Friday 22 October 2010

Search the Tesco Recipe site using an SMS text message

Text COOK and two or three key ingredients to 83726 (TESCO on your keypad) and get back a great recipe from Tesco Real Food.
Texts are free for Tesco Mobile customers, other network customers may be charged at their standard network rate.

With our focus on Tesco apps for the latest generation of mobile smart phones you might be given to wondering if we've forgotten customers with ordinary mobile phones with simpler internet access - phones which support a simple web browser but where 'apps' are beyond their capability.

Steve McArdle hasn't forgotten. He works in our marketing team has alerted me to a new service we are launching for ALL customers with mobile phones using SMS text messages.

Steve has been working with my colleague Lucia Del-Prete whose previous role at a mobile operator has given her tremendous insight into the enduring 'power' of SMS. Steve also worked with Tesco Mobile and their agency, InfoMedia (who did the technical legwork), to launch this service that will take your food ingredients and look up a great recipe for you.

All you have to do is:
1) Open your larder and fridge and observe a couple of key ingredients.
2) Type 'COOK' followed by two or three of the key ingredients you have observed.
3) Send the message to 83726 - that's "TESCO" spelt out on your phone's keyboard.

So I sent the message:  Cook baked beans potatoes  to 83726
Back came the message:
Tesco Real Food> Thanks for your request. To view your recipe please clichttp://wap-tesco-mobile.com:80/cook/2d0ba525a6

The link took me to "Bubble and squeak potato cakes with bacon" complete with a picture that does indeed show baked beans and potato.

Thanks to Steve and team for creating an "app" for more mobile customers, not just those whose phone has app capability.

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As this blog grows in readership - and because it carries the Tesco brand - I have had to become more careful about the sort of comments that are acceptable. The good news is that I'm a champion of free speech so please be as praising or as critical as you wish! The only comments I DON'T allow through are:

1. Comments which criticise an individual other than myself, or are critical of an organisation other than Tesco. This is simply because they cannot defend themselves so is unfair and possibly libellous. Comments about some aspect of Tesco being better/worse than another equivalent organisation are allowed as long as you start by saying "in my personal opinion.." or "I think that...". ... followed by a "...because.." and some reasoned argument.

2. Comments which are totally unrelated to the context of the original article. If I have written about a mobile app and you start complaining about the price of potatoes then your comment isn't going stay for long!

3. Advertising / web links / spam.

4. Insulting / obscene messages.


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