I’d been expecting it
Ever since I first told wrote about the presidential candidates’ digital promotions campaigns–including the now President-elect Barack Obama’s savvy use of texting–I’ve anticipated increased adoption of digital messaging by consumers and marketers alike. The masses would be encouraged by these leaders’ example, I figured. Call it my own trickle-down theory.
Seems I was right: The aggregator Sybase 365 reports that mobile messaging traffic increased dramatically last Tuesday night, the evening of the election. From 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Pacific time, U.S. subscribers sent more than 1.2 billion messages. Volume tripled between 8 p.m. and 8:10 p.m. Pacific time. Overall, SMS volume that day was 10 percent higher than the previous day.
What better way for people to discuss the newly-elected president than SMS, the platform that he himself chose to use to communicate with supporters. While catering to young voters, Sen. Obama’s campaign certainly encouraged people of all ages to text-message more than ever.
Sadly, email didn’t receive the same PR boost. The campaign neglected to use double opt-in for subscribers, resulting in pranksters signing people up using creative names–so that victims received messages calling them things like “StupidSpamSuckerSlutface.”
At least the faux pas re-emphasized the importance of email best practices. Meanwhile SMS has become less niche and more mainstream. It’s change that all mobile marketers, red or blue, can celebrate.
Eydie Cubarrubia, Marketing Communications Manager, mobileStorm
“I’d rather you text me”