In our latest SMS marketing showdown, we compare two American sports and footwear companies: Champs Sports and Foot Locker. These brands specialize in providing the latest footwear, sports gear, and activewear. You can see an archive of the messages each company has sent on SMS Archives, the first and only search engine for SMS marketing. In our SMS Marketing Showdown series, we compare similar brands’ text messaging strategies in similar industries. In the past, we’ve covered the home and garden showdown: Lowe’s vs. Home Depot, with many more fun showdowns to come!
Champs Sports vs. Foot Locker: Similarities
Before we check out what these brands do differently, let’s examine the text message similarities between these two footwear retail brands.
Similarity #1: Both Brands Use SMS To Increase App Downloads and Awareness
As you can see in the example above, both Champs Sports and Foot Locker use their SMS marketing alerts to inform subscribers about their app. Promoting an app via SMS is an effective strategy to increase downloads and awareness of your app. Including a clear and concise message with a clickable link gives your subscribers an easy way to download your app.
Similarity #2: Both Brands Use SMS Alerts to Promote New Arrivals
Another thing the Champs Sports and Foot Locker text messaging strategies have in common is that they both use their SMS alerts to update subscribers on new arrivals. In the example above, both brands send an SMS alert about a specific new arrival, with information about the product and a link to the website to view the product.
Similarity #3: Both Brands Use Similar Placement for Link and Call to Action
A third commonality we noticed between the two brands is the placement of the link and call-to-action within the SMS message. In the examples above, both brands place the relevant promotional link and call-to-action at the end of the message. The call-to-action should always be clear within the SMS message. This is why some brands use the techniques shown in the examples above. The brands separate the link and the main SMS message body with a line space or two. Also, note that both brands use link shorteners instead of displaying the full URL. Even though consumers are more familiar with the brands’ URLs, every character counts since SMS messages are limited to 160 characters.
Champs Sports vs. Foot Locker: Differences
Now that we’ve covered the similarities, let’s take a look at two big differences we’ve noticed between Champs Sports and Foot Locker text messages.
Difference #1: Each Brand Uses A Different Type of Coupon and Message
As you can see above, Champs Sports and Foot Locker send different types of text marketing messages. Champs Sports sends some MMS messages, while Foot Locker almost exclusively sends SMS messages. In the example above, Champs Sports created a compelling SMS message including a specific MMS coupon and information about the offer.
MMS messaging offers a wider variety of messaging features than SMS messaging. The functionality of MMS increases the character limit and allows a brand to include a subject line and add media content such as photos or videos. SMS marketing is a very effective strategy to increase revenue and engage with subscribers, but with MMS marketing, a brand can use more features to capture subscribers’ attention and interest.
Want more retail MMS examples? Check out these great MMS marketing examples from women’s clothing retailer Avenue: 31 Fabulous MMS Marketing Examples From Avenue.
Difference #2: Each Brand Includes Its Name Differently at the Beginning of the Message
Another noticeable difference is that both brands begin each message by stating the name of the SMS program but execute it differently. Champs Sports states their brand name, “CHAMPS SPORTS” while Foot Locker states, “FTL Alerts.” In SMS marketing, it’s a good practice to let the recipient know who is sending them a text message. Some subscribers may receive SMS marketing messages from multiple brands, so it’s important to consider this strategy when sending SMS marketing messages. As you can see from the example above, Foot Locker uses an acronym for their name, which can also help save character space within the message.
See More Text Messages from Champs Sports and Foot Locker
Sign up for Champs Sports text messages for the latest shoe arrivals.
Sign up for Foot Locker’s text message program for the latest Foot Locker deal updates.
Did you enjoy this showdown? Leave a comment and tell us what other brands we should compare!
