SMS Marketing Industry News

Weekly SMS Marketing News Roundup: July 18 – July 24

Weekly SMS Marketing News Roundup

A weekly roundup 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!

 

IAB Shows Spike in Mobile Marketing Budgets
The outlook for an uptick in the next two years is even more striking, with most of these key ad spend decision-makers (72%) saying that they are looking to increase their mobile advertising budget; 35 percent of respondents expect to increase spend by over 50 percent.

Justin Bieber Backs Anti-Text-And-Drive Campaign
The teen pop sensation has filmed a commercial for PhoneGuard, the company behind the free Drive Safe application which locks the text-messaging function on Android and Blackberry phones to prevent drivers from typing while traveling at more than 10 miles-an-hour (16 kilometers-per-hour).

When did mobile barcode scanning take off? You just missed it!
The number of females scanning increased 13%, and the 35-44 age-group increased 8% from the last quarter showing a continued trend toward the mainstream.

Augme Acquiring Mobile Marketing Pioneer Jagtag
Augme Technologies – a leading provider of mobile marketing solutions – has signed a definitive Asset Purchase Agreement to acquire Jagtag, Inc., a privately held mobile marketing “pioneer” based in Princeton, New Jersey. According to a press release this morning from Augme, the purchase price for the acquisition is around $5 million.

High Use of Phones While Driving Slowly Declining
Even with a number of states banning handheld cell phone use and texting while driving, nearly 50 percent of drivers admit to making phone calls while driving and about 15 percent of drivers admit to sending and reading text messages while driving.

Subway franchisees ramp up mobile presence via geo-targeted SMS campaign
Select franchisees of fast-food chain Subway are targeting hungry consumers and letting them opt-in to an SMS service that pushes offers when they approach a local store.

QR Code Advertising Fail
Being in the mobile marketing space I get to see a lot of different types of mobile campaigns, some good, some bad. Every so often though I see a mobile campaign that makes even the bad ones look amazing. An example of one of these mobile campaigns is the one below from Community Color Mailer in Wisconsin.

TechFlash Q&A With Tatango CEO
If you missed my Tatango Q&A with TechFlash a couple of weeks ago, it definitely worth the read. I’m a little biased though I guess. In the Q&A I discuss Tatango’s renewed focus, raising startup capital, text message spam, and where I see Tatango heading in the future.

How To Stop Unwanted Text Messages
Be sure to check out my weekly guest column on Mobile Marketing Watch this week as I go all Lifehacker on how to stop unwanted text messages. With the rise in text message spam, this is definitely information that everyone should know.

Sprint Goes Social To Block AT&T Takeover
It looks like Sprint is trying to get social support in blocking the takeover of T-Mobile by AT&T. Recently a Facebook page and an entire website has been setup with the help of Sprint to encourage consumers to voice their concerns.

First 2012 Political SMS Campaign Launched!
Big SMS news for the 2012 presidential election! The first political SMS campaign has been launched by Michele Bachmann.

 


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