My Mobile Life: Sara Callanan of Elevator Promotional Marketing

Q: What’s new in your world Sara?

A: Probably the same as for everyone else, it’s the C-Word!! Working from home and Covid means my phone is more important than ever, and I’m using it more than before for actual phonecalls!

Q: Do you remember the make/model of your very first mobile phone?

A: My very first mobile – way way back in 1994, was a Motorola Flip phone. That was when we used phones for calls and texts only – the flip cover prevent accidental pocket dials, and there was little pull-up aerial! A couple of years later I moved to a Nokia, and then, like a lot of people,  I switched to a Blackberry because of the email integration it offered.

Q: What model phone do you currently have and what do you love or hate most about it?

A: I have an iPhone XR. I love the screen size and the camera. I don’t love the swiping up feature instead of the old home button and it turns out the facial recognition feature doesn’t work so well when you’re wearing a mask!

Q: What’s your favourite app and why?

A: I’m a sucker for a weather app and have no less than 7 so I can  ‘shop around’ for better forecasts when I want to do something outside, or when planning a break (remember those?). I’ve also recently become a convert to the New York Times Spelling Bee app. It is both addictive and highly competitive and my family tells me it makes me very antisocial while I’m doing the daily challenge! And just recently, I’ve started using the Sainsbury’s SmartShop app to scan as I shop and I love it. It does exactly what an app should do – it’s fast, easy to use, and saves time.

Q: How would you survive a day without your smartphone?

A: I would struggle. This one small device is my phone, my camera, my diary, my email inbox, my playlist, my library and my newspaper!

Q: What’s your favourite device apart from your smartphone?

A: My laptop – particularly now with working from home as Microsoft Teams has become a daily means to connect and manage our work and our meetings.

Q: Favourite social network?

A: As a business, we’re really active across Facebook and Instagram and Twitter on behalf of our client. In my private life,  I’m more of a social network ‘voyeur’ than an active poster of content, but Facebook is good for keeping in touch with old friends who you don’t see in person as often as you might like. And LinkedIn is actually great too as a way of reaching colleagues, old and new, and people working in the same space.

Q: Do you use mobile payments and if so what’s the last thing you purchased via mobile?

A: I use PayPal quite often – and I think the last item I purchased was an order of Nespresso Pods!

Q: Favourite loyalty scheme?

A: I’m a big fan of Sainsbury’s Nectar Points and also M&S Sparks offers – as a regular shopper in both, I find the reward points quickly mount up and I make sure to only ever redeem them for a treat rather than the weekly shop!

Q: Check your SMS messages – what is the last text you received from a brand or business?

A: From my Bank with a One Time Passcode to log in

Q: Spotify or Vinyl?

A: Spotify

Q: What’s the most exciting thing about mobile marketing today?

A: The fact that this one device is literally in the hands of customers at the moment of choice and decision – brand research & reviews, brand choice, brand purchase – and at the same time that consumers are sharing their recommendations and reviews, and their purchases with their friends and contacts in real time.

Q: Have you noticed any mobile trends around how brands are adapting to “the new normal”?

A: Clearly the move to contactless has been greatly accelerated to the extent that few people are even using cash, and some businesses aren’t accepting it. Online shopping is definitely more common – even within an actual shop – with greater emphasis on click and collect. And some retailers such as M&S are inviting shoppers to ‘book’ a slot to visit the Food Hall  to avoid queuing at busy times.

Q: What does the future look like?

A: I’d be either very clever or very foolish to try to predict the future at this very volatile time! I certainly think the future of our high streets and bricks and mortar retail outlets is a big concern. Much as I’m a fan of the convenience of online shopping, I think we lose the sensory experience of shopping in a carefully created retail space where you can browse, touch, feel the merchandise, try clothes on etc at our peril. And similarly, while working from home as been a positive experience for many, and there is real merit in a blending working life in the future such as avoiding mind-numbing commutes, I think we need to make sure that we retain our workspaces – they are (or can be)  positive, communal, engaging, social and learning environments.

Q: What’s your favourite sign-off? (ciao, bye etc)

A: In WhatsApps to friends it is usually an emoji or a simple S. In work emails, it’s the more formal Kind Regards

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