Archive for June, 2011

Sports Information Directors at many large and small universities are now using 84444.com for sports information.  Fans and alumni can’t get enough when it comes to college sports information.  Now, you can reach them on the medium that they prefer most — their cell phones.

Watch our video about Sports Info Text and you’ll learn just how to get your college sports information out to your fans and alumni in the quickest and most efficient way possible.

Are you a member of a text message service and don’t want to receive the messages any more?  It’s easy to unsubscribe.  Just reply with STOP and you’ll no longer be part of the database.  This work for both premium SMS and standard rate services like those offered here on 84444.com.

One of the great things about our 84444.com platform is that it automatically removes your subscriber if they reply with one of the keywords like STOP.  This makes it easy on you to spend your time marketing the services and not bothering with manual removal of opt-out customers.

Sprint added a short code surcharge on April 1, 2011.

The carriers certainly aren’t making it any easier for the text message marketing industry.

On April 1, 2011, Sprint, Nextel, and Boost began charging surcharges on all text message marketing sent from a short code.  Sprint’s actions follow up T-Mobile which did the same in the Fall of 2010.

Local retailers to drive mobile advertising.

Mobile ad spending in the USA is expected to grow to $4 billion in 2015.  That is up from just $790 million in 2010, according to the latest forecast by BIA/Kelsey.

One of the key drivers of that growth will be local mobile advertising.  These are Mom and Pop stores that are just getting into the act with text message marketing, mobile web sites, and apps development.  By 2015, local mobile advertising will be $2.8 billion, or 70% of the total mobile ad pie.

Most local restaurants and businesses simply don’t know that mobile advertising is so cheap with the most important aspect of local mobile being text message advertising.  But, once local advertisers try it, they continue using it.

Advanced Telecom Services has been very active in providing custom QR codes for its marketing partners. 

Thanks to TMC Net for their article about our work that we’ve done in the custom QR code market.

Custom QR codes drive usage and brand your product.

One of the many custom QR codes developed by Advanced Telecom Services.

Advanced Telecom Services announces its new ATS QR code service that provides 2D barcodes to businesses and organizations.

With ATS QR Codes, products and organizations can brand their QR codes with easily recognizable logos and graphics.  This gives added emphasis to the QR code and enables it to better represent the brand or product and stand out in the advertisement to secure larger amounts of scans from consumers

“One of the raps against QR codes has been that it is nothing more than a square box of squiggly black and white lines that don’t represent one brand over another,” said Bob Bentz, president of Advanced Telecom Services.  “With ATS QR codes, we create appealing custom design QR codes that enhance the look and feel of the customer interaction.”

According to Bentz, QR codes have been one of the hottest sellers in its portfolio of mobile marketing products in the last few months.  Companies are purchasing them mostly because of the unique design, but also because Advanced Telecom Services can also provide turnkey mobile integration with capabilities to customize a mobile web site.

“We emphasize the importance of looking like your brand from the outside and the inside,” added Frank Mazza, lead designer for Advanced Telecom Services’ QR code division.

QR codes were invented by Denso-Ware, a subsidiary of Toyota, in 1994, to track parts for vehicle manufacturing in Japan.  The bar codes have been popular in Japan and Korea for many years, but are more recently becoming part of marketing efforts in the United States and Canada.

In Canada, QR codes are used on the front page of the Canadian passport application to speed up the processing of new passports.  United Airlines, among other innovative airlines, use QR codes as boarding passes.  And, when you sign up for Google Places, you’ll receive a decal QR code for your front door that links visitors to your web site.

Advanced Telecom Services has developed QR code promotions for companies and organizations such as Radio One, Subway, and St. Joseph’s University.  The Wayne, Pennsylvania company has been in business since 1989 and operates international offices in Toronto, London, Dublin, Prague, and Bratislava.

Retail stores can benefit from text message marketing.

Short codes enable retailers to keep in touch with customers and prospects via text message marketing.  Short codes enable the retailer to establish two way conversation with the people that matter the most–the customers.

It is important to remember several factors when considering a text message marketing program for your retail store.

• Mobile interaction is not a stand alone activity for a retailer.  You need the right marketing mix.  A savvy retailer leverages his print, radio, television, online, and outdoor advertisements by making them come alive and become interactive with short code marketing.
• It is vital to respect the mobile subscriber’s right to privacy.  An effective short code marketing plan will always gain permission from the consumer through an effective opt-in before sending broadcast text messages in the future.
• Under no circumstances should a retailer purchase a list of cell phone numbers despite the opt-in claims that may be made regarding the list.  The last thing you want to do is alienate potential customers with unwanted and unsolicited promotional text messages.
• Broadcast text messages should always offer some value to the consumer.  Simply sending a reminder of your retail store is not enough and may cause consumers to opt-out of your program.
• The Mobile Marketing Association recommends that a retailer send no more than 2 purely promotional messages per week on average.

Today is the text message's 18th birthday.

My daughter just recently turned 18-years-old.  She’s as old as the text message.  Given the number of text messages on her cell phone bill, she literally has grown up with texting.  And, embraced it like ex-Phillies’ outfielder Jayson Werth.

Though there are several claims to being the first to text, wireless engineer Brennan Hayden sent what many consider to be the first commercial text message on June 7, 1993.  The profound text said: “burp.”

While sending text messages was flourishing in Europe in the early ’90′s, there was not a universal protocol among carriers in the USA.  Therefore, most text messages between carriers were being lost.  That is, until the burpers got involved at meetings in Tampa to establish guidelines for inter-carrier text messaging.

The text message really took off in 2004 with the birth of QWERTY cell phones, then reached new heights when it played a major role in the election of President Barack Obama who had an extensive mobile marketing campaign while John McCain had nothing.

But, there also has been a dark side to text messaging.  In 2008, a train crash killed 25 passengers when the engineer was texting.  In 2009, Michael Jackson’s death spread by text message and in 2011, the killing of Osama Bin Laden spread through the country via text message. 

Although less catastrophic, Brett Favre probably wished he’d kept his cell phone in his pocket, as does a Congressman with an interesting name that is now in the news with his “Weiner-gate.”

In case you are wondering, 72% of USA adult cell phone users now send and receive text messages.

We’ve come a long way since the burp 18 years ago.