Australia: first country with a local rate number range which consumers can call or SMS

Ad.IQ, the dominant provider of mobile marketing services to the world’s top 1,000 advertisers, has announced that Australian marketers now have a comprehensive opportunity to reap the benefits of mobile response following release of the 13/1300/1800 number range for SMS. Previously, the 13/1300 range was restricted to voice traffic while the 191 to 199 range is premium rate and is limited in its access.

Australia is the first country with a local rate number range which consumers can call or SMS. In every other market in the world an advertiser is required to use a different number for SMS and voice. The benefits of adding SMS to advertising on local rate numbers include a dramatic increase in response as well as interactive tagging and measurement of advertising

Ad.IQ has pioneered mobile response since 2002, continually refining its technology to help brands achieve greater response from their advertising campaigns. While researching the Australian telecommunications market in 2006, the company resolved that the 13-number range jumped out as the ideal solution for Australian marketers.

“The 13-number was used for voice response, is charged as standard rate to consumers, and is also perceived as an extremely respected and trusted number range,” says James Critchley, Managing Director, Ad.IQ.

During the course of an industry pilot staged in Australia in 2007-2009 under the auspices of the Communications Alliance, consumers were able to send SMS messages to a limited number of corporate local-rate (13/1300) numbers. Forty numbers were released during the course of the pilot and 39 of these elected to use Ad.IQ, including Quit Smoking, Defence Force Recruiting, Ford, BMW and The Victorian Government. Results demonstrated a significant increase in response to advertising through the inclusion of SMS.

One organisation which participated in the trial was The Department of Sustainability and Environment in Victoria which introduced an SMS call to action on all media to allow consumers a fast, round the clock method of requesting a free water saving kit.

“The community take-up of the free water kits was far greater than for any previous campaign. We believe that this is because it so much simpler for people to send in a key word on the SMS rather than calling our 13 number. Ad.IQ was also able to provide us with weekly data that allowed us to clearly see how well our media buy was performing.

“At the end of the campaign Ad.IQ provided us with a detailed analysis that will be invaluable in planning further campaigns,” says Simone Gandur, Department of Sustainability and Environment, Victoria.

Over the past two years, Ad.IQ has adapted its international IP to suit the Australian market and media environment and created a proven return on investment roadmap to leverage mobile response for both Australian private and public sector organisations which have a requirement for customer contact.

The company offers technology to marketers enabling organisations to respond to advertising via SMS. When consumers send in the SMS response, Ad.IQ then manages the request. For example, it could be in response to the consumer requesting a brochure, details about the nearest branch or to schedule a call-back or register support.

By varying the keywords on each media and each creative execution, Ad.IQ allows marketers to see exactly which advertisement the consumer has seen, right down to the individual time spots on television or different print titles. At the same time, marketers can ascertain which creative or media is delivering the best return on investment.

“In these tough economic times, there is a greater emphasis on accountability, return on investment and metrics. It is all about making advertising spend work harder. At the same time, every major organisation with a requirement for customer contact must have a strategy for mobile. After all, around 30 per cent of people change their email address every year and we typically move residences up to eight times more frequently than we change our mobile number.

“Mobile response provides organisations and C-level management with accurate, media metrics while increasing response to broadcast advertising. Using mobile as an acquisition tool on existing advertising activity is the stepping stone to integrating mobile across all marketing activities including customer retention and servicing.

“Most organisations already have a 13-number, so with the opportunity now available is for marketing departments to SMS-enable it, the result can be a single, clean call-to-action ‘Call or SMS keyword to 13 xxxx’. From a consumer perspective, SMS response delivers an immediate, 24/7, discreet, immediate response channel that delivers a positive and compelling brand experience,” says Critchley.

Most automotive companies and many financial services, consumer electronics and recruitment firms, as well as government departments are already substantial users of this type of service in Europe.

Ad.IQ Claims 2009-2010 The Defining Year for Mobile Marketing in Australia