Text Messaging: The New Request Line?
By CHUCK TAYLOR
Friday, January 23 2004
Friday, January 23 2004
Published on AllBusiness.com
First, there were phone lines. Then, faxes and e-mail. Enter the next phase of listener-to-radio station communication: cell-phone text messaging.
Already heralded as one of the fastest-growing industries in U.S. telecommunications, text messaging?expected to grow in use from 1.4 million transmissions in 2003 to 15 million this year?is now providing radio with a novel way for its audience to participate in contests and promotions, receiving "personalized" responses from on-air personalities. Say goodbye to busy signals forever.
Evanston, Ill.-based Vibes Media, which develops interactive text-message marketing programs, has just launched iRadio, a platform developed specifically for stations to interact on a mass scale?thus, anyone who sends a message receives a response, regardless of their service provider (industry term: interoperability).
iRadio also offers an array of marketing tools for the radio outlet: logging the number of messages received and sent throughout an event, day or hour; time of day messages were sent; and all correspondence with a particular listener.
THE POPULAR VOTE
Say a station wants listeners to vote for its "Top Nine at 9." The on-air jock gives out a phone number, asking fans to text-message their favorite song or artist. iRadio employs technology that looks for keywords or close derivatives?Maroon5, Hey Ya, Nelly, Brit, etc.?and automatically tallies the popular vote onscreen at the station. In the process, the system sends a message back to listeners' cell phones, thanking them for their response and informing them how many votes their favorite artist has received.
Another application: A station hosts a contest, looking for the 100th text message to win. The DJ gives out the phone number and tells listeners to send a keyword?e.g., "tickets." As the iRadio system logs responses, it sends a message back, saying, "Thanks for participating, you're No. 95," automatically counting each message received until reaching No. 100 (and beyond). The winner is then given a phone number to call, or the station can circumvent the automatic return text message and send a truly personal response with information about collecting the prize.
"This is all about engaging the listener and increasing their participation in the radio station," says Jack Philbin, co-founder and president of Vibes Media. "Text messaging is perfect for marrying radio's inherent mobile nature to its mobile, phone-carrying audience.
"The coolest thing is that they get a response right away," he says. "Every station has a live request line associated with calling?usually, listeners end up with a busy signal or endless ringing or an automated system that tries to gather information on them.
Already heralded as one of the fastest-growing industries in U.S. telecommunications, text messaging?expected to grow in use from 1.4 million transmissions in 2003 to 15 million this year?is now providing radio with a novel way for its audience to participate in contests and promotions, receiving "personalized" responses from on-air personalities. Say goodbye to busy signals forever.
Evanston, Ill.-based Vibes Media, which develops interactive text-message marketing programs, has just launched iRadio, a platform developed specifically for stations to interact on a mass scale?thus, anyone who sends a message receives a response, regardless of their service provider (industry term: interoperability).
iRadio also offers an array of marketing tools for the radio outlet: logging the number of messages received and sent throughout an event, day or hour; time of day messages were sent; and all correspondence with a particular listener.
THE POPULAR VOTE
Say a station wants listeners to vote for its "Top Nine at 9." The on-air jock gives out a phone number, asking fans to text-message their favorite song or artist. iRadio employs technology that looks for keywords or close derivatives?Maroon5, Hey Ya, Nelly, Brit, etc.?and automatically tallies the popular vote onscreen at the station. In the process, the system sends a message back to listeners' cell phones, thanking them for their response and informing them how many votes their favorite artist has received.
Another application: A station hosts a contest, looking for the 100th text message to win. The DJ gives out the phone number and tells listeners to send a keyword?e.g., "tickets." As the iRadio system logs responses, it sends a message back, saying, "Thanks for participating, you're No. 95," automatically counting each message received until reaching No. 100 (and beyond). The winner is then given a phone number to call, or the station can circumvent the automatic return text message and send a truly personal response with information about collecting the prize.
"This is all about engaging the listener and increasing their participation in the radio station," says Jack Philbin, co-founder and president of Vibes Media. "Text messaging is perfect for marrying radio's inherent mobile nature to its mobile, phone-carrying audience.
"The coolest thing is that they get a response right away," he says. "Every station has a live request line associated with calling?usually, listeners end up with a busy signal or endless ringing or an automated system that tries to gather information on them.