In an effort to better connect with younger consumers, McDonald's restaurants in Southern California are enticing customers through their mobile phones, offering mobile coupons for a free McFlurry.

Under the promotion, customer's text the message "McFlurry" to a five-digit short code promotional phone line. An electronic coupon for the free dessert is then downloaded to their mobile phones; when consumers bring those phones to participating restaurants, they can redeem the coupon electronically. Mobile coupons (mcoupons) that are stored and carried in a mobile phone have higher redemption rates than paper or ecoupons because they are not forgotten, or left at home.

Mcoupons can drastically reduce delivery and redemption cost, trigger impulse buys, and send offers to customers in real time that are location based. Your customers are mobile, and you want your business to take advantage of mobile technology, so you have decided to create an innovative system for mcoupons, allowing customers to capitalize on instant redemption coupons.

As customers walk past your business (or within a 25-foot radius) a coupon will be pushed to their mobile device. As you prepare to deploy this new mobile marketing campaign, you need to create a detailed analysis of mcoupons, including all of the potential risks and benefits. In your analysis, be sure to discuss the types of coupons you would offer to your mobile customers along with all of the potential risks and benefits.