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Recent statistics show the expected increase in radio advertising for 2010. Previously, in 2009 radio advertising took a turn for the worse, decreasing by 17.7%. According to media researcher, SNL Kagan, the drop took revenues to $16.0 billion.

This year, the broadcast industry is back in business with the expected increases for radio ad revenues. SNL Kagan says radio advertising will rise 6.4% to $17.1 billion. They also foresee a rise in the next six years of 15% to $552 million for radio, and $19.8 billion in advertisements.



Peirce College, Philadelphia Pennsylvania, utilizes mobile marketing in order to engage more students to their endless opportunities.  They market a keyword and a shortcode on public transportation, such as buses and taxi cabs, in order to allow prospective students to learn more about the college.  This do-it-yourself marketing is also known as permission-based marketing, or opt-in marketing, where the interested customer opts-in to the promotion or information being displayed.  This now gives the business or organization a database in which they can now report information to through broadcast text messaging.

The customer sends in the keyword in order to receive a response message.  Peirce College uses this strategy to gather leads in order to contact these prospective students that are sending in the keywords.  The customer receives a response letting them know that a representative will be contacting them shortly and a thank you for their interest.  This process is simple and convenient through 84444.com.

Advanced Telecom Services offers this service of broadcast text messaging through their brand, 84444.com.  84444.com allows an organization to reserve keywords that they wish to market to the shared shortcode 84444.

84444.com’s service provides a University or College with the qualities they need to better their community of students.  Studies have shown that 98% of college students own a cell phone, and more than 90% of those students use text messaging. If an e-mail is sent to the student, it may be read a couple hours later, whereas 94% of text messages are opened immediately upon receipt.  This statistic raises another way in which colleges or universities can operate 84444.com.  With text message broadcasting the institution can send out mass text messages in the case of an emergency or class cancellation to all of its students.  The students will obtain the information within the first five minutes of the text message being sent.

Using this service is a great way to promote your college or university, and what it has to offer.  The possibilities of service are endless!  Mobile marketing is one of the fastest, easiest, and most effective marketing strategies in today’s industry. Peirce College benefits from this strategy in that they build knowledge to potential students everyday.

Service degradation – Verizon USA

Verizon USA are currently investigating an issue related to delivery reports for MT SMS sent to Verizon subscribers. In some circumstances the final delivery report status for an MT SMS may be delayed.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, after conducting the National Health Interview Survey, mobile technology is sharing U.S. household more than ever.  The survey found that one in five U.S. households now rely entirely on cell phones and have no landlines and for the first time, the number of cell-only households outnumbers the number of homes relying solely on landline service.

The CDC began gathering phone data in 2003. Back then, just 3 percent of household surveyed were wireless only, with 43 percent relying on landlines.  Now, 20 percent of homes surveyed are cell-only with 17 percent relying exclusively on landlines.  This is a jump could indicate economic pressures brought on by the recession have caused people to give up their landline.

Of the households surveyed, 15 percent had both landlines and cell phones but receive no calls on their landlines since they are often dedicated to computers and fax machines.

Age and income are also relative to living in a cell only home. Approximately one third of people between 18 and 24 live in cell-only homes.  Among the most likely to live in cell only households are the poor, renters, southerners, Midwesterners, Hispanics and adults sharing a home with roommates.

The survey found in addition that one in 50 U.S. households has no phone at all.

The survey was conducted through in person interviews with 12,597 households. These interviews were done between July and December of 2008.

Thankfully, several states in the US have banned the act of texting while driving. 84444.com strongly promotes that no one text while they drive. The results can be deadly.

This year, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association, the number of states that ban texting while driving doubled. There are 14 total states that have some type of texting while driving bans plus the District of Columbia.  The GHSA expects this number to grow.

So far states that have laws against texting while driving are, Alaska, California, Utah, Colorado, Washington, Minnesota, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, D.C. Maryland, New Jersey and Connecticut.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, Unilever plans to begin a trial run of a system that allows consumers to receive discounts by having a supermarket cashier scan coupons displayed on their handset screen of their mobile phone. The test will start at a ShopRite store in Hillsborough, NJ.

This trial marks another step toward convincing consumers to allow advertising messages onto their handsets. Marketers have been pushing this in hopes consumers will embrace the cost effective ad method.

According to Nielsen, in 2008, 57 percent of all mobile subscribers ages 13 and older used text messaging on a regular basis. Mobile subscribers are now sending and receiving more text messages in a month than they are making phone calls.

As of the second quarter of 2008, mobile subscribers sent and/or received an average of 357 text messages per month and 204 phone calls. The number of phone calls has stayed consistent, (in 2006 it was 216 calls per month) but the average number of text messages sent or received has increased a whopping 351 percent, from 79 text messages sent and/or received in that same year and quarter.*

*The Nielsen Company, 2008

At this years’  LG National Texting Championship in New York City,  15-year-old Kate Moore of Des Moines, Iowa took the title.

The contestants had to run an obstacle course while sending difficult-to type messages and compose tongue twisters while being taunted by a giant emoticon. So 2009!

In the end, there was a tie breaker between Moore and runner up Dynda Morgan, a 14-year-old from Savannah, Georgia. Moore pulled out a win after typing, “Zippity Dooo Dahh Zippity Ayy…My oh My what a wonderful day! Plenty of sunshine Comin’ my way…Zippitty Do Dah, Zippity Aay! Wonderful Feeling Wonderful day!” and hitting, “Send” before her competitor.

There are multiple ways that Mobile Marketing can be used to increase your business and your ROI. Here are just 8 examples:

1. Mobile Coupons

The fifth most popular use of mobile marketing, this is quite possibly the easiest way to bring customers through your door. Customers are sent a text message with a “coupon” in it. All they do is present it at the register and the discount is taken. At the register, it could also be possible to capture the customer’s email as well for future promotions.

2. Emergency Text Messaging

84% of Americans keep their cell phones turned on and with them 24 hours a day. Add to that fact, that 94% of all text messages are opened and read immediately and you have the perfect way to get in touch with people immediately. This is a paramount factor in alerting people of an emergency. In an emergency, there really is no other alternative.

3. Text to Win Sweepstakes

This is the most popular use of obtaining an opt-in database through mobile marketing. This is done by offering a text to win sweepstakes. If your offer is compelling, you will get entries. What you get in return is a valuable database to help sell more products and services.

4. Text Message Vote

Text message voting enables media to immediately gauge publlic opinion. An early evening newscast for example can get immediate response on a controversia issue that it displays on the broadcast. Telling viewers to tune in on the later news broadcast, creates an appointment viewing “must see” option for the audience.

5. Auto Dealers

Mobile marketing can be used to send interested customers additional information about a particular vehicle.
“Keywords” can be advertised either on the car directly in the lot, or in the Sunday paper. The customer gets “personal attentions” regarding that vehicle, and the dealer gets a database of people interested in buying a new car.

6. Nightclubs

Mobile marketing is the most immediate way to get in touch with your customers. Advertise a “keyword” for Happy Hour specials or send a text out when a star enters the club. These are two effective and inexpensive ways to keep your business in the minds of your customers.

7. Appointment Reminders

As any doctor or dentist or hair stylist knows, it can take several manhours each day to remind customers of their upcoming appointment. Enter mobile marketing. With the ease of sending an email, you can remind your customers inexpensively and instantly of their appointment date and time. Genius!

8. Mobile Marketing for Real Estate

Agents and Brokers can use mobile marketing to promote properties to perspective clients and to provide additional information that perspective buyers can request. Using a keyword posted on the property’s sale sign, customers send a text the keyword number and instantly get information back. Agents get a database, and customers are satisfied.

Local mobile ad revenue will reach over $3.1 billion by 2013. This is up from the $160 million in 2008. The largest part is mobile search, at $2.3 billion dwarfing SMS which had $100 million in 2008.*

Local ad revenue may hit a low of $135.8   billion in 2010 before climbing slightly in 2011. Advertising across newspapers, direct mail, tv, radio, yellow pages, outdoor, magazines and online is expected to fall to $144.4 billion by 2013, down from $155 billion last year.

Local mobile advertising will be the next hot trend, especially in terms of local search. Local mobile ad revenue will hit $3.1 billion in 2013, and mobile search will reach $2.3 billion.

*Source: Kelsey Group, a division of BIA