Offspring of spam and telemarketing

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

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Date: Sun, 15 Feb 2004 01:57:04 -0500
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From: Monty Solomon <monty () roscom com>
Subject: Offspring of spam and telemarketing

Offspring of spam and telemarketing
Firms using prizes and discounts to get customers to request text-message ads

By Sasha Talcott, Globe Correspondent, 2/14/2004

Jessica Yang had just walked out of work when her cellphone beeped.
"Rainy day special," the text message read, urging the 26-year-old
research analyst to stop by the Paris Creperie in Brookline for a
discount on crepes and other items.

"It was like, 'Great, I don't have to cook dinner tonight,' " Yang
said. She promptly ordered her favorite: ham and egg crepe.

With spam clogging e-mail boxes, telemarketers calling at all hours,
and mailboxes stuffed with junk mail, the cellphone has become one of
the consumer's last ad-free oases. But not for long. Marketing
companies are increasingly targeting the text-messaging feature of
cellphones as an effective way to push customers to open their
wallets.

The new text-messaging ads have a twist, however. Learning from the
backlash against unsolicited e-mail spam, marketers are going to
great lengths to persuade customers to actually ask to receive the
ads on their phones.

By dangling discounts, prizes or trivia questions, the companies aim
to make the ads worth a customer's while.

...

http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2004/02/14/offspring_of_spam_and_telemarketing/

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