Location-based mobile SMS targeted ads underway in UK
Howard Lake | 14 October 2010 | Blogs
According to Mashable.com, “UK network provider O2 has partnered with location services platform Placecast to enable brands to automatically deliver targeted SMS and MMS to more than one million opted-in O2 customers based on their exact whereabouts”. The first two brands to trial it are Starbucks and L’Oreal.
This means that a million O2 customers will start getting up to one automated alert each day highlighting the fact that they are near a Starbucks or L’Oreal outlet where they can enjoy a discount.
Messages are targeted, based on O2 users’ stated interests. O2 says it will not share customers’ details with advertisers, meaning that if the phone user does not respond to the offer, the advertiser won’t be able to find out who they are.
So, this isn’t of course an example of a charity using mobile marketing, but as with so many mobile developments, the opportunities are clear. I tend to use charity shops as the easy example – people within walking distance of a charity shop could be sent an alert letting them know and perhaps offering them an incentive to come in. It could be particularly useful for temporary or pop-up shops, such as the Cards for Good Causes shops which appear in the run-up to Christmas in vacant or donated shops.
But there will be other fundraising opportunities too, around events, on-pack deals from manufacturers in support of a charity, celebrity supporters’ public appearances, and no doubt many others. What can you think of?
http://mashable.com/2010/10/14/placecast-o2-partnership
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.