Maybe because every major insurance company uses it?!
Where were you on December the 3rd 1992? Because if you were with Neil Papworth in the UK then you may have witnessed him send the first EVER SMS message of “Merry Christmas” from his personal computer to Richard Jarvis on an Orbitel 901 handset over the Vodaphone GSM network.
OK, so why SMS as a contact detail on advertising?
- It works 24/7, unlike a Call Centre.
- It’s easier than dialling a phone number.
- It saves you talking to a call centre.
- Your Keyword is Key, avoid funy splng.
- Incoming numbers are stored for easy access and follow-up.
- Standard rate SMS Short Codes get more hits. (No premium to the rate you get from your network – it differs.)
- Managed Keywords can help you determine the media performance (ROI).
How?
You stick out an Ad -> someone activates your Keyword -> you call them = done!
Or, you hook-up a reply SMS with a link to your Contact Details Form.
Short Code SMS has been around in SA since the early 2000s, and it is still here because it works.
(For the record Hillebrand and his mate Ghillebaert were the first people to work on a system to send written messages over a telephone network in 1984.)
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