TXT NOW Text/SMS Message Marketing

By Giselle Tsirulnik

Popeye’s mobile coupon campaign that promotes the fast food chain’s three-piece chicken dinner has achieved a 54 percent double opt-in.

Cox Media is running television spots in Wichita, KS, encouraging consumers to text the keyword POPEYES to a short code (term for text phone number). Ping Mobile powered the campaign. Already 750 consumers have texted and more than 50 percent have opted in for future communications from Popeye’s.

“This type of mobile advertising campaign was a perfect fit for the Popeye’s stores in Wichita,” said Mike Orr, account executive at Cox Media.

“With the ability to directly engage clients with coupons and offers that provide the client with detailed feedback of what day of the week as well as what time of day that a response was generated from a product placed ad is a tremendous validation of return on investment,” he said.

Consumers that texted in received a message that said, “Show this msg at Popeye’s Chicken & get a FREE 2PC DINNER with your purchase of a 3 pc dinner & medium drink. Hurry into Popeye’s TODAY offer ends 7/31/09.”

Author: Robert Bentz

Philadelphia — Once considered a teenage fad, text messaging popularity in the United States is rising dramatically. Worldwide, according to the Mobile Marketing Association, 350 billion text messages are sent per month. Text messages, also known as SMS, are exchanged across the world’s networks with 15% of the messages being classified as commercial marketing messages.

In fact, text messaging is entering all aspects of our society, even relationships. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that nine percent of singles have even admitted to breaking up with their significant others via text message. This includes pop star Britney Spears who is said to have told Kevin Federline to hit the road via text message. Thirty percent of text users said that they’ve continued an argument by text message; probably part of the same group that ultimately contributed to the break ups.

But, text messages aren’t just about breaking up, they are about hooking up too. Bret Dunlap, owner of Advanced Telecom Services, said that his company has been providing dating services to newspapers and radio stations for 15 years. Advanced Telecom Services’ Matchlink brand has recently added a text dating service to go with its already existing online and telephone voice dating services. “It’s mostly the 18 to 24 crowd that uses the mobile text message dating service now,” said Dunlap.

The applications for text messaging promotions are also increasing just as quickly. Major League Baseball offers a text message service that enables its fans to catch up on the latest news and results of their favorite team. There are also custom cell phone wallpapers of team logos and unique actual game recorded play-by-play ringtones in the professional baseball offering. Two years ago, Live 8, which sponsored the single biggest text messaging promotion in history, garnered 26 million texts supporting increased government aid to poor African countries. The opportunities for promoters appear to only be limited by one’s imagination. In China, cell phone advertising is exploding, but it is slower to catch on in the United States despite the fact that many advertisers who have tried it have reported outstanding results.

One of the more interesting applications that we’ve seen is one being sold to radio stations by Chicago-based Spark Network Services. Spark offers a suite of text messaging products called PromoTXTRadio. The text messaging products allow radio stations to offer votelines, sweepstakes, song dedications, station play lists, traffic reports, and breaking news via text message. It even allows radio stations to offer their station jingles to be played as cell phone ringtones.

Still, Americans have a long way to go to catch their Asian brethren when it comes to the growing phenomenon of text messaging. CTIA-The Wireless Association, estimates that the average Chinese cell phone user sent 651 text messages last year compared to just 203 for US wireless users.

Recent news stories have reported a phenomenon that most knew existed: there is a gap in the use of text messaging between younger and older cell phone owners. Reports vary but indications are those 12 to 30 years of age account for 80% of text messaging usage.

Because of the instantaneous nature of texting and the tiny keypads and screens on a cell phone, an entire language has developed around text messaging. For those cell phone owners who do not make use of text messaging, the intricacies of this language can make messages almost incomprehensible. This language is abbreviated for speed and ease of use. It is a rather phonetic language where single letters or numbers may stand for entire words, such as “Y” for “why” or “8″ for “ate”. Vowels may be omitted to further reduce keystrokes, such as “btwn” for “between” and capitalization and punctuation are rare. Acronyms are used for phrases and whole sentences such as “ADBB” for “all done, bye, bye”. Symbols are also common in text messaging language.

Non-verbal communication such as facial expression and tone of voice have been said to express more meaning than words themselves in a spoken message. In any form of written communication this is lacking. This is particularly true in text messaging. Knowing whether the phrase “thts gr8t” (that’s great), is expressing something positive or sarcastic is important when communicating. Texting allows the user to create “emoticons” or “smileys” to add the tone to a comment. For instance, “thts gr8t ” would give the statement a positive meaning while typing “THTS GR8T” would indicate a shout for excitement.

Because of the uniqueness of the communication, those who do not make use of messaging on their cell phone are at a loss then for understanding or communicating in this texting language: the language of their children, grandchildren, younger co-workers, and many others. Certainly knowing the language of those with whom there is a need to communicate is a tremendous advantage.

Text messaging with a cell phone can offer other advantages that non-users might want to consider as well. Text messaging is less expensive than talk time and allows the user to communicate basic messages without incurring unnecessary expense. Text messaging can also be a great way of remaining accessible without creating a disturbance. Obviously, when taking a cell phone call in a meeting or in a crowded area, all those nearby are disrupted as the call is answered and conversation ensues. With text messaging others are seldom aware that an interruption has even occurred. One other distinct advantage of text messaging over voice calling can be the ease of communicating via cell phone with a person who has hearing impairment.

There are a number of ways to dive into the world of cell phone texting. One method used by many parents is to consult a child who is a habitual user of text messaging. However, for those on their own in the endeavor there are many resources to consult. Online, netlingo.com and webopedia.com provide references to assist cell phone owners in learning the vocabulary of text messaging. Another site, lingo2word.com offers a translator to assist cell phone owners in composing a text message or to translate a text message they receive into plain English. Other sites can assist with texting in other languages such as Transclick.com which, for a fee, will translate text messages in real time. A visit to the local bookstore or to Amazon.com will also reveal a number of reference books that can be invaluable for beginners.

Certainly, use of text messaging can be a challenge for those who are unaccustomed to what at first glance appears to be a more impersonal method of communication or for whom it may merely be a foreign or unnecessary concept. However, learning and using text messaging can certainly open the doors of communication to a broader audience just as learning any second language.

Author: Christine Peppler