YourArea Code has launched “Wexting,” a marketing and advertising technology that helps businesses communicate directly with consumers via their mobile phones.
By using one data platform that has a simple user interface, businesses can provide instant, real-time information and updates for the whole of their Web presence and extend it to mobile. Wexting is a combination of technologies deployed simultaneously to three key marketing arms: social networking sites, widget technology and text messaging.
“Bars, clubs and other small businesses have to adjust to current trends or they burn out and fade away,” said Tristen Cutler, creative director for YourAreaCode, Los Angeles. “We combine traditional texting with widgets and RSS feeds that mirror the mobile messages to hundreds of thousands of consumers.
“To be able to read see and hear everything a place has to offer is power,” he said. “People can hear about specials events, see the regulars and check out the staff before they get there, and if you’re all about the Coyote Ugly aspect of bars and clubs, that’s a big deal.
“Our platform has everything times a hundred that Facebook has, helping people find out about everything cool inside a venue so you don’t have to waste your damn time going to a place that sucks.”
A YAC widget for Circle Bar on an iPhone
YAC generally targets the 21-35 demographic.
By entering information into one location, business owners can update their own Web site, MySpace page, Facebook page, all banner ads placed on any HTML-driven Web site or search engine and hit every mobile phone in their SMS database.
One client, upscale club Crobar, which has locations in New York, Chicago, Lebanon and Buenos Aires, issued a YAC Buzzcard with a mobile call-to-action: “Claim your nightlife. Text ‘CROBAR’ to ‘95495’ to receive VIP drink specials and event alerts on your mobile device.”
Similarly, a YAC Buzzcard from client Bus2Vegas.com read: “Text ‘BUS2VEGAS’ to ‘95495’ to win a free ride to Vegas!”
Today, young adults spend an average of 60 hours per week using digital media.
With this kind of attention, the new way of advertising and marketing to the 18-35 year old demographic is through social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace and, even more directly, mobile phones.
SMS is the most widely used data application on the planet, with more than 2.4 billion active users.
YAC technology is being largely used by the bar and nightclub industries, where it’s helping them cut costs on things such as flyers and Web programmers.
YAC widgets are seen and used by more than 3 million people on all the major social networking sites, which gives them an inside look at each venue’s events, promotions and specials.
Club and bar owners and promoters can put out notices that go straight to YAC widgets and text lists about upcoming DJ’s, bands, drink specials, ticket prices, last-minute changes and celebrity arrivals to gain business.
When consumers receive accurate and up-to-the-minute information, they’re happy that they’re in-the-know and their confidence and compliance increases, according to YAC.
“This is a tool for consumers that’s free to ensure that they use it, and information comes to them like delivery pizza,” Mr. Cutler said. “We literally give the admin keys to the actually sources themselves, and they as update it the information goes out to widgets and handsets.
“Wexting is using SMS to send out VIP alerts to drive people to a specific location,” he said. “A text message might read, ‘The first 40 people that come into Sapphire right now within the next hour get two free shots and a t-shirt.’”
This is the trend I've been talking about continue to be beaten into businesses so they're brand is well positioned for their customer's eyeballs in coming years. In less than 2 years if you're not using SMS technology in your day to day business and marketing is much like saying "I don't do email." Sounds like people rubbing 2 sticks together waiting for a spark and their "Dial-up" connection to load your home page. Believe it or not I had an appraiser tell me less than a year ago, that her company, "didn't do email." I'd never heard it quite put that way and held back the many jokes that immediately came to mind to ask her the next logical question. "Do you mind faxing it to me, please?"............You got it, she had a fax machine but didnt know to use the fax machine for outgoing pages. That might take 3-5 minutes of reading the insturuction manuel to figure that out. It's like having a CD player that only goes in reverse becasue you didnt take the time to figure out how to push play. It sounds absurb, but it's the same thing.
Businesses, Charities, Sporting Teams, Bands, Banks, Bars, the list goes on. This is beginning of the green revolution we've all been talking about and praying for. This medium won't clog up your mail box with needless junk mail, nor will it fill up your INBOX with SPAM. Do your part to help push this trend along to save trees for the forests and paper for schools. Suggest to your favorite store, business or charity that now is the time to do thier part for the planet and get ahead of their compeition by building thier brand, increasing business and customer loalty. Now is the time for every business to start building a cell phone database of customers.
Please direct all questions or referrals to:
ridley@ridleysandidge.com
813-454-1814
Thank you,
Ridley
