It's 2 A.M. and you're just coming back from a night out with the gang. Then you get a text message. You know what it is and you know what they want:
"Gas prices are going up in two hours at your nearest Meijer superstore. Fill up now before it's too late. P.S. I am a robot."
Meijer is basically a mini-Walmart with over 180 stores nationally. You can sign up for a service here where you get a text message when there will be a price increase at Meijer so you can head on over and fill up before the increase kicks in. The program is entirely opt-in and Meijer has pledged not to pimp out your number or spam.
This is a nice example of an advertiser building a useful service for its audience. I'm wondering two things:
1. Will Meijer alert you when gas prices go down? As in, "stop by in a few hours for a tidy little discount?"
2. Is Barry White or equivalent available for sexy gas price decrease voice mails?