With over 600,000,000,000 text messages projected to be sent in the U.S. this year(i), Interlinked Media, mobile consultant and text message provider to major brands, launches new messaging platform geared to the business market
DALLAS, Oct, 30, 2008 — The number of text messages being sent monthly in the U.S. has soared to over 75 billion(ii), a 10-fold increase in just three years. Perhaps the "awakening" came as a result of voting via text on shows like American Idol or parents realizing the best way to "talk" to their children was via text. Whatever the case, SMS has grown up in a hurry and is now a vital communication tool for presidential candidates.
Interlinked Media, , the mobile application provider to Hillary Clinton's campaign, brands and many other organizations, is responding with the introduction of a text messaging platform and enterprise unit for small and medium-sized businesses – including the average Joe.
There's no going back: Social Security Numbers identify who we are; cell phone numbers identify how to reach us. Going forward, as we continue to shed landlines and access the Internet on our phones, most of the communication that takes place between consumers and businesses will occur there … and according to Interlinked much of that will be via text message.
For example, many banks allow you to check balances and receive alerts via text; you can also pay your AT&T bill, get flight status from Southwest, and order pizza from Dominos via text message. "Up until now, integrating mobile with business processes and marketing activities has been the realm of much larger organizations – we'll make it available to most," states Cal Morton, Vice President, Interlinked Media.
Lately, it's hard not to notice those 5- and 6-digit numbers followed by a keyword asking us to text to get more information, enter a contest, or vote on the winner of a presidential debate. "You're just seeing the beginning of that," says Cal. The reasoning seems obvious as he explains, "Billions and billions is spent on marketing, yet in most cases organizations can't measure its effectiveness. On the other side of the coin, marketing efforts frequently don't present a response channel appropriate to the context in which it's being encountered – like having to go online to enter a promotion you see in store, or remember a number heard on radio to call later … who does that?"
About Interlinked Media
Interlinked Media has worked exclusively in the mobile ecosystem for six years. The company has run campaigns for Allstate, Panasonic, Toshiba, State of Texas, City of Austin, Hillary Clinton, Toyota and many more. Interlinked Media has conducted more than 100 mobile campaigns for global brands through agency clients in the UK as well as thousands of campaigns for its clients in the retail and leisure sector. The company has offices in Dallas, London and Newcastle.
(i) CTIA: http://www.ctia.org/advocacy/research/index.cfm/AID/10323
(ii) ibid
Contact:
Cal Morton, Vice President
Interlinked Media, Inc.
1.888.897.7007
Email
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