SMS Marketing Blog

A weekly roundup from October 10th to October 16th of the most important articles from all around the world that have a direct impact on SMS marketing, and a couple that are just awesome!

SMS Marketing Industry News:

CTIA Now Enforcing Unfair & Unreasonable SMS Short Code Audits, Threatens SMS Providers
We’ve seen many unfair and unreasonable initiatives targeted at SMS messaging, with previous per-message rate hikes being a prime example, but the latest initiative by the CTIA tops them all.

Why You Think QR Codes Suck and Why You’re Stupid
You are right in that only 6.2% of consumers have scanned a QR code, but that’s a vanity metric, a metric that is interesting to look at, but has no weight. You want the real metric, the one that means something to advertisers. Nearly 40% of consumers age 25-34 have scanned a QR code, even better is that 1 out of 3 consumers that have scanned a QR code have a household income of at least $100,000.

The end of an affair
AMERICANS love text messages. Mobile providers love them even more. Because these snippets, of 160 characters or less, flit over bits of mobile networks used for controlling and co-ordinating network function, rather than shunting other types of data, including voice, their marginal cost is close to zero.

Tatango Unleashes Tons of Mobile Barcode Resources During “QR Code Week”
The folks over at SMS marketing provider Tatango have been busy lately.  Not only have they produced some awesome infographics on smartphone usage, but the company is in the middle of “QR Code Week,” an entire week dedicated to producing resources and tools with the goal of helping marketers integrate QR codes into their SMS marketing campaigns.

Infographic: Where are Smartphones Being Used?
Our friends over at Tatango have released their latest infographic on “where smartphones are being used,” which is a nice follow up to their last graphic on how smartphones are being used.

Nielsen Study Finds Mobile Engagement High During Television Viewing
According to the latest research from the Nielsen company, Americans are increasingly tied to their mobile devices, particularly when watching television.

Latest BuzzCity Report Provides Glimpse into Mobile Advertising Growth Worldwide
The latest quarterly summary out from mobile ad network BuzzCity details some interesting stats on where mobile ads are being served worldwide, what devices they’re being served to, and the differences in usage across the globe.

Steve Madden campaign nets 1,300 mobile opt-ins
Steve Madden netted approximately 1,300 mobile opt-ins from a recent MMS campaign that was part of its strategy to use content-rich messages to help build its mobile CRM strategy.

Walgreens lets customers order refills via SMS
Walgreens recently announced the launch of an SMS reminder system for prescription refills. The free service reminds patients about medications due for a refill and makes it easy for them to replenish their meds: Patients need only reply “refill” to the reminder text.

Details are Critical For a Successful Mobile Campaign
While many of these small businesses are exercising good business sense with regard to frequency of contact and quality of relevant content.  The most common SMS marketing faux pas I encounter is identifying the establishment, brand, or mobile campaign in the content of every SMS.

QR Code Best Practices for Print
QR barcode scans grew 1200% from July to December 2010. comScore released its findings that, in June 2011, 14 million Americans scanned QR codes on their mobile phones. These numbers show the importance of QR codes and a need to get it right now rather than later.

Mobile Marketing Issue 7 Available for iPad and Android Tablets Now
The latest tablet edition of our quarterly magazine is in the App Store, for the iPad, with the Android version making its debut in Android Market now. In it, you’ll find features on Gamification, HTML5, the impact of real-time bidding on mobile advertising, and mobile marketing in Asia-Pacific.

Keynote Coughs Up $60 Million for DeviceAnywhere Acquisition
In a press release issued Monday, Keynote hailed DeviceAnywhere as a provider of “award winning cloud-based products and services for testing and monitoring the functionality, usability, performance and availability of mobile apps and websites.

Tatango SMS Marketing News:

Why You Think QR Codes Suck and Why You’re Stupid
Have you noticed recently the abundance of QR code marketing hate out there? Don’t get me wrong, there has always been QR code haters, but recently it seems like these numbers are starting to multiply at an alarming rate.

Beginner’s Guide to SMS Marketing & QR Codes
Today we are proud to announce the release of the FREE Begineer’s Guide to QR Codes and SMS Marketing. In this guide you will find everything you need to become an SMS marketing QR code ninja.

Nightclub Turns Wall into Gigantic SMS QR Code
Let us introduce you to SeeSound Lounge in our hometown of Seattle, WA. As you can see below, this nightclub has taken their SMS QR code and created a 5X5 foot wall decal with the help of Surface Collective.

Tatango Creates First QR Code Generator for SMS Marketing
The Tatango QR code generator not only creates a beautiful QR code, but also makes sure that your SMS marketing campaign has all the right elements required by the Mobile Marketing Association’s U.S. Consumer Best Practices.

SMS Marketing with QR Codes – Tatango University
QR codes are all the rage in mobile marketing right now, but did you know that you can use QR codes to initiate an opt-in to an SMS marketing campaign? This week, Derek shows you how to incorporate QR codes into your SMS marketing campaign and some words of caution when using QR codes.