According to a recent Oftel Residential Survey, there are over 65 million mobile subscribers in the UK. By 2008, that figure will have risen further, and it is expected that approximately 90% of brands will use SMS as a fundamental tool to reach mobile subscribers.
It is also becoming clear that consumers are increasingly comfortable communicating with promoters by SMS, as a vehicle for entering competitions and instant win prize promotions. Brand owners are now starting to exploit this additional channel as a complementary cost effective route to target time-poor consumers with promotional campaigns.
SMS can be used both as a solus channel and also in combination with “traditional” web, mail and telephone entry methods. As a medium, the channel provides consumers with an opportunity to respond immediately and conveniently to promotional offers. For brands, high volume response can be managed efficiently and with cost savings as consumers enter their own data without the need for re-keying by the response management house.
However, it is critical that the “back-end” fulfilment partner has the capability to integrate this new channel seamlessly into the response management process. From both the promoter’s and the consumer’s point of view, the growing popularity of this new channel will not be sustained if fulfilment quality standards do not match those provided when using alternative response routes.
Granby Marketing Services has been working with Mediaburst to provide a solution which meets promoters’ needs for secure, reliable data management and rapid fulfilment of premiums and prizes. As a specialist in delivering SMS text messaging and automated voice solutions, Mediaburst has the proven experience of seamlessly integrating SMS into the marketing mix. Granby has particularly chosen to partner with Mediaburst due to their expert staff, 24-hour assistance and the speed and quality of message delivery.
Granby and Mediaburst are therefore now offering a one-stop SMS promotional package which combines Mediaburst’s leading edge telephony platform and Granby’s proven fulfilment capability. Consumer records entered via SMS are automatically uploaded into Granby’s SCOPe data management and order processing system under a promotion code which may be handling response from multiple channels. Records are source coded for reporting purposes and premium or prize fulfilment orders are then picked, packed and despatched within tight turnaround times to ensure customer delight.
Says Chris Robinson, sales and marketing director, Granby Marketing Services: “Our partnership with MediaBurst provides a unique solution for promoters using SMS to create a proposition with one or several calls to action. Utilising MediaBurst’s technology in combination with Granby’s response management expertise delivers a completely integrated platform to capture consumer data, select prize winners using unique codes or random selection processes and fulfil to winners. Furthermore, we can provide promoters with the re-assurance that all prize promotions are handled in compliance with the CAP codes and ISP best practice standards.”
“Clearly, SMS is transforming the way that promoters are reaching the consumer,” adds Mediaburst’s managing director, Jeremy Bygrave. “The combination off Granby Marketing’s big brand expertise and Mediaburst’s award-winning mobile messaging services is unique and is the fast track for promoters to securely and instantly engage with millions of mobile users,”
