Txtlocal MD Darren Daws says SMS leads the way for mobile marketing

As the mobile industry comes of age and becomes more sophisticated, it is widely predicted that more companies are choosing to spend a larger percentage of their marketing budget on mobile advertising and applications. The benefits of SMS becomes clear; campaigns need to capitalise on using SMS to support their overall marketing strategies and use messaging as the main force driving customers to the Internet.

This view was echoed by some of the world’s biggest brands at the latest MMA forum. Gavin Mehrotra, Director of International Media for the Coca Cola Company, started his presentation stating categorically that "SMS is the number 1 priority at Coca Cola in mobile" and that you need it to reach just about every person on the planet.

We also know that SMS gives a campaign the added power to communicate with your target customer and build on the relationship you have with them based on permission and trust. Adding SMS to a campaign allows consumers to text for more information so the follow-up is able to become more targeted; we have seen this work in every sector. In the Arts we have worked with English National Opera who used an SMS campaign to increase ticket sales for late availability, an investment of £500 in SMS marketing brought a return on investment of an amazing £8000 in ticket sales. Papa John’s Pizza use SMS to market special offers at times that they want to build sales, in fact across all sectors we are experiencing a growth in ROI as campaigns are measurable in a way they haven’t been until now.

Combine this with the growth in the use of Smartphone technology and it’s clear why campaigns are benefiting from improved targeting with SMS. No longer are you limited to 160 characters of text, the use of Smartphone technology and the public acceptance of tiny URL’s on social media platforms, means that SMS can be used as tool to link to a bigger picture. SMS can now be used as the ‘hook’ needed to direct the reader to where they need to be online, faster than if they were left to their own devices. Links to apps, videos and web pages are easily incorporated into an SMS message, making SMS a vital tool working hand in hand with other mobile marketing tools to achieve greater ROI for every mobile campaign.
At Txtlocal, we work with clients of all sizes and shapes from English National Opera, Malmaison Hotels and Liverpool University to much smaller owner operated brands like Shelley’s Restaurant in Warrington, we can create campaigns that generate a real response - quickly. Any tool which allows a business owner to grow their customer data and intelligence, and then allow you to communicate targeted messages to them directly is powerful, and it’s right there in your hand – the humble mobile phone.

It’s safe to say that if the world's undisputed number one advertising brand, Coca Cola says categorically, SMS is priority number 1, then surely other businesses large or small need to operate with the same view.