News
Archive for October, 2008
Brits love SMS, so much that they send 217 million messages each day
According to the latest industry figures, British mobile phone users are sending on average 6.5 billion text messages per month, or 1.5 billion messages a week & 217 million messages a day! The latest report by the Mobile Data Association (MDA) reveals that there is an average of 60 million more messages a day than there were in the same period last year.
Multi-media messages or MMS also shows an increasing level of growth, as there is close to 1.5 million picture and video messages sent every day, an increase of 20 per cent compared to last year.
The MDA, which represents the mobile telecoms industry, tracked the volume and type of messages sent in the UK between July and September 2008. The ‘state of the nation’ quarterly report found that new devices configured to work with MMS and attractive tariff bundles from mobile operators have helped drive overall growth figures. ”The mobile landscape is constantly evolving,” said Steve Reynolds, chairman of the Mobile Data Association. “The mobile phone has evolved far beyond simple voice and text messaging: it sits at the centre of our lives at home and at work.”
Commenting on the findings, Rob Bamforth, Principal Analyst at Quocirca, said, “The emergence of more generous messaging bundles offered by mobile operators supports the impetus for message sending to remain a natural and automatic way of communicating while on the move.”
Txtlocal provide low cost text bundles with a minimum order value of 100 credits. Text credits cost from 2.9p to 8p per message. Txtlocal also provide the facility to send and receive MMS picture messages.
First Choice Marketing Tool for Garages
Hartwell Plc have selected Txtlocal to deliver their sms marketing campaigns. Hartwell spent 3 months trialling the Txtlocal text message service before deciding to roll it out across their UK dealerships. The group have had excellent results from various bespoke campaigns, which are tailored specifically for the customers & prospects of each dealership.
With tough times ahead the motor industry is set to dramatically cut marketing budgets, however, due to its low cost, SMS marketing is set to still play a major role in the marketing plan. One of the key strength’s in text is that it offers the highest response rate of any direct marketing medium, at an average of 8%, this is much higher than other direct marketing tactics such as e-marketing and direct mail.
This view is agreed by Matt Cannon of Hartwell who has had very positive feedback from Hartwell dealerships “We’ve found that dealerships have had busy weekend sales events, directly after a text campaign”
Txtlocal supply mobile marketing solutions to many car dealerships and garages throughout the UK. Primary uses for garages include MOT & service reminders, promotions, test drive offers and lead generation using a short code e.g Text BMW to 60777