Supercuts and Extreme Pita are among the latest companies using mobile coupons to help promote their brands.

Supercuts is working with Cellfire Inc., a mobile coupon and discount offer service provider, to give Cellfire users $2 off a haircut, $5 off a color service, or a free shampoo with the purchase of a haircut through March. More than 75 locations across New England are participating in the program.

To receive the offer, people subscribe to Cellfire’s mobile coupon service at http://www.Cellfire.com or by texting “hair” to 22888. Users, depending on their phone and carrier, can download the application or use the mobile Web to receive branded discounts.

Supercuts joins a roster of more than 10,000 merchant locations that offer mobile coupons and discount offers through Cellfire.

“We see more and more merchants getting on the bandwagon,” Dwight Moore, vice president of corporate marketing for Cellfire, said. “But they want to test it first.”

Likewise, Extreme Pita, a Canadian-based chain, is running a mobile coupon program with Cellfire in 27 U.S. stores for discount coupon offers. People who buy a regular size pita will receive a free combo (chips and drink), as well as a coupon for $2 off a second pita, when they buy a regular sized pita and drink. The campaign, which runs through June, is available online or by texting "pita" to 22888.

“After using traditional media for most of our sales promotions in the past, mobile marketing was a new area we wanted to look into," said Scott Grandin, vice president of marketing at Extreme Pita, said in a statement.

Mobile coupons and discount are a top mobile marketing incentive to drive purchases. A recent survey from ABI Research found that 63% of people said that a coupon would be the most effective incentive to get them to respond to a mobile marketing message, followed by a store discount at 52%.

And mobile coupons can reach people in ways traditional paper coupons don’t, Moore said. For instance, some people don’t receive a newspaper, which often carries FSIs and coupons.

“People are mobile,” Moore said. “That’s where advertisers are spending their money.”

Cellfire is promoting the offers via door clings and through test message alerts and e-mails to its database, which includes more than 500,000 subscribers, Moore said.

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