SMS advertising opens new front for marketing

July 2nd, 2008 admin Posted in Mobile Ads, SMS No Comments »

Shilpa YogaWith an ever-growing population of mobile phone users in India, advertisers see the handset as a potential medium for reaching consumers with their targeted messages. “Unlike television and print, mobile phones provide a much more focussed and assured access to consumers,” says Subho Ray, president of the Internet and Mobile Association of India, or IAMAI. “One always knows that one’s ad has been seen by the consumer, which is not the case with TV or print.”

To be sure, mobile phones are not a new phenomenon in India and advertisers have been experimenting with the medium, albeit cautiously. “We realize that the mobile is a powerful tool in targeting consumers but we are cautious in tapping the medium because it could amount to intrusion in consumers’ private space,” says Sajid Shamim, executive director, marketing, Reebok India Co.

To tap this growing medium while managing the challenge of spamming, many a young SMS (short messaging service) marketing company has come up with technology and plans that deliver the goods to both advertisers and consumers.
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Local Recommendations and Deals now available on Mobile

June 27th, 2008 admin Posted in SMS, PR No Comments »

MetroMela logoMetroMela.com, India’s first multi-modal, multi-location Local Information Services Company that connects the city’s merchants with consumers today announced SMS Alerts and Recommendations service. This service allows all MetroMela users to receive instant and up to date information of over 1,600 deals, discounts, sale alerts and promotions in local stores across seven cities.

In addition, it provides high quality local recommendations while on the go. The service is available in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Vizag, Cochin and Mysore. MetroMela gives recommendations on your city’s best places for shopping, food, entertainment, health, wellness, family and kids needs. MetroMela has partnered with more than 5500 select merchants across 7 cities across these categories. The best deals in town from select merchants are just a SMS away now.
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6 lakh plus SMS 2.0 users in India

June 24th, 2008 admin Posted in Different, SMS 2 Comments »

affle logoUK-based Affle has said its flagship product SMS2.0, which offers an advertising platform for mobile phone users, has attracted about six lakh users in India and is getting one lakh new users a month thanks to its exclusive partnership with Airtel.

Affle had launched its SMS2.0 application in India in January 2008. The service is currently available to Airtel users with mobile phones having Symbian Series 60 operating system and GPRS capabilities. To download the application, Airtel customers need to send an SMS with the text ‘SMS2’ to 543210.

According to Affle, its SMS2.0 application replaces the standard SMS interface on the users’ mobile phone and allows them to add animated emoticons and coloured text and background to their SMS text messages. However, in order to view the coloured text and animated emoticons the receiver of the SMS also needs to have the SMS2.0 application installed on his mobile phone.
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Peekamo : Free Text Messaging to India

June 18th, 2008 admin Posted in SMS No Comments »

peekamo logo

Peekamo, a social network that is into free text messaging, has now launched its service in the country. The service enables users to send and receive text messages on their cell phones for free, without giving out the cell phone number.

Apart from free sending free SMS from mobile to mobile, Peekamo also offers a platform for PC to mobile and mobile to PC text messaging. Users can send SMS to individuals as well as groups, who need not necessarily be registered members on the network. Peekamo also offers a social network feature that allows members to find other users and communicate.
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Microsoft India to expand SMS search services

June 9th, 2008 admin Posted in SMS, VAS No Comments »

Microsoft India is planning to expand its short messaging service (SMS) search services in India. The company is in talks with various mobile service operators including CDMA player Reliance Communications for possible tie-ups.

This will help the company reach out to the large mobile subscriber base in the country. It will soon add advertisements as a new option on its mobile SMS search.

“Currently, we have partnered with Vodafone to offer SMS search services in the country. It is available to 45 million Vodafone users. Our aim is to expand this. Soon, the service is expected to be available to users of the other four major operators in the country,’’ said Microsoft India Development Centre (MSIDC) general manager (windows live platform & services) Gurpreet S Pall.
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Use SMS to send email without Internet

June 4th, 2008 admin Posted in SMS, VAS No Comments »

myduniya

MyDuniya Networks on Tuesday announced the launch of an service which will allow mobile users to send emails, save and retrieve personal information and share contact details just by sending an SMS and without having to access the Internet.

Currently available for Airtel subscribers in Karnataka, the service will be expanded nationally and to other telecom operators soon, the Bangalore-based startup founder and chairman Jagdish Kini said.

The SMS-based application also supports interactive group messaging and allows files to be sent to e-mail addresses. Commonly-used files such as brochures can be stored on the company’s server and data up to one megabyte can be sent to e-mail addresses using the SMS shortcode 53695. “There is a digital divide between mobile users and web users. This service is a way to bridge this divide,” Mr Kini said.
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Makaan.com becomes Mobile

May 20th, 2008 admin Posted in SMS No Comments »

Makaan logoMakaan.com, People Group’s online property site announced the launch of ‘Makaan Mobile’ – the country’s 1st pure SMS-based Real Estate Mobile Application. The application, developed by one of India’s leading MVAS companies, Mauj Mobile is aimed at enhancing the overall consumer experience for property sellers.

People Group logoMakaan Mobile provides an attractive alternative to property sellers who currently need to log on to the Internet either to list their property or to view responses from interested buyers. Harnessing the power of SMS, the Makaan Mobile application is compatible with almost all GSM models, and will cater to a subscriber base close to 200 million in India alone, which is almost 4 times the size of the Internet consumer base.
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Get Railway tickets via SMS

February 28th, 2008 admin Posted in SMS, VAS No Comments »

Indian Railways (IR) is to start allowing booking of railway tickets through mobile phones. Mobile ticket booking will be easier and hence convenient to all.

IR plans to look into mobile booking and hence will be issuing unreserved and reserved tickets through SMS. IR will not only provide ticket booking but will also link the call centers with control office and National Train Inquiry System to provide online database on request. This improvement will lead to an increase in the unreserved ticket counters and booking of tickets through automatic machines. Read the rest of this entry »

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Alabot Launches Intelligent SMS Search in India

January 31st, 2008 admin Posted in Technology, Different, SMS No Comments »

mobile-worx logo

Alabot has announced its partnership with mobile-worx, a mobility solutions firm to launch Intelligent SMS Search in India. The service will be powered by a “bot” - a self directed intelligent agent, who understands natural human language and interacts with users using non syntax based data inputs.

This Intelligent SMS Search will enable users to search the directory of users (from open social networks), mobile content, local business directories, local deals, train / flight tickets, hotel deals and movie tickets for major cities in India. Users can eventually transact through the service. Read the rest of this entry »

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Airtel and Affle launch SMS2.0

January 21st, 2008 admin Posted in Mobile, SMS 6 Comments »

airtel logo sms20

Airtel and Affle announced the launch of SMS2.0 - the world’s first upgrade to SMS. Airtel is the first in India to offer this innovative service to its 55 million customers.

SMS2.0 enables an interactive and non-intrusive platform on the mobile phone that allows Airtel users to discover a host of relevant content services along with enhanced messaging features. SMS2.0 is unique as it has leveraged the popularity of SMS, and has converged messaging, content, and contextual advertising into one seamless application, which resides as the default SMS application on the customer’s mobile handset.

Commenting on the launch of SMS 2.0, Mr. Sanjay Gupta, Chief Marketing Officer, Mobile Services, Airtel, said, “Trends indicate that youth and young professionals are more active users of messaging. SMS2.0 represents a huge opportunity for Airtel to differentiate itself and further gain both mind-share & market-share in these segments. This service will open up an entirely new set of options that will enrich the messaging experience of our customers. Our endevour will be to continue to deliver new innovative services that not only simplify the communication experience of all Airtel users but also add more value to them.” Read the rest of this entry »

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