Continued Importance of SMS

With approximately 90% of the U.S. population owning cell phones, according to CTIA’s semi-annual wireless industry survey, and 98% of those phones being SMS-enabled out of the box, SMS is one of the most popular communication methods in the world. The rise of text messaging can be attributed to its low cost and ease of use. If you have a cell phone, you have the capability to text — no downloads or installations needed. And with the advent of unlimited messaging plans, texting has become the mobile communication option of choice for cell phone-toting teens, beating out e-mail, and phone conversations.

In May, 65.2% of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile devices, up 1.4 percentage points versus the prior three-month period, according to comScore, making texting the top cellular device feature for all U.S. consumers, aside from calling.

The texting audience is large and still growing. eMarketer projects that the growth of the global market for ad support of mobile messaging will reach nearly $12 billion in 2011, up from about $1.5 billion in 2006.

What’s perhaps one of the most interesting reasons to advertise via SMS is that “about 90% of all text
messages are read within three minutes of their delivery, and over 99% of all text messages are read by the recipient,” according to a whitepaper on conversational advertising [PDF] by SinglePoint. The immediacy of SMS is currently unparalleled by any other marketing channel.

Please read more about Top 5 Mobile Advertising Trends To Watch on Mashable.com

Mobile Coupon Usage to Triple Globally by 2014

HAMPSHIRE, UK -- 12/08/09 -- According to Juniper Research's new report -- 'Mobile Coupons & NFC Smart Posters: Strategies, Applications & Forecasts 2009-2014,' consumer usage of mobile coupons will see users exceed 300 million globally by 2014, principally in developed markets, with the apps revolution triggering the growth of new mobile coupon services.

As more and more users acquire smart phones, they will want to exploit the improved capabilities of their devices with new features and services, especially when it is going to save them money. For marketers, mobile coupon campaigns sent using location based applications can be much more effectively targeted than the scattergun approach of traditional coupons.

Howard Wilcox, Senior Analyst at Juniper Research, explained: "We found that with the growth of smart phones, a growing number of coupon-specific downloadable apps are being launched, often linked to location based searches. For example, when you are in the mall and you have your smart phone on you with your downloaded coupons app, then you should be able to find your way to a good offer nearby."

However, the mobile coupons report identified a number of market constraints. For example, some users could be reluctant to share their mobile number to participate in coupon schemes due to the danger of spam and fake coupons -- privacy is a concern to many. Despite this and the lack of progress on NFC coupons because of the poor availability of NFC phones, the mobile coupon usage is still set to triple over the next 5 years.

Further findings include:

-- ARPU from NFC coupons and smart posters will exceed ARPU from NFC payment transactions -- N. America and Western Europe to be major regions for mobile coupon usage in 2014

The report contains comprehensive six year forecasting for all the key market parameters including users, redemption rates, values and incremental ARPU for all mobile coupons, NFC coupons and NFC smart posters.

Mobile Coupons whitepaper and further details of the study, 'Mobile Coupons & NFC Smart Posters: Strategies, Applications & Forecasts 2009-2014' can be freely downloaded from www.juniperresearch.com.

Juniper Research provides research and analytical services to the global hi-tech communications sector, providing consultancy, analyst reports and industry commentary.

Contact:
John Levett
T: +44(0)1256 830 002
E: john.levett@juniperresearch.com

Australia's Best SMS Marketing System Now With Unbeatable Pricing

We are pleased to announce new SMS credit pricing with price reductions as much as 33% on our most popular packages.

Staying in touch with your customers, clients or work force has never been this cost effective. Low pricing combined with the ease of use of our SMS & MMS Messenger system makes it easy to save $$$ on your communication and advertising costs.

New Great Value Packages Available Now:

Package	Credits	Cost per SMS (AUD)
Starter	100	$0.099
Standard	500	$0.099
Small Business	1,000	$0.099
Business Pro	5,000	$0.090
Corporate	10,000	$0.080
Enterprise	50,000	$0.070
Industrial	100,000	$0.065
Small Reseller	250,000	$0.060
Medium Reseller	500,000	$0.055
Large Reseller	750,000	$0.050
New Subscription Packages Also Available:
Subscription Package	Monthly Credits	Cost per SMS (AUD)
$19.99 Cap	275	$0.073
$49.99 Cap	800	$0.062
$99.99 Cap	1,800	$0.055

Interested in a free trial? Sign up now with free trial credits to get started!

Widgetbox Makes SMS Integration Easy

In case you are not yet familiar with Widgetbox, it is currently the leading self-service web widget platform. Every day, millions of people express, connect, create, and inform using web widgets. Web widgets are mini, portable-applications that can be added to any web page and serve two important goals:

Add Dynamic Content to Your Site
Reach New Users Across the Web

The mission is to provide easy-to-use, powerful, self-service tools that help web publishers realize the value and magic of widgets.

SL Interactive has just completed the development of its latest service - an easy to use and cool looking web widget for sending text messages to any user in the world. You can add the widget to your own site, blog, facebook account or iGoogle homepage with just one click of a button!

Get if from widgetbox now.

You can scroll to the bottom of this page to see how it looks and works - yes, it's fully functional on this blog as well.

Economic Plunge Increases Demand For Mobile Marketing

The use of SMS messaging as a communication tool is on the rise as companies reconsider their marketing spending. Smarter tools also make personalized messaging easier and more attractive than before.

Melbourne, Australia, June 30, 2009 -- Global mobile messaging continues to grow despite the current downturn in the global economy. SL Interactive, specializing in mobile marketing software, has witnessed continued growth in mobile marketing spending since the launch of its new mobile messaging platform.

Agencies and smart marketers are now looking for cost effective tools that allow them to target customers with offers that are relevant and timely. Usage of SL Interactive’s multilingual messaging platform, SMS & MMS Messenger Pro, has been on the rise and interest continues to be strong, especially within the Asia-Pacific region.

“If the message is relevant and well targeted, it can generate an extremely fast and very profitable result for only a few cents per message” says Lauri Lassila, director for SL Interactive. Response rates on well planned and executed mobile campaigns consistently outperform traditional methods with response rates as high as 31%.

According to Lassila, one of the main reasons for the success of the new platform is attributable to its simple interface and ease of use: “Advanced features are only useful if they are simple enough to use. The feedback from our clients has been valuable in making sure that the messaging tools available remain user friendly”.

About SMS & MMS Messenger Pro

SMS & MMS Messenger Pro is a cutting-edge web based SMS and MMS messaging platform for marketing, advertising and business communications. SMS & MMS Messenger Pro is an intuitive and very cost effective platform for both national and international messaging.

Link to an article on pressreleasepoint.com

Economic Plunge Increases Demand For Mobile Marketing