Your phone beeps, indicating that you have received an SMS. Excited you check your phone, wondering which of your friends or family has smsed you. Excitement quickly turns to annoyance when you see that the SMS is not from your friend but from a company trying to sell something to you.
SMS advertising, a concept that has been considered for a few years as a method of reaching consumers. In an attempt to overcome the revenue issue facing Twitter, SMS advertising was proposed a potential solution.
I hate the idea of SMS advertising. It feels like an invasion of privacy. To me my phone is a method of communication that is personal, just between me and my family and friends and doesn't involve advertising.
The idea of SMS advertising as opposed to internet advertising seems very different to me. When you are on the internet, most sites have some sort of advertising, generally in the form of banner ads. These ads are very easy to ignore; most of the time I don't even notice that they are there. Advertising through email is a bit harder to ignore than general internet advertising, however, if you see an email you don't want to read, it is very easy to delete it. SMSs are different though. There is no way to 'filter' what you read which is why i see it as invading my personal space. Its the fact that SMS advertising is able to get through my anti-advertising barriers that I put up that is what frustrates me. (This is probably why advertisers like the idea so much)
Everyday our senses are bombarded with advertising; on the streets, on tv, on the internet. Mobile phones (ignoring the fact that many people access the internet on their phones now) is one form of communication that is free from advertising and I want it to stay that way.
What do you think? Do you like the idea of SMS advertising? Does the annoyance of customers outweigh the benefits of breaking through the advertising stimulus clutter?
Great post, Haley. So the big question is really "to interrupt, or not to interrupt?". Traditionally (e.g. on TV), advertising has involved interrupting the consumer. SMS really is no different, imposing a message into the customer's life when they don't really want to see it.
ReplyDeleteSo do you think there is a place where text advertising MAY be appropriate? E.g. opt-in campaigns, when the customer actively invites the marketer to communicate with them?
I think with the introduction of technology such as tivo and live pause functions on dvd players, television advertising is becoming more easy to avoid. It is very hard to avoid smses though which is why i have an issue with it.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of when sms advertising may be appropriate, it would only be possible with permission marketing. The only problem though is i have 'opted in' to many email newsletters/marketing material, however even though it has been my choice. I still ignore the messages and have an option whether or not to open the email - you dont have the same choice with SMS advertising though.