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10 posts from February 2009

February 26, 2009

New White Paper: Mobile Marketing With Text Messaging

We recently published a new white paper over at Ez Texting, entitled Mobile Marketing With Text Messaging. Check it out or download a PDF copy. Here's an excerpt:

The prospect of launching your first mobile marketing campaign can be downright scary. Mobile is a new platform, with new conventions, new language, and new metrics. Perhaps you’ve read a white paper in the past. It was probably dozens of pages long and filled with incomprehensible jargon. It discussed mobile marketing campaigns that promised paradigm shifting results. The only problem with the paper was that the campaigns it spoke of were dauntingly complex, and they seemed to rely on technology that has yet to truly arrive. Moreover, they were expensive, and they necessitated that you put your business in the hands of an expensive marketing firm.

We understand where you are coming from. And that is why we put together this Ez Guide To Mobile Marketing With Text Messaging.


Read the entire white paper at Ez Texting.

Posted at 5:41 PM in Marketing | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

February 23, 2009

6,473 Texts a Month...

Today the Washington Post explores the phenomenon of teen texting:

Julie Zingeser texts at home, at school, in the car while her mother is driving. She texts during homework, after pompon practice and as she walks the family dog. She takes her cellphone with her to bed.

Every so often, the hum of a new message rouses the Rockville teen from sleep. "I would die without it," Julie, 15, says of her text life.

This does not surprise her mother, Pam, who on one recent afternoon scans the phone bill for the eye-popping number that puts an exclamation point on how growing up has changed in the digital age. In one busy month, Pam finds, her youngest daughter sent and received 6,473 text messages.


Some see this as a positive, though others see it as a negative:

For families, the text world can bring convenience as never before in arranging rides, doing errands, letting parents know of changing plans.

But some experts say there are downsides, starting with declines in spelling, word choice and writing complexity. Some suggest too much texting is related to an inability to focus.


Read more and decide for yourself at the Washington Post.

Posted at 4:19 PM in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

February 19, 2009

A Pill Dispenser That Texts You!

Via textually, we hear about another excellent use of text messaging for the elderly (albeit a proof of concept):

Designer Steven Grech has come up with a new pill dispenser that aims to improve patient compliance as it features an alert system via SMS to remind the user to pop designated pills are pre-programmed times of the day. The device will also record when you took your medication, showing the pharmacist the correct intervals. Unfortunately, it isn't sentient enough to know that the naughty patient has flushed those pills down the toilet instead of taking them with a glass of water, but we should see this device do well among the elderly should it ever be released.

Posted at 6:33 PM in SMS News | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

February 18, 2009

The Mobile Marketing Association Reaches 700 Members

We're proud to announce that Ez Texting recently joined the Mobile Marketing Association. The MMA recently reached a milestone of its own:

The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), the global association that strives to stimulate the growth of mobile marketing and its associated technology, today announced that it has surpassed 725 member companies globally.

Commenting on the news, new President and CEO of the MMA, Mike Wehrs stated, "Member services and retention are  key goals for the MMA in 2009. In today's economy, it is imperative to demonstrate to members and potential members alike that guidelines, member services, strategic components and Industry Development are at the top of our list while we grow this association. We are pleased with the growth of our global membership and believe that it will continue to develop throughout the year."

Read more @ Mobile Europe.

Posted at 2:49 PM in Marketing | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

February 17, 2009

Bill Gates Foundation To Bolster Mobile Banking In Emerging Markets

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has announced a grant program that will have interesting effects in the mobile banking sector:

Microsoft founder Bill Gates has agreed to help fund a massive rollout of projects enabling poor mobile phone users to transfer money using their handsets, an industry body announced Tuesday.
...

"There's 1.7 billion people in the emerging markets who don't have a bank account but do have a mobile phone, so they could use their mobile phone to conduct financial transactions," explained Michael O'Hara, marketing director or the GSMA.

"The target is to reach 20 million additional unbanked people with the service by 2012," he added.

About 12 mobile phone banking programmes have been launched worldwide in the last few years, with about 10 million users benefiting so far.

The Gates Foundation said the grant was part of its programme to extend financial services to the poor who are often without access to a simple savings account.

Read more @ AFP.

Posted at 11:34 AM in Charity | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

February 13, 2009

Thanks For The Love MobileMarketingRatings.com!

We recently received a heads up that Mobile Marketing Ratings.com awarded us their top slot. We'll let them take it from here:

We Say: Ez Texting offers instant signup, which comes with a limited free demo. They are one of the few firms that are very up front about their pricing. Perhaps that is because they offer the lowest rates we found for all but the largest messaging plans (think hundreds of thousands of messages per month).


Check out the entire list to see how we stack up to the competition at MobileMarketingRatings.com

Posted at 4:07 PM in Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

February 10, 2009

Mobile Coupons: The Allure Of A Free Burrito

When Big City's Burrito's Denver area outlets launched a mobile coupon campaign they had no idea how successful their marketing effort would be:

The chain’s metropolitan Denver area outlets mailed coupons to select residents offering a free burrito for texting in to a short code. What happened next at the three Big City Burrito restaurants is word of mouth at its best and mobile at its most enticing.

“Customers lining up to buy a burrito found out from others about the free offer, stepped out of line, texted and then stepped back into line,” said John Besley, owner of Money Mailer of Metro Denver.

Big City received 255 opt-ins in a week, leading to the launch of a mobile database.

These opted-in consumers have given permission to receive timely offers of discounted meals at Big City Burrito restaurants in the Aurora, Thornton and Westminster areas in the metro Denver.

Such was the effectiveness of this campaign that the offer had to be modified from a free burrito to buy-one, get-one free.


Read more at Mobile Marketer.

Posted at 5:27 PM in SMS News | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

February 09, 2009

London Police Using SMS Text Messaging

Cellular-news reports:

The police force covering the UK's City of London has launched an SMS service, which will allow people in the City to use their mobile phones to contact the police in non-emergency situations. The SMS service is aimed mainly at people that have hearing or speech impediments but it is available to all City residents.


phoneArena asks, "wouldn’t it be great if we could adopt this service over here in every major city?"

IntoMobile offers additional commentary:

Seems to me we’re noticing more and more instances of SMS/Messaging alert systems popping up as time goes by. Just last week I reported on a similar service offered by the Indian Train Police. The whole idea of this setup and service gets two big thumbs up from me. With more and more and more people carrying mobile devices every day, the more police and security forces can embrace and use technology… The safer and happier we’ll all be!

Posted at 3:10 PM in SMS News | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

February 05, 2009

Texting From The Cradle

When you look at demographic groups, as you go younger, you find higher and higher text messaging adoption rates. How young can you go?

LeapFrog unveiled a new product at a toy fair in London designed to allow small children to mimic their BlackBerry-addicted parents.

The LeapFrog Text & Learn, which is scheduled to arrive in U.S. stores this summer, is modeled after a personal digital assistant and allows children to practice spelling and computer skills with games that emulate text messaging, the New York Daily News reported Wednesday.

"Busy 3-year-olds will love to 'play' like their parents do," LeapFrog wrote in the description for the $21.99 toy.


Read more at UPI.

Posted at 5:39 PM in SMS News | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

February 02, 2009

Mobiles in Advocacy Redux -- Tips and Advice

We came across this interesting Q&A from Katrin Verclas about using mobile for advocacy groups, with notable examples from NARAL and Planned Parenthood:

Allyson Kapin from Women Who Tech asked me to respond to some excellent questions about mobile campaigns for advocating for specific social issues.  As I just received two  text messages from NARAL and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America promoting two campaigns they are running, I thought I take the opportunity to answer Allyson's questions publicly, drawing on my experience and observations of the last few years of mobiles in advocacy, illustrating what works and what is better avoided in using mobiles in advocacy campaigns.  This is, by nature of the question, somewhat US-centric.  A follow-up article will focus on mobile campaigning in the Global South to differentiate some of the key issues.

Read the full Q&A here.

Posted at 12:00 PM in Charity, Politics, SMS News | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)