SMS services are a dime a dozen these days it seems, with new platforms and methods being introduced at a rapid pace, but when a large-scale media company introduces SMS as part of its portfolio of offerings, it provides a massive platform for SMS expansion.
Such is the case with CBS Outdoor’s introduction of SMS capability for its advertisers’ media campaigns. The program, called txt2go, will include a text keyword on advertiser signage that the public can use to access marketing messages from its various clients. Yes, this may seem like just another SMS service, but with a massive media company like CBS behind it, it immediately becomes something substantial.
In launching txt2go, CBS Outdoor becomes the nation’s very first out-of-home media company to provide a complete text messaging solution for its clients. The add-on feature creates an affordable new avenue for advertisers looking to package into their media features like digital couponing, sweepstakes, direct response and point of purchase. The technology will allow advertisers to track responses to their marketing in real time, and do so on a scale they’ve likely never been able to before.
The underlying SMS technology is being provided to CBS by Rip Road, a mobile media and marketing company who has provided SMS and other mobile technologies to many national brands and large media companies in recent years. “Our experience has shown that when we allow a consumer to engage with a brand or advertiser on their terms, the desired participation increases dramatically,” said Eric Leven, Chief Executive Officer, Rip Road. “This mobile application lets an advertiser generate the tremendous value an outdoor effort provides, as well as start communicating with prospects through coupons, discounts, news and much more.”
It should be interesting to see how CBS leverages its new-found technology and whether its huge national brands embrace SMS as part of their more traditional advertising campaigns.
