Ez Texting SMS Marketing News

At this weeks Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, Google CEO Eric Schmidt laid out what he thinks the future will look like:

Google is now shipping 60,000 Android phones per day, Mr. Schmidt said. He said cloud computing was going to be key Google’s future.

Mr. Schmidt also announced that Google is working on new technology to improve security and enhance authentication to better protect data. He concluded his session by saying, “Mobile is pretty much the answer on everything,” announcing a major shift in strategy.

Read more at Mobile Marketer.

Mobile Marketer just released their Mobile Outlook for 2010, and while we're still reading through it, one article has already stood out - Giselle Tsirulnik's Nothing compares to ubiquity of SMS marketing:

SMS is becoming more recognized and accepted, as evidenced by increased brand adoption and budgets.

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Some industry experts argue that SMS will become irrelevant with the growth of the mobile Web, which is expected to reach nearly 100 million unique users per month in 2010, according to Millennial Media.

But nothing will beat the ubiquity and reach of SMS.

Discount retailer Target taps SMS on an ongoing basis to connect with consumers. Target has used text messaging in select advertising and marketing campaigns to be fresh and innovative, connecting with consumers to reflect their wants and needs.

“Text messaging is layered into a campaign if we believe it aligns with our overall strategy or adds an element of interest or surprise for our guests,” said Sara Boehle, spokeswoman at Target, Minneapolis."

Read the entire article (page 40) and download the entire report (PDF)

Last week we launched our Small Business SMS Marketing Resource Center - Today we're excited to announce that we've opened the doors to our new resource center just for real estate firms. Whether you're a Realtor, a property developer, or a management firm, we've got info, tips, and case studies that will help you launch your firm's first text messaging campaign.

Want to learn more? Visit the Real Estate Resource Center and start texting today!

MediaPost's OnlineMediaDaily reports on some findings that should clear up whether or not its time for your brand to launch its first SMS marketing campaign:

The stereotypes of the teenager whose thumbs are surgically attached to his or her mobile device and the older parent who sees the same as a phone without wires are, like most stereotypes, not entirely inaccurate -- but also not very reliable either.

According to new research by mobile messaging company Tekelec, 60% of those over 45 were found to be just as likely to use SMS as they were to make voice calls from their mobile device. The survey of 500 people in North America and Europe also found that text messaging is gaining on email as the preferred means of daily international communication, with 32% of responses across all ages preferring SMS, compared to 33% for email. And nearly a third of respondents said their use of SMS would increase in 2010.

Learn more about SMS Marketing in our post - What Is SMS Marketing?

JP Morgan is out with their 2010 Internet Industry Outlook. If they're right, the mobile world is set to keep on growing:

JP Morgan’s leading industry analyst Imran Kahn released the 328-page Interest Industry outlook which notes that total U.S. mobile advertising for 2009 is estimated at $2.6 billion, up 62 percent, with $2.3 billion of that from text messaging. Just 178 million was mobile search, and $140 million was display. Both of these were up 80 percent last year.

Turn to 2010, and mobile advertising is, according to Kahn, forecast to grow 45 percent to $3.8 billion ($3.2 billion SMS advertising, $253 million mobile display, and $31 million mobile search.)

Read more:
Mobile Marketing Watch
OnlineMediaDaily

Mobile Marketing Watch has picked up on a press release that has huge implications for the future of mobile advertising:

The planned $750M acquisition of AdMob by Google announced earlier this year is stuck in limbo as two consumer groups today began to lobby the FTC to block the purchase, claiming it is anti-competitive and raises privacy concerns.

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With $22 billion in expected revenue this year, the deal, which could help Google become a monopoly in the mobile advertising space in time, needs to be carefully scrutinized by the FTC and anti-trust groups, however, it may still pass. This greatly concerns many involved in the space.

“The mobile sector is the next frontier of the digital revolution. Without vigorous competition and strong privacy guarantees this vital and growing segment of the online economy will be stifled,” wrote John M. Simpson, consumer advocate at Consumer Watchdog and CDD Executive Director Jeffery A. Chester, in a statement.

Head over to Mobile Marketing Watch to read more.

Another day, another SMS marketing success story. Of note, this one involves one of the decade's best personal branders:

HairTech International is using mobile marketing to promote the launch of Paris Hilton's huge new line of hair and beauty products.

The campaign, which kicked off in late November, already has budding socialites and fans opting-in to receive product information and giveaways via mobile from Ms. Hilton. Velti is powering the campaign.

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The mobile program is focused around a certified, Velti-powered short code (text keyword PARIS to short code 72747) that enables fans to log on to a mobile Web site to learn about Ms. Hilton's new line, sign up for giveaways and get text alerts about upcoming promotions.

As a call to action the short code has a powerful media schedule behind it including social-media initiatives - with tweets to Ms. Hilton's 1 million Twitter followers and communications to her 140,000 Facebook friends.

What is SMS Marketing? We get this question a lot at Ez Texting. It's actually a really simple concept, so let's jump right in. We all know what text messages are. SMS Marketing are advertisements delivered via text messages. That's the basic definition. Is there more? Definitely - but nothing too complicated:

• Mobile Coupons - Deliver a coupon code as a text message to your customers.
• Sale & Event Reminders - Make sure your customers know about upcoming events at your store.
• Mobile Contests & Mobile Polling - Your customers can text in Keywords to a short code to vote or join a contents. When the event is over, you'll have collected their information so you can contact them in the future.
• And...anything else you can imagine that you can express in 160 characters!

Leare more about SMS Marketing at Ez Texting.

Or, if you're really interested, we suggest you check out our white paper, Mobile Marketing with Text Messaging.

We'd like to take a few moments of your time to announce the launch of the new TellMyCell, now powered by Ez Texting. A little bit about TellMyCell:

At TellMyCell we call ourselves The Mobile Marketing Company, because we've spent the last six years helping hundreds of brands launch affordable enterprise-class mobile marketing campaigns.

With six years of experience in the mobile marketing business we're confident that we can offer an unparalleled enterprise-class platform at an affordable price. Whether you're looking to hook your application up to our SMS gateway using our robust API, or you're getting ready to launch an inexpensive mobile text message marketing campaign, TellMyCell can help you get started.

Visit TellMyCell and learn more!

In another example of a smart company using mobile marketing to reach their target demo, we see The CW using the channel to promote the new Melrose Place:

The ad campaign was powered by mobile ad network Mojiva and targeted audiences on the mobile Web in the United States from Sept. 1 to Sept. 8. The ads ran on the iPhone and Android platforms leading up to the show’s premiere.

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The Melrose Place ad has a click-to-expand feature to show more information than a typical banner ad. When not in use, it contracts to let users continue browsing.

Once expanded, the advertisement linked to The CW’s mobile landing site for iPhone and iPod touches at http://iphone.cwtv.com.

The expanded ad also featured a video promoting the TV show that opened up in the user’s native video player. Now that the show has premiered, this mobile ad is no longer active, but the network has plans to continue its presence in the mobile space.

Read more at Mobile Marketer.