SMS Advantages over other Advertising media

With the advent of the Mobile phone, marketing is taking on a very exciting route.
The use of the mobile phone for delivery of information and Commercial Advertisements via SMS has taken Marketing to a higher level. This mode of marketing also known as SMS Marketing has rapidly gained popularity to claim a substantial share of Advertisement revenues in the western economies where the Mobile technology has become a need rather than a luxury to the inhabitants of those regions.

Developing countries especially in Africa have responded to the Mobile technology with a lot of enthusiasm and they are currently recording the highest rates of growth in Mobile Networks to the shame of western pundits who thought that Africa was not ready for this technology.
For example, Kenya's giant Mobile Operator Safaricom has grown its mobile subscription base to a staggering 3.5 million; this was their target by 2020! They hope to hit 5.5 million subscribers by the end of 2007.

The aggregate mobile subscribers in Kenya are estimated to be around 6 million. This simply means that there are 6 million potential contacts with which Marketers can establish personal relationships and convert this resource into a dedicated customer base.

Delivery of information via SMS has many advantages over other modes of communication like T.V, Radio, Print, and Billboards etc. as tabulated below.

	SMS   Radio, TV, Print
	Cheap and affordable. SMS messages are cheap (Keshs.5) and involve simple text; an advertiser can determine the volume to send and the minimums are low. At Gikomba.com, an advertiser can send a minimum of 100 Messages at any one time, that is 500 bob!   Radio, TV adverts are expensive; they are determined by the duration and size; other costs are involved in sound, video, clip recording and Graphics & Design.
	SMS messages are Personalized; a recipient feels valued and he/she must read a received message so all attention is given to an SMS.   Radio, TV and Print Adverts are not personalized and often do not attract attention; Radio & TV adverts come on-air as background "noise" for the intended recipients. Such adverts therefore are not delivered!
	Spillover effect. When people receive interesting SMS Alerts, they forward them to their friends and the message goes to a larger audience than initially focused.   Adverts mostly end up with the recipients who received them first. Passing on the advert information is minimal or totally impossible!
	Memorable. SMS messages can be saved inside a recipient's Mobile and he/she can always read the message again in the future.   In spite of the flashy adverts, recipients hardly Save or store such Adverts and therefore retrieval is minimal or totally possible.
	Timely & Instant. Messages can be sent at a particular time and are delivered instantly as long as the recipient's mobile is switched on and the network is fine.   Preparation of Adverts is slow and procedural, not to mention the uncertainty or availability of "play time" or " space"
	Unavoidable. A recipient cannot reject or avoid an SMS message that has been sent to his/her phone.   Recipients can choose not to receive the Adverts by Switching off their gadgets or not buying newspapers.
	Intrusive. An SMS message is received at anytime, anywhere as long as the mobile is switched on. A recipient cannot fail to notice it when it is received regardless of where, when or what the recipient is doing!   When Electronic gadgets are switched off, or recipients are busy on other tasks, the adverts are missed. Adverts are also sneaked in between other programs or hidden in congested pages and they are not noticed.
	Target Groups. With our SMS services an advertiser can determine who should or should not receive SMS Alerts. Recipients can be filtered by parameters like age, location, income, habits, and many more..   These Media use the "Blanket" method, whereby adverts are splashed indiscriminately even to unintended recipients
	Originality. The Message is not distorted when it gets to the recipient or when he/she forwards it to a friend.   Carrying-on of information is almost impractical and unreliable. Distortion or alteration of information is high.
	Call to Action. SMS Alerts can be sent when immediate action by the recipients is expected. SMS Alerts were handy in notifying residents of New Orleans about the Devastating Katrina. Many Lives were saved by this action   Due to the sluggish nature of Advert Preparation and the slow dissemination of information to the recipients, these media cannot be used for delivery of "time critical" information!