Corporate SMS

SMS Marketing Campaigns

SMS or text messaging has become a very popular means of communication in the Philippines. There are already more than 17 million Filipino subscribers that send around 150 million SMS messages each day. That's a total of 4.5 billion messages per month, making the Philippines the "SMS Capital of the World".

Not only can SMS be used in sending personal messages to loved ones and friends but it can also be used by companies or organizations as an innovative marketing tool. Unlike other marketing mediums, SMS messages can only have 160 characters of single color and single font text. Yet, SMS is more successful in building brand awareness than TV and Radio.

On average, SMS is 50% more successful at building brand awareness than TV and 130% more successful than radio

ICM, a research firm in Europe, found surprising results in their second Enpocket Insight Report on "The branding performance of SMS advertising". The findings revealed that SMS is 50% more effective in building brand awareness than TV and 130% more effective than radio. Moreover, SMS can also increase positive brand affinity by 18% to 35% and boost consumer inclination to purchase by 36%.

SMS is also considered to be a better marketing medium than email because it is more personal, more instantaneous, and has a wider audience.

On average, SMS is 50% more successful at building brand awareness than TV and 130% more successful than radio

Research has shown that this activity increases positive brand affinity by an average of 18%, and, in best results, by 35%

Mobile marketing also boosts consumers inclination to purchase by an average of 36%.

Some of the unique characteristics of SMS that makes it very effective in marketing are the following:

• Very personal and engaging. SMS marketing campaigns can be customized or personalized to give people what they want i.e. targeted SMS messages can be sent to a specific group of subscribers by age, profession, industry, interests, or by any other demographic information.
• Innovative and entertaining. Aside from plain text messages, SMS can also come in binary formats such as operator logos, icons, or tones. This makes the SMS marketing experience more enticing.
• Interactive. SMS recipients can immediately react and reply to SMS marketing campaigns.
• Measurable. By sending tokens or SMS vouchers, marketers will be able to gauge the effectiveness of SMS marketing campaigns when subscribers claim their prizes or use their tokens.

Applications of SMS in Marketing

SMS can be used in many different facets of marketing. Some of which are:

Research has shown that this activity increases positive brand affinity by an average of 18%, and, in best results, by 35%

• SMS Alerts. Announcements on events like sports tournaments, exhibits, seminars, and launching of new products or services can be sent via SMS.
• SMS Reminders. Reminders via SMS is a very efficient means of informing customers of their outstanding bills, registration fees, requirements, appointments, or deadlines.
• Branding. SMS operator logos or icons showing an organization's or company's logo can be a very effective branding strategy.
• Data mining. Demographic or research information can instantly and efficiently be solicited with the use of SMS.
• Viral marketing. With the right content, SMS messages can be a very effective viral marketing tool. It can make people talk to each other much faster than any other medium. Research shows that endorsed marketing campaigns (i.e. messages passed from one person to the other) increases brand awareness by 64%.

IMPLEMENTATION

A lot of advertising associations have claimed that SMS is the "Next Best Thing in Marketing" but only a few has materialized, especially with Small and Medium Enterprises (SME's). This is due to the fact that access to SMS solutions was very complex and expensive.

Mobile marketing also boosts consumers inclination to purchase by an average of 36%.

GiveMe Unlimited Inc., a Philippine-based company, has developed a cost-effective and easy-to-use SMS solution -- the InfoTXT Messaging Platform.

With minimal cost and no recurring maintenance fees, SME's and large corporations alike can purchase a bundled InfoTXT software and GSM modem to implement and run their own SMS marketing campaigns or SMS services immediately and with less costs.

Equipped with a GSM modem and an ordinary cellphone SIM card from any TelCo, InfoTXT can send and receive high volume SMS messages using a PC. It also has an auto-reply or Info-on-Demand feature, which can process SMS, requests 24x7. InfoTXT can be integrated with customer databases, inventory systems, accounting systems, or any information system. It can directly communicate with any ODBC-compliant database (ex. SQL Server, MS Access, Oracle, Foxpro, MySQL, etc.) or any website or web application running on Windows, Unix, Sun Solaris, etc.

Some of the companies that are currently using InfoTXT for their marketing campaigns are:

• Tagaytay Highlands International Golf Club
• Riviera Golf and Country Club
• InterContinental Hotel Manila
• Ultra Mega Multi Sales

For more information, please visit GiveMe Unlimited

Contact Erick S. Kalugdan
Cellphone +63917-894-3492
Email: erick@givemeunlimited.com

GIVEME UNLIMITED

The enterprise and wireless solutions provider, GiveMe Unlimited is a software development company specializing in wireless technologies namely SMS (short message service or text messaging) and WAP (wireless application protocol).

COMPETITIVE EDGE

GiveMe Unlimited provides the best value for money without compromising the quality of products and services. GiveMe Unlimited provides off-the-shelf and develops customized applications to suit clients business processes. GiveMe Unlimited is committed to total customer service by being constantly in contact with clients providing them full support before, during, and after implementation.

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