Industry news

Nearly 70% of U.S. mobile subscribers use their mobile to text

Recent data released from comScore shows that an incredible 234 million Americans aged 13 and older used mobile devices. The study covered the last three months to March 2011 and surveyed more than 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers.

Some of the more interesting facts were:

• Smartphone’s share of this market continued to grow. 72.5 million people in the U.S. owned such a device, with Google Android having the largest share of the market at 34.7 per cent.
• Despite the growth of smartphones, the vast majority of American mobile devices are not smartphones.

The last fact explains why out of all the supplementary uses for a mobile phone, texting is still by far the most popular use for a mobile. 68.6 of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile devices.

For brands wanting to engage with their customers the total number of U.S. mobile devices represents a huge opportunity. However, when it comes to the execution of any campaign, SMS still the most effective way of reaching the vast majority of consumers.

If you would like to know more about the different ways SMS can be used to engage with your audience, give us a call on 1-866-356-4694.

How will AT&T buyout of T-Mobile affect service delivery in the US?

The recent news about the giant AT&T swallowing up its smaller rival T-Mobile came as surprise to many people. If the regulator approves the deal, AT&T will amass an incredible 130 million subscribers, far more than its nearest rival Verizon Wireless with 94 million customers. Analysts believe that this may cause Verizon to consider acquisitions of its own, which may include Sprint Nextel Corp who are currently number three in the market.

Such a movement could spell bad news for users. With less competition in the market there will be fewer choices for customers and it could lead to higher mobile service rates. As a business SMS service provider, this is clearly a concern to us. Interestingly, AT&T has responded by saying that they believe the deal will lead to greater competition and lower prices. It’s difficult to see how this could be true and even if it was, you would have to question why they would enter into a deal that would result in greater competition for them.

In their defense AT&T cite a government study that reported over the last decade, the average bill for a cellphone had dropped. And this was during a time which saw a number of large telecom mergers.

The winners in this deal are likely to be T-Mobile customers, who may possibly get access to the iPhone. However T-Mobile has always portrayed itself as a low-cost alternative to it competitors and it is hard to see how this will fit with AT&T’s image of the providing highest quality service.

Mobile marketing – the future platform

The big theme at this year’s Mobile World Congress staged in Barcelona, was mobile advertising; a fact proven by the number of firms who were promoting apps and mobile marketing. A recent BBC article shows how marketers are racing to embrace this latest channel, as big brands like Procter and Gamble and Unilever allocate substantial budgets to mobile campaigns.

According to Kerstin Trikalitis, the CEO of Out There Media, they have witnessed triple-digit growth rates in the previous 18 months and it appears to be a trend that is continuing this year.  ”When an ad is targeted and it is valuable then consumers do like it. We are getting response rates of 20, 25%, which shows it’s working.”

Yet marketers still need to trend carefully. As with any marketing activity, the challenge for every marketer is always to ensure that their communications are relevant and targeted correctly. And with mobile marketing, this is particularly essential – since we carry our phones with us at all time, so SMS messages are entering our personal space.

Fortunately with our Echo application, targeting individual segments of customers with the precise contents is simple to do. You can even send a totally personalized message to every recipient in a campaign. This ensures that every SMS message seems more like efficient customer service than an advertisement.