Wireless Marketing Passes First Base

When wireless marketers started talking about using text messaging as a new way to engage the youth, the majority of brands thought we were barking mad - and their agencies were not going to say otherwise. The limitations of 160 characters, personal privacy issues and unfavourable apples 'n' pears comparisons with other media were poured over us like tar from a medieval fortress designed to stop us scaling the walls. Two years on, we still have to work within the 160-character limit, but we now have many examples of mobile communications' effectiveness for brands, which has meant that, on occasions, the drawbridge has been lowered. So does this mean that wireless marketing has finally made it? In my view we are now at first base, no more. The signs of this progress include the profusion of self-governing associations, industry conferences and awards, although it's not always clear who they are seeking to serve.

A more meaningful indicator is the number of brands and traditional media owners who are now taking this new medium seriously. If the BBC can receive 500,000 messages from an audience of three million for its Joy of Text night, few can dispute that mobile has a role to play in mass market communications.

Until recently, though, there have been genuine technical limitations that have prevented some of the best ideas making it. The mobile networks were slow to realize the potential of this market and are only now responding to its requirements.

These developments fall into a couple of categories, the first of which is mobile networks. Soon we will be able to invite millions of consumers to respond to a single short code (five-digit phone number). We will also be able to reply to these consumers and to do so at a price that we choose.

For example, Channel 4 may want to charge a premium to viewers who want to participate in Big Brother, while a brand may wish to make it free for a consumer to request further information about its products. Either way, there can now be a true interactive dialogue between the brand and the consumer that can be dynamic, personalized and on a massive scale.

The second area that is starting to see real improvements is the mobile phones themselves. Nokia has such a high market share that they are able to introduce proprietary enhancements that invariably become de facto standards. Although animated picture messages work only on their latest models, this is sufficient to interest those brands that want to appeal to the style-leaders that will be the early adopters of these latest accessories. This will help take the market to new levels for some.

For the rest, simple graphics, text and ringtones will provide plenty of scope for continued creativity.

That is not to say that we are heading for a home-run. There are numerous issues still to be resolved. Peak time "text TV" can still create surges in traffic that are problematic for the mobile networks and rapid access to web based content from a mobile is still some way off, but the new stuff that is here will enable us to progress quickly to second base.

The truth is that the wish list for technical enhancements will never get any shorter, but we should now give credit to the mobile operators and manufacturers for helping us make a game of it.