Push boundaries with LoSoPhoMo

Stores can bring a new immediacy to their marketing messages with the interactive LoSoPhoMo approach.

The latest tongue twister for supermarkets to learn is LoSoPhoMo. The term refers to mobile marketing enhanced by the location, social and camera features of cell phones.

To begin to see what LoSoPhoMo could mean for stores, think of food trucks. According to the Brunner agency, mobile food entrepreneurs use location-based tools to announce where they’ll be and when. They encourage patrons to check in and spread the word locally through Foursquare and Facebook Places. They capture the food experience with photos and encourage eaters to tag themselves on Facebook.  LoSoPhoMo microblogging builds traffic so effectively, says Brunner, that brick-and-mortar restaurants in the nation’s capitol have also put their own food trucks on the road.

LoSoPhoMo in this context is relevant to consumers because it helps them fill their need for immediate meals in convenient locations. It can also help extend the marquee brand for supermarkets whenever they operate outside the confines of their physical stores - perhaps when they partner with food trucks or farmers’ markets, or sponsor special events in different areas of the communities they serve.

The growing ubiquity of smartphones powers the LoSoPhoMo trend. Smartphone adoption among moms has risen 64% in less than two years, and 51% of moms say they are “addicted” to their smartphone, according to the BabyCenter 21st Century Mobile Mom Report, a study of more than 5,000 U.S. moms and members of the general population.

The most important features of her phone are the camera (#1, say 78% of respondents), video camera (#2) and apps (#3), the report notes.