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Kuffer Marketing GmbH recently announced that its iPhone mobile coupon app, dubbed “Gutscheinbuk” or “Voucher Book, was downloaded 50,000 times in the first three days after launch — or an average of once every 15 sec.  In no time at all, the app rose to become one of the Top 5 apps for Germany in the Apple App Store.

To be fair, “Voucher Book” was already a wildly popular coupon-based Website in Germany that offered a simplistic approach to offering money-off coupons, but its mobile success is still worth mention.  The site had been around for the past four years and currently boasts over 7,500 active coupons that are now available via its iPhone app.

The simplistic nature of the app both from a retailer’s point-of-view and the end-user is what’s helped catapult the app to the top.  A retailer that uses Voucher Book can manage its own coupons using a variety of metrics –- selecting distinct offers to be sent at different times of day, or in different cities for example.  As a user, you can simply open the app and select what kind of voucher you’re interested in and Voucher Book delivers anything that’s useable within a short distance of them.

Overall, the app’s success is a boon to mobile coupons in general, which are just now starting to catch on in a big way.  Whether it’s a traditional method like Voucher Book or the “Groupon” model, mobile coupons are here to stay.

The success of the app points to a larger trend. Apps that seem to have the most success tend to be mobile extensions of user’s favorite websites, ostensibly making them a CRM channel.

Fresh on the heels of yesterday’s launch of location-based mobile discounts app Shopkick, yet another geo-targeted mobile shopping service prepares its own take on mobile couponing and promotions. But don’t worry – you can breathe a sigh of relief – it’s not yet another iPhone app to download.

Instead, the new “ShopAlerts” service is actually a white-label platform that allows retailers and other businesses to send location-triggered mobile text messages to consumers who’ve opted in to receive them. Read Full article

Tetherball, an industry leader in mobile loyalty and rewards solutions, and Star Chasers Oklahoma, today announced the launch of the mobile rewards program for Carl’s Jr. Oklahoma stores. The charbroiled burger chain has chosen Tetherball’s mobile marketing solution to connect with customers and make it even easier for them to get great offers.

“We see mobile marketing as a functional and complementary solution that we’ve been able to easily integrate with our existing marketing and advertising programs, thanks to the great help we’ve gotten from Tetherball,” says Troy Beats, vice president of Marketing/Operations for Star Chasers Oklahoma, Inc., franchisee of 39 Carl’s Jr. locations. “This new medium allows us to reach a broad range of customers well beyond our loyal base of core ‘young hungry-guy’ customers. Most people today, young and old, are using their mobile phones for just about everything, especially when they are out and about and thinking of where to eat.”

The Carl’s Jr. Mobile Rewards program is up and running in 37 Oklahoma locations and two Northern Texas locations – and has seen redemption rates as high as 39 percent. Customers opting into the program receive, on average, one text coupon offer per week. Text offers include special promotional codes within the message that allow stores to keep track of redemptions via their point-of-sale systems.

“Tetherball’s experience in the fast-food industry has been paramount in the successful deployment of our mobile loyalty program,” Beats says. “Starting something new and unknown can be daunting; however, it has been reassuring to go through the process with Tetherball in our corner. Tetherball provides a full-service approach –

not only supplying the mobile connectivity and managing the technical aspects of the program – but also assisting in the marketing and implementation. They’ve provided expert guidance in membership acquisition, employee communications, and engagement, offer selection and scripting, as well as detailed reporting using Tetherball’s Mobiquitous reporting platform.”

“Combining our in-depth experience managing mobile rewards programs with a brand eager to expand into mobile has proved to be a winning combination,” says Scott Yancey, founder and CEO of Tetherball. “We’re all very excited about the partnership and expect we’ll continue to see great results for all stakeholders.”