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A third of a million new subscribers join the world's mobile phone services every day and according to US technology consultancy Gartner, 167 billion SMS messages will be sent in Western Europe alone in 2003.
This accounts for some €18 billion in turnover for mobile operators. Predictions are that 2003 will be the year that any global brand trying to reach the 14-to-35 market won't be able to do without SMS. (Source: Time magazine, 27 January 2003)
SMS has gone way beyond the stage of personal messaging campaigns, becoming a component of the marketing mix. Marketers are continually finding ways to get their client's messages across in a media-saturated marketplace. And, SMS marketing, combined with conventional adverts, gives advertisers the edge, because mobile phones are nearly always with their users, allowing them to immediately respond to what they see on TV, billboards or in-store campaigns.
"It is not surprising that SMS is an effective way of reaching a targeted audience, while at the same time increasing interaction between the consumer and the brand," says Neil Hutchinson of Grapevine Interactive Marketing.
A recent example was the Richelieu Tour de France SMS competition. Run in conjunction with SuperSport, each day of the Tour de France, one of two Richelieu prizes could be won, and entrants stood a chance of winning a custom-built Tour de France bicycle valued at R30 000.
"To enter, all entrants had to do, was SMS the word "Richelieu" to 082 000 9995. They then received an SMS reply with a quiz question (there were 166 questions in the database). If they replied with the correct answer, they stood a chance of winning the daily and grand prizes. For extra chances of winning they could SMS to the same number again," explains Hutchinson.
The objective of the campaign was not only to attract a broader audience, but to be more challenging, exciting and entertaining. Ultimately, the aim was to encourage viewers to come back to watch the coverage of the race each day, with an element of interaction.
"According to UK research for Enpocket, a wireless communications company, permission-based mobile media is, on average, 50% more successful at building brand awareness than TV, and 130% more successful than radio. Mobile marketing paves the way for other services on the mobile phone," concludes Hutchinson.
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