Nielsen mobile is doing quite of job of investigating the mobile text revolution. According to a report
released Monday by Nielsen's Telecom Practice, Americans should expect
to see more text message marketing in the future. Marketers have ramped
up their use of the medium to engage their customers -- where there's an
audience, marketers are not far behind.Here are a few key facts from the report:
- As of Q3, 57 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers use text messaging regularly
- While the U.S. still lags behind other markets in terms of SMS penetration, short code marketing is gaining momentum
- 16 percent of U.S. text message users recall seeing some form of advertising while using text messaging
- Younger and minority subscribers are more likely to recall seeing some for of SMS advertising
So far, Nielsen's report notes, 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.
Coca-Cola's My Coke Rewards program, which had engaged 1.1 million AT&T and Verizon Wireless customers as of Q3 2008, according to Nielsen, is a notable example. Subway, Arby's, Jiffy Lube, BestBuy, Papa Johns, Village Inn, and other major brands have also provided special offers through text and multimedia messaging.
Short codes are also changing the way Americans engage with traditional media. Participation TV falls into this realm -- with "American Idol" being the most prominent example of viewers engaging with a TV program over text messaging.
Radio listeners are also increasingly being called to action via text message. In Q2 2008, for example, Nielsen's tracking of short codes showed more than a million transactions with the short code "A-L-I-C-E" (or 25423), a short code assigned to the station Alice 97.3 KLLC-FM in San Francisco. Alice listeners are frequently invited to send text messages directly to the studio to make requests, win prizes, and enter polls.
Learn more about advertisers' efforts to ramp up short code marketing. View Nielsen Telecom Practice's full report.
How do consumers feel about talking to brands via texting -- the same way they talk with their friends and family? Read more on Nielsen Wire.
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