale."

Combined with its web operation, Data Locator runs lifestyle surveys via telephone, asking a combination of generic lifestyle questions and specific questions sponsored by individual clients. The project started three years ago, and Data Locator operations director Richard Webster admits its success was not taken for granted.

"We were nervous when we started that people wouldn't want to take part. But we were concerned at the reduced levels of response to printed surveys and the time-lag associated with them, so we ran a test and it proved the concept." In fact, Webster says, the data has proved extremely responsive, which - when you consider that it comes from people prepared to take part in an unsolicited telephone survey - makes a lot of sense.

Getting interactive on TV

Like mobiles, televisions don't make the best data-entry devices, but that's not preventing companies from using interactive television (iTV) as a means of data capture.

iTVcompany ZipTV has put together a consortium of 10 advertisers: Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser, BT, Orange, Masterfoods, COI, Honda, Camelot and Gillette. Later this month, the company will launch what it calls a Virtual Interactive Channel using its own satellite bandwidth leased from satellite operator SES Astra, which provides the satellite capacity for BSkyB.

Advertisers with interactive ads on Sky can take those viewers who press the red button to the ZipTV channel for a longer interaction with them.

Viewers will be invited to provide name and address details and also to answer several lifestyle questions. This data will be processed by database consultancy Alchemetrics, and statistics relating to individual campaigns - covering response rates, time spent watching the interactive element and the profile of respondents - will be pooled among consortium members, who will also get preferential rates on the ZipTV channel.

ZipTV founder Donna Barradale says the company is conscious of the problems associated with entering text via a remote control, and is doing everything it can to make it much easier for interactive users.

"We know this is a barrier and it's one of the things we are researching heavily, because we know how to make it as easy as possible for people to give us information," she says. "We are working with the BBC on developing an onscreen keyboard, all the lifestyle questions we ask will be multiple choice with drop-down menus, and we will keep it short and sweet."

As with mobile communications, it's tempting to ask 'why bother?' when there are easier ways to capture data. "If you use the power of TV, it can be a fantastic branding tool, and it gives you the opportunity to reach millions of people," says Barradale. "Sky is present in nearly one-third of UK homes and the profile of the Sky viewer is more active and affluent than the average viewer. This is very exciting for advertisers."

At Pressred TV, the company's BlackBox designer tool for creating interactive ads is now available online to agencies. The agencies simply populate one of several Sky-approved templates with the relevant text and graphics, save it to Presssred's server and submit it to Sky. The tool has been available online since November 2003 when Sky decided to open up content creation for interactive ads. "It means agencies can be directly involved in creating the content for their interactive campaigns and they can also preview the interactive components of their campaign before it goes live," says Pressred chief executive officer Chris Moreton.

"So, if there is a data capture element agencies can try it out and make sure it is not too hard, or doesn't take too long to complete."

CASE STUDY: GOSSARD

Mobile may not be the most obvious way to build a database, but wireless agency Flytxt proved it can be done with a campaign for Gossard.

The campaign, created by Gossard's retained communications agency WARL, involved TV, press, online and SMS, with Flytxt handling the SMS element.

It was designed to eliminate sexist imagery around the G-string, and also to build an opt-in SMS database, with detailed demographic information about Gossard's customers.

The main TV ad was followed by a 10-second version, which invited viewers to text the letters 'G4me' to a five-digit short code to receive a £1 money-off voucher, redeemable against the Gossard G-string range.

Customers who sent in a text received a bounce-back text from Gossard asking for their name, address and postcode to receive the voucher. When the voucher was sent, it was accompanied by a questionnaire seeking more detailed information about the respondent.

As a result of the campaign, Gossard has built what it calls a "significant" database of opt-in mobile numbers, complete with detailed demographics.

Response to the ad was via SMS and came from 1.5 per cent of the TV audience. Of these, 70 per cent responded to the bounce-back message with their name, address and post-code details.

"The campaign was so successful that we hit our half-year sales target in just six weeks," says Gossard marketing director Shaeren McKenzie.

TOP TIPS ON ... DATA CAPTURE

1. Set up systems to capture customer data across all the customer's touchpoints, from the call centre to the website.

2. Don't expect something for nothing. If you want customers to tell you more about themselves, you have to give them something in return - whether this is advice, money-off, or something tangible.

3. Respect the limitations of the medium in which you are working. Don't expect consumers to spend half-an-hour answering a detailed survey as part of an interactive television ad or a mobile campaign.

4. By law, you must seek consumers' permission to contact them by e-mail or SMS for marketing purposes via a positive opt-in. Read the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations and the Guidance Notes published by the Information Commissioner on www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

5. When you collect customer data, make it absolutely clear what you intend to do with it to those registering their details and offer separate opt-outs/opt-ins for using the data for your own or other marketing purposes.