Producers of T.V and radio programming are starting to jump on the mobile marketing bandwagon, with good reason. It’s estimated that the use of a mobile campaign to increase listener interaction can also increase revenues by 15-25%. With this type of gain, it’s no wonder popular programs such as American Idol, and the Jim Rome Show are opting in.Â
Companies such as HipCricket and i2SMS are leading the way in keyword-based SMS-Mobile campaigns. They work by allowing user’s to text in a keyword, and receive content related to that keyword back to their device as an SMS or MMS message. Whether it be texting a flight number to see if it’s on schedule, or texting in a coffee shop name to receive a coupon for your next visit, there’s an immense opportunity for advertisers.
Viewers and listeners can interact with a program in several ways using SMS messaging. Voting on polls, receiving various media such as videos, ringtones, and mp3s, getting important information about an event, and much more. The possibilities are almost endless, since so many types of content can be delivered via text message. Also, since user’s have to “opt-in” or text in to receive the content, there’s no worries about un-wanted interaction.
With radio, imagine texting in your favorite song and then being notified prior to that song playing, so you never miss it again. Or getting a text message laying out the next hour’s guests on your favorite radio talk show. Programs can extend it’s viewership and loyalty with such interaction, as well as having a new channel to advertise on.
Advertisers can also begin to develop their own user database of SMS-customers that have opted-in to receive content. As time goes on, it’s yet another useful marketing tool, as well as a measurable channel to track efficiency and ROI of any campaign they choose to deploy. In other words, it creates a “mobile-customer-CRM” of sorts that incorporates much more user data and trends that advertisers can use to make better marketing decisions.Â
As the technology evolves, and consumers become more aware of the ease and benefits of the technology, it should be interesting to see how advertisers apply SMS/MMS marketing and interaction into their content.
