It’s this expansion that Airship is most excited about. A new generic pass type opens up more use cases for brands to engage their customers with simple and seamless mobile experiences. Businesses must also make preparations for the Pay-to-Wallet name change, so read on to learn more.

The Big Picture
“Generic” anything doesn’t normally inspire, nor does it scream opportunity, but it does now! Google Wallet and Apple Wallet are now at parity for the types of mobile wallet pass experiences that can be supported. That’s a massive consideration for businesses that want to offer consistent, streamlined experiences across platforms, without care (or focus) for whether customers are using an Android or iPhone device. 

Additionally, mobile wallet and contactless payment adoption soared during the pandemic. A recent survey found that contactless payments increased for 69% of retailers. This set of use cases was rather small, but extremely desired. Necessity breeds innovation, but in the digital age, innovation quickly becomes expected and establishes the new normal. Consider it took mere months into the pandemic’s onset for consumer preference for Buy-Online-Pickup-In-Store (BOPIS) to switch from the value of safety to one of convenience, per McKinsey. Similarly, mobile wallet use cases beyond the POS are set to explode. Businesses will reap benefits by having a direct line to their customers while also driving more users into the app experience.  

Generic Means Adaptable
Previously, Google Wallet (er, GPay) offered seven pass types: loyalty card, offer, gift card, event ticket, transit ticket, boarding pass and vaccine card. All came with use-case specific fields and features.

Generic passes allow you to offer new mobile wallet experiences that don’t fit neatly into those use cases. Some of those may include:

• Membership cards (gym, library, club, etc.)
• Parking passes
• Stored value vouchers for redemption
• Driver insurance cards
• Reservations of various kinds

While generic pass types open up a wide variety of use cases, it’s more important to think about the customer experience and how you can streamline it. With Google Wallet and Apple Wallet there’s no app to download or website to visit, and the experience can be made almost automatic as passes are location-aware and can notify users in different scenarios. 

For consumers, the mobile wallet offers extremely convenient access to a brand’s loyalty or membership cards. Wallet passes can also have a huge impact on driving app adoption for a brand’s most loyal customers if used properly. Marketers can include a link to download the app on the front and back of the pass, and incentivize installs with app exclusives, loyalty points or discounts. Apps can also recognize that a user has the brand’s pass in their wallet, and provide a cohesive loyalty experience with dynamic updates across both app and wallet experiences with incentives to keep them coming back to the app.

As brands continue to think about how their mobile experience can work in conjunction with their in-store experience, mobile wallets help in blending the two experiences by allowing brands to reward users for visiting a store or redeeming loyalty points via the app with an in-store purchase.

A Rose by Any Other Name Would Smell as Sweet
Android users are now starting to see the Google Wallet app update available for download. Brands that are using Google’s “Add to GPay” buttons will be expected to update to the new “Add to Google Wallet” buttons, across apps, websites, social networks and advertisements. No deadline date has been provided for this yet, but it is expected that all brands will need to follow these guidelines in order to keep their pass programs in compliance with Google Wallet brand guidelines.

Only Airship supports all pass types across Google and Apple. With Airship’s patented Adaptive Link technology, we’ve made it extremely easy — the only thing required by a brand is to add a single link to buttons or other distribution points (in-store QR codes, email, SMS, social, advertisements). Airship’s technology will auto-detect whether to serve a Google Wallet or Apple Wallet pass, and can automatically pull in customer information to both distribute and personalize the pass. This can include an external ID for connection to CRM, custom coupon codes, expiration date, user information and location. All of this information can be displayed on the pass for identification purposes. Tags can also be applied to passes to allow for audience segmentation, querying or applying dynamic pass updates in a streamlined way.

For more information, please visit Google’s provided Brand Guidelines & Assets, or contact us to learn how you can make the most of this contactless technology.

The post Google Revolutionizes the Mobile Wallet Experience for Android appeared first on Airship.

Order Confirmation

Personalized SMS and email messages are no-brainers for order confirmations and pickup details. But if you want to build a next level experience, try delivering personalized Mobile Wallet passes via email or SMS. Wallet passes make it easier for customers to keep track of their orders. And they tend to hang onto those passes, giving you another way to stay engaged! You’ll also want to encourage app downloads and opt-ins so that customers can take advantage of BOPIS 2.0 features like arrival detection and live in-app chat.

Pre-Pickup

Next, leverage location to create a more seamless pickup experience for customers and staff with Airship’s integration with Radar. Radar’s trip tracking functionality lets you track an order and a trip to a store for order-ahead and send events to Airship when a customer is on the way, approaching and arriving. With Airship, those events can be used in real-time to trigger personalized messages that provide incredible value to both customers and brands. 

For example, when a customer is close to a store, send an automated push notification with pickup information. Or launch a Live Chat opportunity with an agent who can help answer questions and provide details about the order or pickup process. Plus, these events are surfaced in existing in-store systems or a turnkey Radar dashboard, enabling staff to start prepping the order at the right time, cutting down on wait times and improving CX. 

On-premise

Once a customer arrives, whether they’re collecting a BOPIS order or just browsing, use geofencing to drive on-premise Mobile App and Mobile Wallet engagement. Send a personalized SMS message to encourage them to download your app or sign up for your loyalty program. Target push notifications with special offers, loyalty features and information that drives more app opens. Or use purchase history to upsell or add on products during order fulfillment.

Post-Pickup

The post-pickup period offers a wealth of often underutilized opportunities to engage and upsell. Improve CX through helpful follow up messaging with assembly instructions or prep details. Use in-app, SMS and email driven surveys to understand customer sentiment. Create a lasting connection by updating Mobile Wallet passes with coupons and offers after orders are picked up. And drive continuous engagement by orchestrating personalized post-purchase Airship Journeys to upsell, cross sell and drive repeat purchases. 

With Airship’s customer engagement platform and Radar’s location solutions, you can create seamless end-to-end experiences that customers love, driving store traffic, building long-term relationships and more. To learn more about how Airship can help power a winning BOPIS experience for your brand, contact us today!

LET’S CONNECT

Want to Build Better BOPIS Experiences?

Contact us today!

The post How to Build Better BOPIS Experiences with Airship + Radar appeared first on Airship.

Vaccine passports on mobile devices have become an important topic in New York and around the world. While New York state and Israel have already developed a vaccine passport, the European Union, the United Kingdom and Japan are reportedly considering making their own.

New York City, like many others locations around the world, experiences broad-reaching benefits of tourism, and with summer months coming, it may be wondering how the state’s Excelsior Pass is going to work since the vaccine passport is a brand-new concept. If people hope that Excelsior will lift the local economy, they’ll be happy to know that shifting consumer behavior in recent years toward mobile wallets indicates such passports can be an all-around success.

The travel industry offers a mobile-minded guide for how vaccine passports can enable in-person experiences. Two years ago, 21% of Americans had an airline app on their phone, and 1.5 billion digital boarding passes were used. What’s more, around 2 million Americans used the Transportation Security Administration PreCheck every day in 2019.

The vaccine passport will be similar to the digital boarding pass and TSA PreCheck experience, centering on a scannable QR code that verifies the individual has been vaccinated or has recently tested negative for Covid-19. With mobile wallet usage established in the marketplace, significant adoption should follow.

Why It’s Secure

For New Yorkers, it’s worth noting that the Excelsior Pass can now be stored in Apple Wallet for iPhone users or Google Wallet for Android devotees. A vaccine passport that’s stored in a mobile wallet is easily accessible and will not require Wi-Fi or a cellular connection to use it.

Mobile wallets are tied to a user’s Apple or Google ID, so they will only be accessible by the owner of the phone with a security code or biometrics login. While vaccination data is medical and private, more and more people entrust their mobile wallets with sensitive information, including credit and debit cards—contactless mobile payments grew 29% in 2020. Storing vaccine passports in mobile wallets isn’t a big leap when you consider their importance in more quickly returning our lives and the economy to normal.

Getting Better

Government and health care providers might have been better served by skipping the dedicated app altogether and going straight to mobile wallet for the broadest possible adoption. Instead of asking people to download an app, enter their information and find their pass, they could have just sent a single link via email or SMS immediately on administering the first dose, enabling citizens to add a personalized pass to Apple Wallet or Google Pay with a couple of taps.

And that pass could be updated automatically by the issuer over time with no manual app update required. Mobile wallets are just that handy, which is something government and health care leaders should keep in mind for future digital needs of this scale.

Prepare for the Future

Want to learn more about how you can use mobile wallet?

Contact us today!

The post Why Mobile Wallets Can Make Vaccine Passports a New York Success appeared first on Airship.

Now Alaska Airlines is leveraging its mobile leadership to create safer, touch-free travel experiences. Learn how in this article originally published on the Alaska Airlines blog.

More Convenience — Less Contact! Alaska Airlines is Making Travel Almost Entirely Touch-Free

With hygiene and safety concerns top of mind, we’ve made it easy for your travels to be almost entirely touch-free.

With the Alaska mobile app, you can check in for your flight, generate a mobile boarding pass and so much more. Plus, our improved technology will soon allow us to scan boarding passes up to six feet apart, print bag tags without touching the check-in kiosk and purchase food and beverages on board using your stored payment preference.

>> Learn more about how Airship powers mobile wallet boarding passes

See what’s in the works to make your journey more convenient and touch-free:

Pre-Order Meals & Store Payment For Touch-Free Purchase in the Air

Great trips call for great planning! Now available in First Class on select flights over 2 hours—and coming soon to Premium Class and Main Cabin—guests can pre-order meals on flights (that have them) beforehand using the Alaska app or at alaskaair.com. You can also store your payment preference using your Alaska Airlines account so when it comes time to pay for your meal in the air, you can do so touch-free.

Unfortunately, our food & beverage service is still limited to reduce the interactions between our flight crews and guests. So your foodie favorites may not be there but hopefully will be back soon!  

Print Bag Tags Without Touching the Check-In Kiosk

Soon, you will be able to print your bag tags by simply scanning your boarding pass (mobile or printed at home) at one of our kiosks. Here’s how it works: Once you pay for your baggage fee(s) using the Alaska mobile app or online, you can simply walk up to our kiosk at the airport, scan your boarding pass and your tags will be printed from the kiosk where you can safely grab the tag from the machine to place it onto your bag(s). You can also print your bag tags from home if that’s easier or ask one of our agents for assistance.

Unfortunately, our food & beverage service is still limited to reduce the interactions between our flight crews and guests. So your foodie favorites may not be there but hopefully will be back soon!  

Scan Boarding Passes From a Distance 

Currently, our agents are able to scan guests’ boarding passes using a mobile tablet or scanner while boarding. To help create more distance between guests, we’re providing our agents with the ability to scan a boarding pass from six feet away—if the conditions are just right.

To scan from that far away, the boarding area will need to have good lighting and the barcodes need to be printed clearly. While we can’t achieve this laser-focus every time, our agents are working hard to “mind their wingspan” and taking every measure to keep our guests safe.

Get a Text or Email Instead of Paper

Coming soon to an airport near you will be a messaging tool that our customer service agents will use — to avoid printing & handling boarding passes or receipts — that is capable of sending you a text message that includes all of your travel information with a link to your boarding pass, gate and seat assignment.

Agents can also email any receipts, such as bag fees, if needed.

>> SMS is a quick and powerful way to communicate with customers who don’t have your app. Learn more about Airship’s SMS solutions.

Touch-free Check-in, Mobile Boarding Pass, Prepaid Bags

The Alaska mobile app is still the single best tool to limit contact while traveling. You can make sure your trip is as smooth as possible every step of the way by using it to check in for your flight, generate a mobile boarding pass, change seats and prepay for your bags. 

The app also keeps you up to date on your flight status, gate changes and boarding notifications. Download the app today if you don’t already have it!

This post was originally published on the Alaska Airlines blog and is reposted here with permission.

The post Alaska Airlines Has Created an “Almost Touch-Free” Travel Experience With Mobile appeared first on Airship.

The COVID-19 pandemic has recently accelerated the adoption of “contactless” technologies. Zoom and other video-conferencing platforms have scaled massively, and employers are now anticipating an era when working from home is normal rather than an exception to the rule. Universities are contemplating e-learning being almost as core to their curriculum as on-campus classes. And the healthcare sector is now supplementing in-person patient visits by moving toward video, artificial intelligence-powered sound analysis, and mobile-based platforms.

Can mobile wallets, which are pre-installed IOS and Android apps that digitize loyalty cards, coupons, tickets, airline passes and even car keys, fit into this contactless macro trend? In April, 50 percent of consumers made at least four contactless payments, which rapidly became table stakes for customer experience (CX) with retailers. During the same month, 57 percent of shoppers said they would be comfortable using mobile wallets while continuing to make contactless payments after the coronavirus pandemic. And in the last two months, 30 percent of consumers have made mobile wallet transactions for the first time. Therefore, though it’s taken a number of years, such stats indicate that consumers may finally be ready to adopt mobile wallets.

Mobile transactions are replacing cash, checks and credit cards. That reality — compounded by this pandemic’s impact on how people feel about exchanging paper currency or touching screens to complete transactions — signals a tipping point for mobile wallets.

Helping Them Stay Safe and Save Money

This tragic pandemic and subsequent economic downturn have manifested an unusual combination of retail circumstances. People are avoiding in-store situations that can spread germs, and they’re limiting spending from their household budgets.

Before COVID-19, mobile wallet features were in demand, even if consumers had yet adopted them. For example, 67 percent of adult smartphone users wanted a mobile loyalty card, while 77 percent of respondents were interested in having expired coupons automatically updated to new offers on their phone. As brick-and-mortar retailers look to things getting slowly back to normal, mobile wallets can help drive more sales because consumers will feel safer about the CX.

Furthermore, mobile wallet shoppers are unusually engaged. A study by The University of Illinois last year found that, on average, after adopting mobile wallets, consumers’ average order sizes increased by 2.4 percent and their transaction frequency jumped by more than 23 percent.

Readying for the Reopen

Three of the largest tech companies in the world — Google, Apple and Samsung — help lead this space. Google Pay and Apple Wallet were introduced in 2011 and 2014, respectively, while Samsung Pay was released in 2015. Since then, each of them have partnered with retail chains for in-store transactions, including thousands of outlets for Walmart, Nike, Costco, Macy’s, Starbucks, McDonald’s, and Trader Joe’s.

As major brands ready for stores reopening, they should promote their mobile wallets, especially if they have a proprietary one (like Walmart, Starbucks, and Amazon.com do) that requires an app download. If they don’t, the benefits and ability to add a brand’s mobile wallet passes to Google Pay, Apple Wallet and Samsung Pay should be featured prominently across its marketing channels, as well as in-store at the POS, on end caps and shelf labels. Such promotion should also appear on packaging sold via third-party marketplaces where a digitized warranty card with links to accessory upsells can go a long way to forming a direct connection with customers. And when possible, the copy and images should be A/B and multivariate tested by a dedicated team. Mobile wallet features will be attractive for in-store shopping because consumers are concerned about their health and safety, and even online they want more streamlined conveniences. Not to mention that during normal times, 54 percent of mobile wallet users want marketers to leverage this channel more often.

For retail marketers looking to engage new customers, mobile wallets’ contactless nature and strong utilities should be selling points. Budget-conscious CMOs should take heart in the fact that mobile wallets are lightweight apps, requiring far less development cost — and no download by users — while providing the benefits of dynamic content, personalization and push notifications. For consumers, they allow for unloading weight from that leather wallet or purse, securely digitizing otherwise stealable items like cash, debit/credit cards, loyalty cards, subway cards, airline boarding passes, event passes, student IDs, car keys, etc.

Making Commerce and Life Easier

Indeed, retailers should leave no marketing stone unturned to encourage wider adoption of mobile wallets because the apps can only improve CX during the pandemic while also generating sales. Earlier this year, 72 percent of consumers were already using mobile devices while shopping in brick-and-mortar stores, representing a 54 percent jump from 2019. It’s not a long behavioral leap to get those consumers to go from omnichannel shopping (i.e., search on Google, scan store offerings) to the full range of brand-specific capabilities available in mobile wallets.

And while shopping routines have been historically tough to change, COVID-19 is a different kind of situation due to health concerns. Scores of people quickly saw the value in contactless commerce in the last few months, and many of these new behaviors are here to stay.

It’s now every retail marketer’s job to ensure shopper safety by encouraging social distancing, erecting plexiglass barriers, and implementing new cleaning policies. Mobile wallets are now keys to both contactless and better customer experiences, eliminating common frictions of remembering to use loyalty cards or coupons, and forming stronger digital connections that will make customers’ lives easier during the pandemic and beyond.

The post With Contactless Shopping Becoming the Norm, Retailers Should Embrace Mobile Wallets appeared first on Airship.

Though mobile wallet passes have been around for a few years, this adaptable technology still holds fantastic potential because the adoption rate in the U.S. has been relatively low. Even though it offers consumers a more convenient way of completing transactions and navigating their lives, you just don’t see passes used outside of the ubiquity of digital boarding passes at airports.

Google Pay and Apple Wallet were introduced in 2011 and 2014 respectively. Yet the mobile wallet isn’t scaling quickly; it hasn’t been positioned properly in the marketplace as a beyond-payments utility that can make day-to-day activities easier. Mobility payments have only been adopted by 30% of all U.S. smartphone users and mobile wallets are used by even fewer Americans, so the larger opportunity in this realm remains immense. 

But why aren’t we all using these passes via mobile wallets every day? They can replace anything in your physical wallet: cash, debit cards, credit cards, loyalty cards, subway cards, airline tickets, movie tickets, event passes, student IDs — you get the idea. They are easier to carry, far more secure, are always updated with the latest info and can be used as a communications channel to tell you your gate has changed, the band coming to town is delayed or your food order is ready. Again, the real question should be: Why do we still have stealable, outdated, demagnetizing, bulky physical cards and paper tickets at all? 

The main problem in the U.S. has less to do with common support for contactless payments and more to do with ingrained payment behaviors. Chipped cards faced off against mobile wallet payments in time trials and soundly lost against the much faster “beep” and gone of the mobile payment — but the speed of transactions is only a single facet of one benefit mobile wallets offer. 

Routines are hard to change. And people already feel overtaxed with digital experiences and are attempting to strike a better balance between being online and offline. They just need to understand that a mobile wallet will save them time and attention if they just invest a few minutes into it. Consider that mobile wallets are not something you have to check — for instance, movie tickets and airline boarding passes automatically display at the venue. 

Why It Has Not Taken Off So Far

It’s remarkable that 47% of China’s population uses a mobile wallet, leading the world in such consumption. (Norway is No. 2 at 42%.) One reason why China is No. 1 is that the government has decided to prioritize being cutting edge across many technological spheres. It has made staggering progress in a short amount of time. The country now accounts for more than 40% of global e-Commerce, up from less than 1% about a decade ago. What’s more, China transacts mobile payments with 11 times the value of the U.S.

According to the McKinsey Global Institute, the Chinese government is building a world-class infrastructure to support digitization for businesses and consumers. This investment in infrastructure has moved people from cash to making payments en masse on platforms like AliPay and WeChat Pay, skipping credit and debit cards completely. China combines social media, commerce and banking to create an “AliPay country,” if you will. 

China has a big advantage over the U.S. because the former’s mobile payments marketplace is so simple — Alipay and WeChat Pay are dominant — and the government supports them with unprecedented infrastructure. The U.S. marketplace is highly fragmented, with PayPal, Apple Pay, Venmo, Google Wallet, etc., and the federal government isn’t promoting these systems. 

I don’t pretend to have a silver bullet for the U.S. to catch up with China, but there are some things we can do better. 

Leverage Existing Platforms

This space is tough for getting consumers at scale to download and regularly use your branded mobile app. So unless you work for Starbucks, Amazon or Uber, marketers should leverage the native features in Apple Wallet and Google Pay instead of building expensive functions into their apps. 

Airline tickets are the most popular mobile wallet use case because the features solve an important need in a more convenient way — everyone needs proof of plane tickets and has a phone. The wallet ticket can update as gate/time changes, alert you via push to those changes, and it doesn’t require you to download a new app and create a new account. 

Brands need to take advantage of such core mobile wallet features because the demand is increasingly there. For instance, 81% of Millennials are more likely to use mobile wallet coupons if they are reminded to do so. And consider that 73% of consumers are more likely to join loyalty programs if points and rewards are automatically updated on a mobile wallet card. 

Take the Relationship Beyond the Transaction

Mobile wallets are more than payment tools; they are marketing platforms for the brands that do it right. That’s why 54% of mobile wallet users wish brands would use this channel more often. It sounds like brands are actually cheating themselves of this opportunity, right?

Starbucks has more than 25 million mobile payment customers, which is more than any other American company. The coffee brand keeps this audience engaged via push notifications and emails about promotions like “Bingo Lunch Breaks” and 3 p.m. Happy Hour specials, while also reminding customers if they have credit in their Starbucks mobile wallet. It’s a great example of how mobile wallets can complement marketing and even supplant ad spend. The ability to purchase in a mobile wallet is obvious, and the search intent is powerful. 

Mobile Wallets Can Win Over the U.S.

While scale is still an issue for the mobile wallet, the commercial appeal is not. Mobile wallet users are a lucrative group: Nearly three-fourths (72%) of them are either in high or medium-income brackets. And there’s recently been statistical hope for marketers who want to leverage third-party systems: Apple Pay (30.3 million users) this year surpassed Starbucks (25.2 million) as the most popular mobile payments app, marking the first time a platform payments app has been in the No. 1 position.

It’s worth noting that AliPay, the Chinese mobile wallet giant, has been targeting the U.S. market in the last few years. Given its knowledge back home, it’s a wise play. The U.S. represents a vast area of growth for mobile wallet marketers, but it seems many players still just want to dip their toes. More American companies should look at AliPay’s success and consider going all-in with wallet strategies that make sense for their brands.

Personally, I think the ubiquity of the mobile airline boarding pass will quickly open the consumer’s mind to many more applications. Why not every event ticket — do you like checking your pocket five times on the way to the venue to be sure you haven’t dropped your ticket? Wouldn’t you like to get a special notification of advanced ticket sales the next time the band is in town? Why not every loyalty card? You want a tattered paper card for your wallet? Or do you like saying your mobile phone number in front of a line of people at the register? Mobile wallet passes are more elegant, effective and secure for these circumstances — and I believe their time has (finally) come.

Go Mobile

Learn more about how you can use Mobile Wallet and its benefits

Check it out

The post The Mobile Wallet Opportunity in the U.S. Is Still Massive appeared first on Airship.

We believe that Mobile Wallet is the most exciting opportunity for mobile marketers today. (Not sure exactly what mobile wallet is all about? Check out our cheat sheet here.) Why? Three big reasons:

1) Consumers Are Demanding More from Mobile Wallets. 

In our State of Mobile Wallet Marketing report consumers indicated they’d like to use Mobile Wallet for all kinds of things — loyalty cards, coupons, order delivery updates, mobile payment, boarding passes, ID cards, event tickets and much more.

2) Mobile Wallet Platforms and Infrastructure are Strengthening. 

Apple Wallet, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, etc. etc. — the big players are investing more and more in their mobile wallet and payment platforms, which will drive additional consumer demand and engagement.

3) The Cost of Getting a Footprint on a Mobile Device Is Growing. 

The cost of getting a new app user continues to grow. With Mobile Wallet, you’re taking advantage of a native app (already on your customer’s phone, no download required) to deliver content they want where they want it.

It’s really a no-brainer, right? So let’s get you going.

It’s Easier Than You Think to Get Started with Mobile Wallet Marketing

Building a generic coupon that does not require personalization is quick and simple. One of the easiest wallet passes to create is a mobile wallet coupon. 

In fact, using Airship Mobile Wallet, we’ve seen mobile wallet coupon campaigns come together in a very short period of time (some under a week) from creation to distribution.   

Coupons are also something your consumers want from you. In our survey, 57% of Millennials said they’d prefer to get coupons in their mobile wallet — and 44% of all respondents said the same.

Here we go!

Make a Mobile Wallet Pass in 10 Easy Steps

Step 1

Get a certificate from Apple that allows you to place a wallet pass in Apple Wallet. It’s a straightforward process that will take about 15 minutes of a developer’s time. We provide detailed instructions for developers in our Docs right here. If you run into any issues, you can always contact us for an assist.

Step 2

Within the user interface, you’ll first need to decide what type of pass you want to create.

We support loyalty passes, coupon passes, gift card passes, member card passes, event ticket passes, boarding passes and a catchall generic pass option. As we’ve said, for this tutorial, we’ll be making a mobile wallet pass coupon. 

Step 3

Name your project and give it a brief description. Then, choose your barcode format — we support 1D, 2D and QR barcodes as well as where you want to run your campaign — on Apple Wallet or Google Pay and click “Create Project.”

Step 4

Once your project is created, you’ll see our default template for the pass type you’ve chosen to create. In this case, you’ll see the default template for a mobile wallet coupon pass. Customize the template by choosing your brand’s colors and fonts, as well as adding your logo, and an image if you’d like.

Step 5

Define the values needed for your pass. For coupon passes, you’ll add text fields for the value of the coupon or discount percentage, the coupon ID number and expiration date.

Step 6

Add information to the back of your pass. Like the back cover of a book, the back of the pass is a great way for you to add content and information. We’ve seen brands successfully generate additional mobile engagement by adding social links, website information, contact info and more to the back of the wallet pass.

Step 7

Once you’ve finished building your pass, you can quickly test it. Click the “Send Test Pass” button at the bottom of the screen. A dialog box will open, requesting an email address. Simply enter the email associated with your test device (or any other emails you want to send to for testing) and click “OK.”

Step 8

Download your mobile wallet coupon pass to your mobile wallet. Open the email you sent from the test environment on your phone. You’ll see there’s an attachment. Tap it, and the pass will be served up. In the upper right-hand corner, you’ll see an “Add” link. Tap it, and voila, you’ll now find the pass added into your Apple Wallet.

Step 9

Give yourself a pat on the back! You just created a mobile wallet pass, distributed it through email, and added it to the mobile wallet on a phone!

Now that you’ve created your pass — if you’re happy with how it looks — you’re ready to deploy it to your customers!

Step 10 – Now, Think Even Bigger

Now, imagine doing mobile wallet marketing like this at a larger scale. You could…

• Include a call to action button (with an URL link to the wallet pass embedded), in an email with instructions for downloading and using the coupon.
• Include the URL of the mobile wallet pass coupon in a tweet or a Facebook post. Viewers can click on the URL and download the pass directly onto their phone.
• Send a push notification with a deep link to your pass – all within the Airship platform!

Once you have a few campaigns under your belt, you can build out a marketing calendar to make mobile wallet passes and mobile wallet marketing campaigns an integral part of your mobile marketing strategy.

Bottom Line

Now you know how easy it is to leverage the mobile payment ecosystem. You’ll surprise and delight your customers — and you’ll reap the benefits with higher engagement rates and conversions.

Don’t Miss Out

Deliver an even better experience and create better connections with your customers today.

Contact us

The post How to Create a Mobile Wallet Pass appeared first on Airship.

Link shortening transforms any URL within your SMS messages by creating a shortened link with an Airship or custom domain and only 25 characters, while Link tracking allows brands to track the performance of their links within SMS messages. 

Read on to learn more about these new handy features and how you can use them to engage with your customers through text messages. 

Link Shortening Reduces Characters and Cost

Every character counts for SMS marketing, especially when messages are limited to 160 characters. Link shortening can open up valuable message real estate so marketers can create even better customer experiences, and being able to shorten links within the same UI as your message composer makes it that much easier. Airship can even create a custom domain that’s unique to your brand for your shortened URLs to create a more branded experience! Here are some other benefits of shortened links:

• Increased Click-Through Rate: Shorter links can have a higher click-through rate since longer URLs with query strings can detract from the message and look spammy. Custom domains also significantly improve CTRs as they are more branded and trustworthy.
• Cost-Effective: Long URLs may result in multi-part messages, ultimately increasing your SMS costs. 
• Automated: Link shortening can also be used in auto-responses for keywords texted in, such as requests for app download links or coupon links. 

Link shortening is especially exciting for brands using our Mobile Wallet Adaptive Link technology.  Adaptive Links take your customer data and automatically personalizes the Mobile Wallet pass. A single URL can then be distributed through any channel for a higher likelihood of customers seeing and installing the passes.  The Adaptive Link then automatically detects the device type and adapts the pass accordingly. With Airship’s link shortening functionality, these dynamic links can also be shortened and it is that much easier to text the Adaptive Link and achieve high install rates of your Mobile Wallet passes.

Track Your SMS Link Performance

Airship also allows brands to now track the performance of their links within SMS messages.  Brands can track aggregate clicks and view reporting through Airship’s reporting dashboards to see how messages and campaigns are performing. Furthermore, through Airship Real-Time Data Streaming, brands can correlate audience members with clicks on Airship-shortened links to get engagement data down to the user-level.

This data can be especially important for A/B testing of different marketing campaigns and comparing click-through rates for various audience segments

Get the Most Out of Your SMS Marketing Campaigns 

With average open rates of over 90%, you can’t afford to ignore the power of SMS messaging. Now with link shortening and tracking, you have more room to write impactful messages and more visibility to use your data strategically. Start creating deeper connections with customers on SMS today.

Yes-m-s!

We have more great SMS resources for you in our Resource Library.

The post The Big Short for SMS – Sending Big Content with Short Links and Link Tracking appeared first on Airship.

Since launching the Alaska Airlines app in 2010, the airline’s customer base has become increasingly connected through their mobile devices, and with this connectivity comes great opportunity. Here’s how Airship and Alaska Airlines have improved app engagement and streamlined the day-of-travel travel experience for its 47 million annual passengers.

Get the highlights below and read the customer story here.  

Push Notifications Keep Passengers Informed in Real-Time

With all of the details to keep track of before departure, Alaska wanted to enhance the day-of-travel experience for its passengers through its helpful app and timely updates. Mobile check-in, a feature used by 56% of all travelers, eliminates the hassle of waiting to know your departure gate or seat assignment. It also serves as a gateway to the airline’s digital experience. When paired with Airship Mobile App Push Notifications, the benefits of mobile check-in go above and beyond.

Mobile Wallet Reduces Stress and Hassle While Traveling

To take the convenience of mobile check-in one step further, Alaska Airlines also harnesses the power of Airship Mobile Wallet. This allows passengers to download digital boarding passes via email or the Alaska Airlines app, and save them to their Apple Wallet or Google Pay. Boarding passes automatically appear on the passengers’ home screens when they arrive at the airport and are updated with flight details like boarding times, seating changes and gate numbers in real-time. This drives loyalty and engagement for Alaska Airlines’ passengers, and then some.

Message Center Engages Passengers in the Right Place at the Right Time

While the pre-flight hustle is an easy target for streamlining and engagement, Alaska Airlines also partners with Airship to promote services that enhance passengers’ in-flight experience. For example, on flights with no Wi-Fi, passengers can be prompted to download the Gogo Entertainment App so they still have something to watch. They can also be invited to preorder in-flight meals or other services that help them have the most relaxing and enjoyable trip possible. These engagements result in happier, more engaged passengers, and an uptick in revenue for Alaska Airlines as well.

Streamlining Travel Is Just the Beginning

Alaska Airlines and Airship are working to improve the day-of-travel experience for passengers around the world, but our mobile engagement platform has the ability to enhance the customer experience no matter your industry. The Alaska Airlines customer story can be found here, and our full slate of customer stories can be found on our customers’ page.

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The post Seamless Day-of-Travel Experiences, Courtesy of Alaska Airlines and Airship appeared first on Airship.

We strongly believe in the opportunities that Mobile Wallet can offer to marketers and so we recently hosted a webinar, “Make Mobile Wallet Your Secret Weapon to Acquire, Retain & Grow Your Customer Base” to show what Mobile Wallet can do (with examples from brands like Alaska Airlines, REI and Cost Plus World Market) and how brands can use it throughout a customer’s engagement lifecycle.

Acquire: Bring Customers into the Digital Experience

Mobile Wallet is an excellent tool to tie together a digital experience with real-world experience.  Having a presence in both, in a seamless and personalized way, can help a brand stay on top of mind of their customers and bring in new users.

A great example of this is Cost Plus World Market and the way they use mobile wallet for their in-store treasure hunt. Cost Plus World Market uses their mobile wallet item to alert and update their customers with clues to locate coupons (last year they were called “Golden Llamas”). Not only is this campaign fun for their customers, but it encourages downloads, purchases and active engagement.  

Retain: Keep Content Fresh and Engaging

So, once you’ve acquired a customer on mobile wallet, what’s next? It’s very important for brands to update their mobile wallet items and keep content fresh, to continue engagement. One of the ways to do so is through loyalty programs. You can deliver loyalty cards to customers on any channel they prefer (through Adaptive Links) and then use the pass to send important notifications, like a loyalty status change. You can also segment customers based on their primary location or indicated interest to deliver notifications or promotions that are super relevant to them.

Another great way to use mobile wallet is through delivering boarding passes, tickets, coupons or gift cards with personalized information directly into the mobile wallet, and then let them know of important updates like a gate change or flight delay, or that their coupon is about to expire. Alaska Airlines does a great job of keeping their mobile wallet content relevant and personalized with alerts, tickets, and information that are important to their customer.

Grow: Engage and Upsell at Relevant Moments

Mobile wallets can help you cross and upsell by sending real-time notifications for upgrades and sales. Use tagging and segmentation to send personalized offers, like seat upgrades for boarding and ticketing passes or a timely coupon to invite a purchase. With our External ID feature, you can even keep track of the items when they’re shared between devices and control how many times the item is shared and how long it lasts.

REI does an amazing job of keeping their mobile wallet items updated and convenient to drive more sales. They alert their customers when an offer is set to expire and automatically update their mobile wallets with new coupons when they are available. Try doing that with a paper coupon!

Feel like you missed out on an awesome webinar? No worries, you can watch a recording of the webinar here and check out more of our great resources on Mobile Wallet.

The post How to Acquire, Retain, and Grow Your Customer Base with Mobile Wallet appeared first on Airship.