Texas Roadhouse and Vibes Sizzle Up Successful Mobile Marketing Campaigns

CHICAGO, Feb. 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Vibes, a mobile marketing and technology leader, partnered with Texas Roadhouse this past year for two successful pilot mobile campaigns – TextUs Loyalty Club and Veterans Day Passbook, which provided increased customer engagement. The pilot mobile promotions provide new and innovative ways the brand can connect directly with its valued guests on both a local and national level, while delivering actionable results.

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"Mobile provides another way for us to communicate and engage with our guests," said Dave Dodson, communications director at Texas Roadhouse. "Through our first pilot program, we have been able to strengthen an already strong community presence, help our guests select their preferred Texas Roadhouse location and, most importantly, connect with them on a local level."

TextUs Loyalty Club
In June 2012, Texas Roadhouse partnered with Vibes to launch its pilot mobile loyalty club – TextUs Loyalty Club – in 20 locations. The TextUs Loyalty Club is the first mobile loyalty program for the Louisville, Ky.-based company, and Texas Roadhouse used in-restaurant calls-to-action to drive opt-ins on a local level for the pilot locations across two markets. This allowed local Texas Roadhouse restaurants to communicate their unique promotions while still being able to focus on the national brand.

Once diners opted-in to the club, they received a welcome message with a free appetizer offer. Diners were given the option to visit a Web form to sign up to receive additional birthday and anniversary offers. Texas Roadhouse promoted the campaign throughout the restaurant, as well as email and Facebook. By creating a multichannel experience for customers, Texas Roadhouse leveraged Vibes' mobile relationship management approach, which seeks to create immediate and long-lasting customer relationships by infusing mobile experiences both online and offline, to drive deeper brand engagement and loyalty.

The TextUs Loyalty Club achieved a 45 percent net growth rate during its first six months, a 17 percent average offer redemption rate, and 4 percent of promotional sales driven via mobile. 

Veterans Day Passbook
In November 2012, Texas Roadhouse partnered with Vibes to be one of the first to market with Vibes' Passbook solution for the restaurant's Veterans Day Pass, which offered a free lunch to veterans and active military. By leveraging Vibes' Passbook solution, Texas Roadhouse was able to distribute offers in its pilot locations based on mobile subscriber proximity to a particular Texas Roadhouse restaurant. Texas Roadhouse leveraged Passbook by sending a reminder to customers who installed the pass, as well as those who were within proximity to one of the 20 pilot locations. Not only did these mobile passes provide Texas Roadhouse with the opportunity to share its offer with local veterans, but it also provided a channel through which the company could – on a large scale – demonstrate gratitude to the men and women who have served in the armed forces.

The Veterans Day Passbook initiative generated a 37 percent pass installation rate, with 32 percent of users who clicked through redeeming the offer for lunch; 84 percent reported going to lunch because of the offer.

"Texas Roadhouse turned to mobile because of the device's inherent nature to foster strong and personal relationships," said Jack Philbin, Vibes co-founder and CEO. "Smart casual-dining restaurants such as Texas Roadhouse know that diners are visiting their establishments with their mobile devices, providing brands immediate opportunities to start a dialogue with them. By leveraging Vibes' Passbook solution and mobile relationship management approach, casual-dining restaurants can create mobile marketing campaigns that drive traffic, produce repeat diners, increase customer engagement and establish strong brand awareness – long after diners finish their meals."

About Vibes
Founded in 1998, Vibes is a mobile marketing and technology leader that helps some of the world's biggest brands acquire, engage and deepen relationships throughout the customer lifecycle. Vibes' Catapult platform enables brands, agencies and media companies to launch a wide range of mobile solutions from SMS, to MMS, QR Codes, on-screen, alerts, mobile Web, mobile incentives and integration with social platforms. Using Vibes' Mobile Relationship Management (MRM) approach, companies forge immediate and long-lasting customer relationships by tapping into the uniquely personal nature of the mobile phone. The Company has delivered billions of mobile experiences on behalf of customers that include Verizon, Allstate, The Gap, Tribune, Fox, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Gannett and the Chicago Bulls. Vibes is one of only nine Tier 1 aggregators with secure, direct connections to all the major carriers. To learn more about Vibes, visit www.vibes.com or connect on Facebook.com/VibesMedia or Twitter.com/Vibes_Media.

About Texas Roadhouse
Based in Louisville, Kentucky, with more than 390 locations in 48 states, Texas Roadhouse opened its doors in 1993. The Louisville, KY based company is famous for hand-cut steaks, made-from-scratch sides, fresh-baked bread, and its lively atmosphere. In 2012 Texas Roadhouse was named Top Steakhouse in the Nation's Restaurant News' Consumer Picks survey, in 2007 and 2008 Forbes magazine ranked the company as one of the 200 Best Small Companies and in 2009 the company was ranked "Best Value" by readers of Consumer Reports magazine. For more information, visit www.texasroadhouse.com.

SOURCE Vibes