SMS Marketing
An overview provided by the AMF
Interactive Media Committee:
Leandra Ferreira
Ansulie du Preez
Index
1. 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
SMS Marketing
Guidelines
•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. Hence
the medium offers greater ease of response than email or direct mail
Source: Enpocket.com
SMS Marketing
Guidelines
Viral activity
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
Source: Enpocket.com
Advantages of SMS Marketing
•An SMS is personal
Unlike 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 recorded
Unlike 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 Discreet
Unlike 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 bills
An 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: Clickatell.com
SMS Campaigns
Considerations
•
•
•
•
•
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!
Source: Mediabytes
Consumer Preferences UK
Enpocket.com
Consumer Preferences SMS marketing - UK
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
Source: Enpocket.com
Consumer Preferences SMS marketing - UK
Brand Performance Report
Enpocket 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
Consumer Preferences SMS marketing - UK
SMS acceptance compared to other media
80
% finding acceptable
70
Very Acceptable
60
50
Acceptable
40
30
20
Low Acceptance
10
0
TV
Source: Enpocket.com
Radio
SMS from
carrier/portal
Magazine
inserts
SMS from
other source
Direct Mail
Pre SMS
exposure
Telesales
Consumer Preferences SMS marketing - UK
Desired frequency of messaging
1 per month
2-3 per month
1 per week
2-3 per week
4-6 per week
1 or more per day
0
5
10
15
20
25
% finding acceptable
Source: Enpocket.com
30
35
40
Case Study
Smile.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
Source: Enpocket.com
Research
showed that
25% of
recipients
replied to the
message.
The SMS code of Conduct
An MFSA initiative
Preventing SMS Abuse in South Africa
The 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
Preventing SMS Abuse in South Africa
SMS Code of Conduct – Details
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:
Source: MFSA
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
Preventing SMS Abuse in South Africa
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.
Source: MFSA
Interesting Facts
SMS Sent over Festive Season 2003
Volumes 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 Matin
Portugual: 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: Clickatell.com
Local Developments
SABC 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...
Source: Mediabytes
The AMF Interactive Media Committee
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Leandra Ferreira
Ansulie du Preez
Dalene van Niekerk
Tony Banahan
Johan Gilliomee
Vanessa McKay
Joanne Scholtz
MediaEdge CIA
MediaEdge CIA
Three Sixty Interactive
The Media Shop
Mindshare
IMSA
FCB Headspace