An overview provided by the AMF Interactive Media Committee:

Leandra Ferreira

Ansulie du Preez

SMS Marketing

Index1. SMS Marketing – an overview

• Guidelines

• Advantages

• Considerations

2. Consumer Preferences SMS Marketing UK

• Consumer preference report

• Branding performance report

• SMS acceptance chart

• Desired Frequency chart

• Case study

3. SMS Code of Conduct South Africa

4. Interesting Facts

SMS Marketing An overview

Source: Enpocket.com

SMS MarketingGuidelines

•Mobile media is a natural and highly effective new channel for direct marketing that can dramatically improve the performance of traditional campaign activity.

•Enpocket research has shown that the average SMS campaign response is more than double that for direct mail and email.

•The high performance of the medium is based on the following unique characteristics:

•A mobile phone is a more personal environment than an email inbox or a doormat •A mobile has little commercial clutter and much higher standout •Mobile campaigns can be targeted more tightly by a combination of demographics, time, location and lifestyle interest/context

•SMS marketing is a very new medium and hence is fresh for the consumer

•SMS messages can be replied to any place, any time and this can be done in seconds. They are also automatically stored, so may be referred to/used at a more appropriate time. Hencethe medium offers greater ease of response than email or direct mail

Source: Enpocket.com

SMS MarketingGuidelines

                                                                      The high impact of mobile marketing (94% of SMS messages are read), social context within which messages are often viewed, and ease with which they can be forwarded, all contribute to making the mobile medium a very effective viral channel.                                                                                                                                                                           Enpocket's research into the viral effect of straightforward campaigns shows that nearly 1 in 4 (23%) messages are forwarded or shown to a friend, which significantly lowers the threshold for viral spread of campaigns designed to multiply reach. The opportunity to use pictures and sound in MMS greatly expands the potential for creating compelling viral messages, providing the cost of sending messages does not prove to be too great a barrier

Viral activity               

 

Source: Clickatell.com

Advantages of SMS Marketing•An SMS is personalUnlike an e-mail, an SMS is much more likely to be read by a person at any one time, since the majority of people have their mobile phones at arms reach 24 hours a day. Of course the same also applies to a phone call.

•Messages are instantly recordedUnlike a phone call, an SMS message is automatically stored where it can be re-read. This proves particularly useful in the case of fairly detailed information that might otherwise be forgotten.

•SMS messaging is relatively SPAM free*Unlike e-mail, SMS as it currently stands is relatively SPAM free. Although this may change over the next year or so, at present it is the ideal communication channel to cut through the clutter. As a result, marketing departments worldwide are climbing aboard to try and target their customers in this one-on-one manner that has 'message opening rates' soaring way above any other medium.

•An SMS is DiscreetUnlike a phone call you do not have to run out of the restaurant where you are eating to field the call, yet you still know when an SMS has arrived. The discreet nature of text messaging ensures you stay in touch with minimal disturbance.

•SMS leads to smaller phone billsAn SMS is far cheaper than a phone call yet in most instances you will convey just as much information as you would have if you had called.

* Debatable issue

Source: Mediabytes

SMS CampaignsConsiderations

When considering SMS as a communication medium, review the following:• Select one number that can be used by subscribers to all three cellular networks• Consider using a short code: making it easier for the consumer to interact• Look at standard vs premium rate:

• Standard• limits revenue generation possibilities for client• could lead to higher consumer participation

• Premium• becomes a source of revenue for client• could create negative perception in consumers’ mind - prohibitive• advisable for ‘Information on Demand’ scenarios – ringtones, logos

• Interesting opportunity: sponsorship of information content: beach weather alerts / sport scores etc

• And, as always, the more worthwhile the prize on offer, the better the response will be!

Consumer Preferences UK Enpocket.com

Source: Enpocket.com

Consumer Preference Report

Enpocket research into consumer preferences has shown:

•People who are regularly exposed to 3rd party SMS marketing through a trusted service provider view it as favourably as TV and radio advertising

•They are also significantly more in favour of SMS marketing than of direct mail or telesales

•Given the choice, consumers would opt to receive several SMS campaigns per week •Consumers prefer to give permission only to media owners whom they trust will limit the frequency of outbound messages

•Conclusively, there is a strong consumer preference for the network operators to become the definitive media owners and permission holders

Consumer Preferences SMS marketing - UK

Source: Enpocket.com

Consumer Preferences SMS marketing - UK

Brand Performance ReportEnpocket research into the branding performance of SMS has shown that SMS marketing, on average:

•is 50% more successful at building brand awareness than TV •is 130% more successful at building brand awareness than radio

•increases positive brand affinity by 18%, and in best results by 35% •boosts consumers inclination to purchase by 36%

Source: Enpocket.com

SMS acceptance compared to other media

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

TV Radio SMS fromcarrier/portal

Magazineinserts

SMS fromother source

Direct Mail Pre SMSexposure

Telesales

Very Acceptable

Acceptable

Low Acceptance

% finding acceptable

Consumer Preferences SMS marketing - UK

Source: Enpocket.com

Desired frequency of messaging

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

1 or more per day

4-6 per week

2-3 per week

1 per week

2-3 per month

1 per month

% finding acceptable

Consumer Preferences SMS marketing - UK

Source: Enpocket.com

Case StudySmile.co.uk (Online banking)

                                                                       How did online bank Smile use SMS in a compelling way to drive new account applications? Taking advantage of the high response performance of SMS, online bank Smile used this new medium to drive new account applications, simultaneously evaluating SMS success rates.  

Utilising the tight time and demographic targeting offered by SMS, Smile tested a variety of creatives and response mechanisms. The content of all messages were consistant with Smile's "scruples" campaign and had intrinsic value to the recipient, offering £20 on sign up

Research showed that 25% of recipients replied to the message.

The SMS code of Conduct An MFSA initiative

Source: MFSA

Preventing SMS Abuse in South AfricaThe Partners

•As the use of the short message service (SMS) to deliver commercial messages to cellphone users increases, the Marketing Federation of Southern Africa (MFSA) has launched a new web site and code of conduct to curb the abuse of this direct marketing tool.

•The MFSA, MTN, Vodacom and Cell C, as well as over 30 service providers and interested companies, have co-operated in developing the SMSCode web site.

•The site enables cellphone users to identify which service provider sent them a commercial SMS, to contact service providers to be un-subscribed from their list, or to report an unsolicited commercial SMS to the MFSA.

                                                                         

Source: MFSA

SMS Code of Conduct – DetailsPreventing SMS Abuse in South Africa

Objectives:

To protect consumers by

1) Preventing unsolicited SMS messages

2) Providing a channel for resolution and

3) Use of SMS as a marketing medium.

Scope:

The code is limited to:

1) Providing rules for the sending of commercial SMS by service providers and message originators

2) Providing a mechanism for consumers to:

• Identify which service provider or message originator was responsible for sending the message

• To be able to locate the contact details of that service provider or message originator and

• If the response from the service provider or message originator is unsatisfactory to lodge a complaint to the MFSA

Source: MFSA

SMS Code of Conduct – Ground Rules

The rules stipulate, inter alia, that:

•Companies cannot send a commercial SMS unless the recipient has requested the SMS, or has a prior commercial relationship with the company and would reasonably expect to receive marketing communications from them.

•Where the company has no prior commercial relationship with the recipient, the organisation supplying the originator with the recipient’s information must first procure the recipient’s consent to do so for the purpose of sending commercial SMS's.

•Companies must allow recipients to unsubscribe from commercial messages sent via SMS through notifying the sender directly or through the service provider that sent the SMS.

•Message originators must include their names or identifiers in commercial SMS messages, while service providers must include a valid originating number in all commercial SMS messages.

•Network operators must provide the originating numbers issued by them to the service providers, as well as their names and contact details to the MFSA, for inclusion on the newly established web site as part of their contractual agreement with the service provider or message originator.

Preventing SMS Abuse in South Africa

Interesting Facts

Source: Clickatell.com

SMS Sent over Festive Season 2003Volumes around the World

Figures on text messages and multimedia messages sent over New Year's.

France: 88 million SMS were sent by the 3 French operators over New Year's (during a 24 hour period). via ZDNet.fr.UK: The total number of SMS messages sent across UK GSM networks during the period between midnight on 31 December and midnight on 1 January, was 111 million, according to Telecom.paper, Belgium: The three main Belgian mobile operators counted more than 22 million sms text messages on New Years Eve.via Smart Mobs.Switzerland: 66,4 million SMS and MMS were sent over the 3 Swiss Networks between December 31st and January 1st via Le MatinPortugual: The Portuguese unit of Vodafone Group PLC processed more than 36 million text messages over the New Year's holiday, while rival Optimus, a unit of conglomerate Sonae SGPS , processed more than 38 million. via 160characters.org.Czech Republic: Czechs received a record number of 38.5 million SMS messages, with most of them arriving between 11 p.m. on Dec 31 and 1 a.m. on January 1. via 160characters.org.India: Short messaging shot through the roof this New Year’s eve with an unprecedented 180 per cent increase in volumes to 60 million SMS compared with last year’s 21 million. via Business Standard.South Africa: The cellphone industry recorded 85.5 million short message services (SMS) during the festive season, via Business Report

Source: Mediabytes

Local DevelopmentsSABC 3 goes digital

Harnessing the combined potential of both television and text technology, SABC 3 is set to revolutionise the concept of interactive marketing in this country with the launch on February 2 of South Africa's first-ever mobile technology-based television loyalty campaign. Known as 3BEE, the campaign will use SMS technology as the platform to communicate with and reward viewers for watching SABC 3's programme line-up.Quick and easy while offering the chance to win loads of instant prizes, participation in 3BEE is simple. Here's how it works:

1. The 3BEE character (an animated television set), will appear during selected programmes. This is the cue for viewers to use their cell-phones to SMS the text 3BEE to 34811.

2. Within split seconds, the viewer/ text-sender will receive an SMS asking them a question relating to the programme currently being broadcast on SABC 3.

3. The viewer is required to answer the question by return SMS. If answered correctly, they will be automatically entered into the stakes to win an instant prize. The winner(s) will then be announced on-screen during SABC 3 programming within the next hour.

Viewers stand a chance to win three times a night, seven days a week and the prizes at stake are impressive, as is SABC 3's new addition...

The AMF Interactive Media Committee

• Leandra Ferreira MediaEdge CIA• Ansulie du Preez MediaEdge CIA• Dalene van Niekerk Three Sixty Interactive• Tony Banahan The Media Shop• Johan Gilliomee Mindshare• Vanessa McKay IMSA• Joanne Scholtz FCB Headspace