Flying Fingers: Text-messaging overtakes monthly phone calls

By: Nic Covey, Director of Insights, Nielsen Telecom Practice Group



-->CI SUMMARY: More than three-quarters (77%) of wireless subscriber lines in the U.S. subscribe to or purchase text-message capability. Surpassing the number of monthly phone calls made in a month, text-messaging has become a new mainstream vehicle to market everything: TV shows, cars, soda, deodorant and dozens of other goods and services. An understanding of the “texters” and how they use short-code marketing is critically important to ensure ongoing growth and effectiveness.

Was it history in the making when Barack Obama’s presidential campaign attempted to announce Joe Biden as the vice presidential candidate over SMS (short message service) text-message in August? If it was, the cutting-edge “attempt,” was scooped by the mass media and it ended up as a breaking news story before the campaign scrambled to send the text-message to supporters at around three o’clock in the morning.
Nielsen estimates that the Biden text was received by 2.9 million mobile phone users in the U.S. over the course of that weekend. Whether or not the text-message was able to beat cable news to the punch, Nielsen still reports that it was one of the biggest and broadest mobile marketing events to date.
New mainstream medium The Biden announcement over texting is a highly-visible example of something called short-code marketing—marketing messages that are sent over text-message through a Common Short Code (CSC), or short code. A short code is essentially an abbreviated phone number used for text- (SMS) and multimedia- (MMS) messaging.

Today, short codes are being used to market everything from TV shows and cars to soda, deodorant and dozens of other goods and services. In the past two years, the medium has become a mainstream marketing vehicle—so much so that Obama’s use of the medium yielded not just buzz, but also a large and engaged audience for the Biden announcement.
Flying fingers In the U.S. today, about 200 million of the 259 million wireless subscriber lines subscribe to or purchase text-message capability. Of these, 138 million (or 53% of all mobile subscribers) use text-messaging on a regular basis. In fact, text-messaging has become so pervasive that U.S. mobile subscribers now send and receive more text-messages in a month than they do phone calls.

Nielsen recently reported that as of Q2 2008, mobile subscribers sent or received an average of 357 text-messages per month, compared with 204 phone calls. And while the average number of text-messages sent or received has increased 351% (from 79 text-messages sent or received last year), good old fashioned phone calls have not become less popular—that average has stayed fairly consistent over the past two years (from 216, on average, in Q2 2006). Not surprisingly, teenagers average the greatest number of text-messages sent or received, at 1,742 messages per month in Q2 2008.

Text-messaging is embedded in the American communications lifestyle. For that matter, texting has been an important part of the mobile experience internationally as well. Nielsen’s most recent estimates for text-message use in 11 countries show that, while 53% of American mobile subscribers send text messages each month, texting is even more ubiquitous in countries such as Italy and China. Given the immense popularity of texting in the U.S. and abroad, it’s not surprising that marketers have been ramping up their use of the medium to engage their customers.
Cracking the code In the U.S., short codes are administered by the Common Short Code Administration (CSCA), a service of CTIA – the Wireless Association, a trade group for the wireless industry. Short codes come in the form of either vanity codes, or random digit codes. While vanity codes are more expensive to lease, they are increasingly discouraged due to the expanding prevalence of cellular smartphones with QWERTY keypads (the most common keyboard layout on English-language computer), which can make it difficult for users to identify the vanity’s number to dial.
Marketers have used short-code marketing in a tight, but creative range of ways: from simple information messaging, to rewards programming, to couponing and even direct SMS purchasing. Tracking the audiences of short codes through the world’s largest telecommunications bill panel, Nielsen tracks all billing activity, including text-messages sent and received, applications and games downloaded, and other aspects of a subscriber’s billed mobile use for AT&T and Verizon Wireless.
Coca-Cola has engaged in some of the most prominent short-code marketing in the past year. As of Q2 2008, about one million AT&T and Verizon Wireless customers were actively text-messaging with Coca-Cola as part of their “My Coke Rewards” program.
Through “My Coke Rewards”, Coca-Cola customers collect unique codes found on various Coca-Cola products and enter them into an account they’ve registered at mycokerewards.com. Points are collected and redeemed for rewards. The mobile component of the program allows consumers to enter the codes over their mobile phone, on the go. According to Nielsen, Coca-Cola’s mobile users typically send about nine messages a month to Coca-Cola.

And short-code marketing is not just for kids and teens. In the Coca-Cola program, half of users were 35 or older. That age diversity is not unique to Coca-Cola, either. Overall, 57% of the standard rate short codes are sent by persons over the age of 35. For an audience accustomed to traditional channels of marketing, the opportunity to engage with brands in a new way is proving to be a welcomed experience.
Profitable returnsRewards programs are not the only way to use short-code marketing—direct couponing has proven to be a lucrative venture as well. A group of Ashley Furniture Homestores in the Carolinas bolstered sales during a slow time this summer when they sent 6,000 text-message coupons to existing customers. Billed as a four-day “secret sale,” the local chain of eight stores also sent nearly 29,000 e-mails to the general public. The text-messages ended up paying off. Almost two-thirds (63%) of the revenue generated from the sale was attributed to the SMS coupon. The group further estimated that for every $1 spent in executing the text-message campaign, $122 was generated in revenue.
Subway, Arby’s, Jiffy Lube, BestBuy, Papa Johns, Village Inn and other major brands have also provided special offers through text- and multimedia-messaging. For most brands, mobile coupons have been delivered through text-message as codes that are manually entered by a cashier. Alternatively, brands may also use multimedia-messaging (picture/video-messaging) to send barcode coupons that can be scanned as a traditional paper coupon might.

Active audience Short codes are changing the way viewers engage with traditional media as well. “American Idol” is arguably the most prolific example of viewers engaging with a TV program over text-messaging. In participation TV, viewers vote for contestants, play along at home or get additional information around a television program over SMS text-messaging. Already millions of mobile subscribers, in the U.S. and abroad, are participating with their favorite TV shows over text-messaging—some at standard rates and others paying a premium for the opportunity to vote or enter sweepstakes.
Increasingly, print and outdoor media are also employing text-messaging to engage readers. The most interesting case may be with two startups: ShopText and SnapTell, who work with publications to embed SMS interactivity into publications. While ShopText uses straight text-messaging and keywords to allow readers to request information, coupons and samples, SnapTell uses a multimedia-messaging approach to allow users to take a picture of a print advertisement, using their phone (Nielsen reports that 73% of U.S. mobile subscribers had a picture phone as of Q2 2008) in order to receive information, discounts or even free samples.

Total recall So what affect does short-code marketing have on consumers? According to Nielsen, in Q2 2008, 16% of texters in the U.S. see some form of text-message advertising each month. Not surprisingly, teens are the most likely to engage with short-code marketing—35% see some form of text-message advertising in the course of a month. African-American and Hispanic mobile subscribers are also more likely than the average texter to engage with some form of text-message advertising in a month, at 24% and 23% respectively.

Of those texters who recall seeing some form of advertising while using text-messaging, 45% say they have responded in some way. And the most popular response to any type of mobile advertising (text, video, Internet, etc.) —s ending another text-message. Fully one-quarter of responders sent another text-message—emphasizing the interactivity and engagement this medium presents.
Connection protection As text-messaging further expands in the U.S., so too will the opportunity to engage with customers over this highly personal and interactive medium. While consumers today may look at every text-message they receive, over-exposure to mobile text ads or sloppy targeting techniques could contaminate marketer’s ability to effectively connect with consumers.
As marketers consider this new medium, they should look at SMS and see an opportunity to engage with their core customer base in a new and unique fashion. Short-code marketing has all the potential of a mass medium in terms of reach, but requires a very personal execution. Perhaps more than any other advertising medium today, text-based marketing is as simple as a conversation.

-Nielsen, Nov. 2008

Win Free Clint Black Tickets!

The RiverPark Center has teamed up with Agent511 to offer you updates on upcoming events and special promotions sent right to your cell phone! The RiverPark will also be using text messaging for contests! Sign up for Riverpark textblasts at http://www.riverparkcenter.org/riverpark_signup/riverpark-textblast-signup.htm. You will then be automatically entered to win a pair of Clint Black tickets. How will you know if you won? You'll receive a text message telling you that you're going for free to one of the biggest shows to coming to Owensboro!

YMCA-Keeping You Healthy Through Text!

Want to get a jump on this year's New Year's Resolution? Light exercise for just 30 minutes a day is proven to improve health and lengthen your life. Owensboro's Family YMCA is ready to keep you motivated and in good health using text messaging to notify it's members and non-members of important schedule changes, class signups, upcoming races and events, discounts on membership, and inspirational messages. To sign up for text blasts from the YMCA visit http://www.owensboroymca.org

Kentucky Bisons Basketball Team - Text Contesting at the Sportscenter!

Have you joined the stampede? The Kentucky Bisons have added text message updates to keep you informed of the latest updates, giveaways, and scores for Owensboro's newest ABA team! The Bisons will have "text contests" during home games to give away free merchandise, tickets, and much more to texters who participate in the contests. A truly interactive fan experience!


Click here to sign up for final scores and Kentucky Bisons breaking information right to your cell phone!

Casinos now Using Text Messaging

...Good to know that we are on the right track - we have talked to some casinos/concert halls about utilizing text messaging into their marketing mix - ANG

Harrah's casino uses mobile to promote concert series
By Mickey Alam Khan

June 6, 2008

Placing bets on mobile
Harrah’s Council Bluffs Casino & Hotel in Iowa is running a pilot program using mobile marketing to promote this year’s Stir Concert series.

The casino company picked a mobile marketing platform to reach concertgoers with information and reminders on new shows, as well as register them for discounts and promotions via text messaging. It will also be able to send and track mobile coupons, host contests and enable voting through text messaging.

“Harrah’s Council Bluffs was looking for a direct, energetic, real-time marketing channel to reach prospective Stir concertgoers and attendees with promotions, information, contests and other deals that ultimately would enhance customer relationships and involvement for a bottom-line revenue increase,” said Jamie Buelt, partner.

“We have designed and built a scalable mobile marketing platform that marries technology with effective direct marketing strategy,” she said. “The platform is easy to use and integrate into the casino’s marketing mix. In this case, the texting program is directed at concertgoers and isn’t tied to the property’s player club program.”

Harrah’s Council Bluffs is just across the river from Omaha, NE. Nebraska doesn’t allow gambling.

Red-carpet treatment for concertgoers
This is one of three Harrah’s texting trials underway. The Council Bluffs’ effort revolves around non-gaming entertainment at the property.

“For this program, the target audience is concertgoers, many of whom are not part of Harrah’s player club program,” Ms. Buelt said. “This program builds communication around non-gaming, entertainment events.”

Text works in concert
The mobile program kicked off last month with the first concert featuring the Styx rock band. Thirty additional concerts are planned through October.

Consumers can opt in or text Harrah’s with a keyword to get information or promotions. Harrah’s, one of the nation’s better known database marketers, makes sure these consumers double opt-in to confirm that they want to be on the list.

So consumers could text Styx to the 72466 short code for the Styx show to participate in a contest to meet the band backstage. Those who texted replied with Y to confirm that they wanted the information they sought.

While the winner got to meet the band, other contestants received something to keep them happy, such as a mobile coupon for a two-for-one buffet at the casino and hotel.

The platform allows messages to be scheduled over several months. Users not only control message content, but also can also add contests and promotions at the last minute.

In addition to list-building and messaging, the platform allows for immediate review of campaign results as well as the collection and categorization of demographic information.

Harrah’s personnel were trained on the system that is administered through a secure Web site.

"Harrah's provides best-practice techniques for building lists, which includes getting concert and wait staff involved and incorporating the invitation to be on text message list into other channels including print, billboard, radio, television, direct marketing, email and other collateral,” Ms. Buelt said.


Also, Harrah’s can segment by opt-in channels such as collateral, radio or the Internet, and via promotions including win free tickets or meet the band.

Harrah’s typically relies on its loyalty card and direct and interactive marketing overtures to encourage repeat visits to its casinos and gaming tables. Its cards help track hotel guests spending and playing habits and thus tailor offers that likely might resonate.

Text is new territory for the world’s leading casino owner and operator, whose brands include Harrah’s, Caesars and Horseshoe. The corporate parent operates under the Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. name.

“Texting, more than any other channel, reaches not just the customer, but the customer who has expressly asked you to contact them,” Ms. Buelt said.

“More people own mobile phones than own computers,” she said. “Typically, people have three things with them when they leave the house – their keys, wallet and cell phone. Texting has moved beyond being a pastime of only adolescents and twenty-somethings. In fact the fastest-growing segment of texters is women over 40.

“In contrast to email, print, direct mail and telemarketing, mobile marketing reaches people where they are 24/7. Moreover, since carriers impose strict standards on spam, people only give their mobile number to people or companies with whom they truly want to communicate. Texting is immediate, permission-based, energetic and effective.”

Text Messaging at Lollapalooza and Concerts Everywhere!

Agent511 does all of this! - exciting times :) - ANG



August 15, 2007
They’ve Just Got to Get a Message to You
By JEFF LEEDS
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 14 — As a teenage rock fan, all Dennis Vorreyer really expected of the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago two weekends ago was the chance to see his favorite bands perform live.

But he and his father, Jeffrey, who accompanied him to the festival, signed up for Lollapalooza’s text-message network, and thus learned about a guitar-playing contest taking place there. Dennis, 14, entered and won a new Gibson guitar. Tad Kubler, the lead guitarist for the Hold Steady, who was involved in the contest, then invited Dennis to perform with the band as it closed its set.

“Having your cellphone everywhere is important for everybody now,” Dennis said. “I never dreamed of playing Lollapalooza.”

The modern mobile phone — equipped with camera, Internet access and more — has proved to be a liability for some performers, like Akon and Beyoncé, whose regrettable moments were captured by fans and then immortalized on YouTube and similar sites. But for the fans themselves, mobile phones are becoming as important an accessory as an all-access wristband. Beyond using them to record a short souvenir, they are becoming a ticket to everything from free ringtones to V.I.P. treatment.

On Gwen Stefani’s recent tour, as many as 20 percent of the audience at some shows agreed to pay 99 cents for text messages and the chance to win better seats, according to the mobile marketing company Impact Mobile. At festivals like Lollapalooza, thousands of fans sign up to receive continuous updates from concert organizers about promotions and special events.

Even when there is no fee, the service comes at a price: fans must give their phone numbers to marketers. And purists — and some artists — disapprove of fans pecking out text messages or snapping pictures during performances. Still, the arrival of a new generation of phone-based activities could add a new twist to live events at a time when rising ticket prices have discouraged many concertgoers.

Prince recently invited fans at a Minneapolis show to send text messages to his Web site so that everyone else could read about what they were missing. (“show just ended. I have never sweat more in my entire life,” read one message posted at 4:03 a.m.)

On the Family Values hard-rock package tour, the band Korn has allowed concertgoers to vote by phone on which song should end the show. For $1.99, they can also enter a contest to win an expense-paid trip to a coming show in California. Fergie devotees who attended her recent shows could dance against a special-effects “green screen” to create a video in which they appeared with her. The resulting clip was sent to their cellphones.

The introduction of more interactive features highlights how musicians — and the marketers who surround them — are trying to establish connections that continue long after a fan leaves a concert. Mathew Knowles, the manager (and father) of Beyoncé, said he expected to use the thousands of phone numbers collected on her current tour to pitch a variety of products, including a Beyoncé-themed phone.

“It allows us to have that continuing dialogue and communication via the cellphone. That’s the bigger piece of the puzzle,” Mr. Knowles said. “I love the fact that all of those phones are up in the air. They want to be able to experience it after they leave. That’s a beautiful thing to me.”

Some warn that concerts could quickly open a new channel for marketers to send junk mail to cellphones. “You can see this getting out of hand,” said Les Borsai, an artist manager and co-owner of Modern Mobile Marketing, one of the companies that run text promotions. But the phone information “is the most sacred piece we have. I don’t want to go and get this data and sell it to Kmart. What you want to do is build trust with the consumer.”

So far, the money generated from paid, or “premium,” text-messaging events represents a fraction of a tour’s overall revenue. Marketers say that even popular music acts might ring up only $100,000 a tour. But the possibility of a new revenue stream has already touched off squabbles among concert promoters, sponsors and artists over who keeps most of the money — and the phone-number registries — that these promotions generate. Spread over several tours, the dollars could make a difference.

Perry Farrell, the former Jane’s Addiction singer who was a founder of Lollapalooza, said he had heard the complaint that armies of phone-toting fans are spoiling live performances. But he said musicians who gripe about that were missing the point.

“The cellphone is here,” he said. “You can choose to ignore it, you can grump at it, or you can say, ‘How can I take this amazing invention, how can I apply this and make my festival, and my life, more exciting?’ ”

Agent511 is Expanding! - Evansville, IN

On Wednesday, November 5th Agent 511 moved into our newest office at 318 Main St. in Evansville, IN. Agent511 will be maintaining a presence in Evansville to better serve our Evansville-based clients and grow in the Indiana market.

Agent511 Launches New Website!

Agent511 launched our new website last Friday. On the new website you can sign up for text blasts, join our mailing list, and find relevant news regarding our company and current trends in the industry. The new website is even easier to navigate than our previous version and it also offers everything you need to know about the latest developments in our company and our services. To visit the new website, click here.

Timberland settles text spam lawsuit

Agent511 is spam-free and committed to opt-in text messaging only :) - ANG

September 23, 2008 — 10:06am ET | By Jason Ankeny

Footwear and clothing manufacturer Timberland has agreed to reimburse consumers for unauthorized text messages advertising its products. Timberland and e-commerce provider GSI will pay $7 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging the firms with violating the U.S. Telephone Consumer Protection Act--according to KamberEdelson LLC, one of the law firms that helped bring the suit, the settlement is earmarked for a cash fund to reimburse mobile subscribers who received the text ads.

A website has been established to offer consumers more information on the settlement as well as details on applying for a reimbursement. Both Timberland and GSI deny any wrongdoing, blaming the unsolicited texts on a third-party firm that failed to secure consumer consent for the messaging campaign.

Obama/McCain and the Importantance of Mobile Technology

The 2008 presidential race: A baseline for the future of wireless campaigns

Gary E. Salazar

Story posted: November 3, 2008 - 12:40 pm EDT
This year’s presidential election is significant in more ways than one: It marks the year that text messaging and the mobile Web became political battlegrounds, and serves as a benchmark in the amount of money spent on wireless efforts.

Not surprisingly, the juggernaut that is Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign has broken much of the new ground, likely due to the operation’s record-breaking fund-raising. Obama’s campaign has used text messaging and a mobile Web site in its new-media platform to reach potential voters. Sen. John McCain’s camp didn’t use text messaging or other wireless technologies to reach the electorate.

“Will text messaging win Obama the election? Absolutely not,” said Evan Tracey, COO of Campaign Media Analysis Group, which has been tracking political spending since 1996. “If nothing else it is a symbolic gesture to young voters that he gets them. It gives him street cred.”

In the future, though, politicians will not be able to ignore wireless technology during election season, Tracey said. The Obama campaign has laid the foundation for wireless technology to be part of political campaigns.

“Wireless will be part of political campaign plans,” he said. “After this election, there will be studies of how it was won, and I am sure the text messaging aspect will be examined.”

Indeed, according to a report from J.D. Powers and Associates, 27% of wireless customers have replaced their traditional telephone with wireless service. Of this group, 61% report they have completely disconnected their landline service. And a large portion of those users are text-savvy; according to mid-year figures by industry association CTIA, 75 billion text messages are sent every month.

Further, reaching Baby Boomers and their children is an important demographic of the voting populace that will be key in this and future elections, Tracey noted. “Those two generations consume media in different ways,” he said.

The older generation is much more inclined to get their information from newspapers and television, while their kids can be reached through the Internet and through wireless technology.

Such thinking is borne out by numbers from J.D. Powers, which found 29% of wireless users 18 and 24 years old solely rely on wireless service for communications, compared with just 9% of customers 65 and older.

Tracey said Obama also could afford to venture into wireless technology.

“He has the money to do these things,” he said. “He has the money to try just about anything.”

Indeed, Obama is on pace to spend the most money ever in a presidential campaign. As of Oct 15, Obama had spent $573 million, with $65 million still left in his war chest, according to campaign finance reports. McCain has spent $260 million, with $25 million left on hand. The amounts are expected to increase as both campaigns have yet to report the full amount of cash raised and spent up until Election Day.

Mobile marketing costs

As for Obama’s mobile marketing efforts, his campaign hired Distributive Networks to handle the text-message campaign. The Beltway startup has been paid $230,000 since the company was hired last July, according to campaign finance reports. The company has declined to say how many text messages have been sent since the company was hired last year.

The Obama campaign’s use of text messaging has been well documented. Numerous messages have been sent to those who signed up online or by sending a text message to Obama’s shortcode, 62262. The campaign created a buzz when it announced Obama’s vice presidential choice would be unveiled via a text message in August. However, Obama’s choice of Sen. Joe Biden was first reported by the Associated Press.

Text messages have been sent from Obama, his wife, Michelle Obama, Biden and various campaign staffers. In the messages, the campaign has tried to add a personal touch using the recipients name and the words “we” and “you” in describing the campaign’s efforts.

Recipients have also received text messages about where Obama stands on certain issues and to gather volunteers and supporters at scheduled events. The campaign also sent out text messages after each of the presidential debates and to respond to McCain attack ads. The campaign has also used the platform to raise money by asking for donations.

As for the mobile Web, in August the Obama campaign hired iLoop Mobile to launch a mobile Web site, m.barackobama.com, and the California firm has been paid $7,000, according to finance reports.

But even with Obama’s nod to wireless as a marketing medium, the campaign spent most of its ad dollars on TV, Tracey said. When all is said and done, Tracey expects for the amount of money spent on TV ads by the Obama campaign to climb to $250 million, which would exceed the record set by President George W. Bush in 2004, when his campaign spent $188 million.

Obama has also had a strong online advertising presence. The campaign has paid Google Inc. $4.5 million and Microsoft Corp. $393,000, according to campaign finance reports. McCain has paid Microsoft $45,000.

Communications costs

In total, Obama’s and McCain’s campaigns doled out $3.3 million to Verizon Communications Inc., Verizon Wireless, AT&T Mobility, U. S. Cellular Corp. and AT&T Inc., according to campaign finance reports filed by both candidates with the Federal Election Commission. Although neither campaign provided details on exactly what the expenses were for, the money likely went to communications.