Wednesday, November 12, 2003
New ad frontier: Cell phones
Imagine how domain registration started...then take a look at this article. And, with the same idea of domain registration, there will be need to be searching done to find these codes to register for specials (just like the net). So, are we going to be search engine cell phone marketers? Take a look at the article to see more...
WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 — They’re not supposed to call or send a fax to your home. E-mail may soon be off limits, too. So, spurned marketers are now training their sights on cell phones. But they won’t call you. They’re betting you’ll call them to participate in sweepstakes, get coupons or answer surveys.
THEY’VE STRUCK a deal with the nation’s 12 largest providers of wireless phone service to set up a five-digit call-in system. Consumers dial a “short code” promoted by the company on its products and advertisements to get the company to send them back a text message that appears on their cell-phone screens.
More than 150 companies have applied to register short codes — numbers from 20000 to 99999 — in the two weeks they’ve been available.
Consumer advocates fear that once a customer uses a code to snag a coupon, that cell-phone number could go on a list and be sold to telemarketers, making the cell phone just another target for junk solicitations.
There are no “white pages” with cell-phone numbers so they have remained relatively free of come-ons. Because most users pay extra to send and receive text messages, unwanted promotions could be not only annoying, but also costly.
Many of the companies that have registered for short codes so far have pledged not to share cell phone numbers with others or use them to market products unrelated to the original promotion.
Procter & Gamble Co. is using 3-2-7-3-2 — DARE2 — to promote its Clairol Herbal Essences hair-color products. The Weather Channel has registered to secure 4CAST, STORM and RADAR for on-demand weather updates. Coca-Cola Co. already is inviting people to call COKE for a shot at winning prizes. (It set up its four-digit code before the five-digit standard was established.)
Click the link on top to see the rest of the article...
Imagine how domain registration started...then take a look at this article. And, with the same idea of domain registration, there will be need to be searching done to find these codes to register for specials (just like the net). So, are we going to be search engine cell phone marketers? Take a look at the article to see more...
WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 — They’re not supposed to call or send a fax to your home. E-mail may soon be off limits, too. So, spurned marketers are now training their sights on cell phones. But they won’t call you. They’re betting you’ll call them to participate in sweepstakes, get coupons or answer surveys.
THEY’VE STRUCK a deal with the nation’s 12 largest providers of wireless phone service to set up a five-digit call-in system. Consumers dial a “short code” promoted by the company on its products and advertisements to get the company to send them back a text message that appears on their cell-phone screens.
More than 150 companies have applied to register short codes — numbers from 20000 to 99999 — in the two weeks they’ve been available.
Consumer advocates fear that once a customer uses a code to snag a coupon, that cell-phone number could go on a list and be sold to telemarketers, making the cell phone just another target for junk solicitations.
There are no “white pages” with cell-phone numbers so they have remained relatively free of come-ons. Because most users pay extra to send and receive text messages, unwanted promotions could be not only annoying, but also costly.
Many of the companies that have registered for short codes so far have pledged not to share cell phone numbers with others or use them to market products unrelated to the original promotion.
Procter & Gamble Co. is using 3-2-7-3-2 — DARE2 — to promote its Clairol Herbal Essences hair-color products. The Weather Channel has registered to secure 4CAST, STORM and RADAR for on-demand weather updates. Coca-Cola Co. already is inviting people to call COKE for a shot at winning prizes. (It set up its four-digit code before the five-digit standard was established.)
Click the link on top to see the rest of the article...
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