With more than 230 million mobile phone subscribers in the US, many
companies are finding success using SMS as a key vehicle in reaching
specific target audiences to increase subscriptions and gain revenue,
according to mobile transaction network mBlox. The company says that
SMS is increasingly being used to deliver messages and content to a
variety of booming mobile niche market segments.
More companies are emerging to focus on groups whose needs are not
being addressed by mainstream mobile content providers. Many companies
are now looking beyond the standard age demographic and are seeking
profitable opportunities by targeting specific niche groups via SMS
messaging services.
With the SMS ecosystem continuing to grow and gain further acceptance
in the US,  we will continue to see innovation in the mobile content
market” says Linda Barrabee, Program Manager with The Yankee Group.
Three examples of successful niche content providers, Telemundo,
Ringspirations, and Chikka, are using mBloxs mobile transaction
network for message and content delivery and billing.
Telemundo a la Mano Wireless, in conjunction with mBlox, provides local
news, sports, entertainment, and other content for mobile phone
subscribers. Telemundo, a Spanish-language television network, provides
unique national and local programming for the Hispanic market in the
US. The network reaches 93% of US Hispanic households in 210 markets
through its 16 owned-and-operated stations, 40 broadcast affiliates,
nearly 684 cable affiliates and direct broadcast satellite.
Mobile devices are a primary form of communication for much of the
Hispanic community which can now receive Spanish language content on
their mobile phone, says Enrique Perez, Senior Vice Prsident of Sales
at Telemundo Station Group. By delivering relevant news and
information in Spanish, we play a major role in this community because
there are so few media outlets for our audience. SMS is an ideal way
for us to extend the reach of our brand because of the ubiquity of the
mobile phone and its effectiveness as a channel of communication.
mBlox provided Ringspirations, a mobile Christian content provider,
with the opportunity to reach out to the estimated 150 million
Christians in the US. Ringspirations offers a large collection of
Christian and inspirational ringtones in English and Spanish. With more
than 250 artists, the Ringspirations catalogue of music and voice tones
mirrors the cultural, ethnic and musical diversity of the faith-based
community. This niche market was disproportionately underserved as
compared to mainstream secular mobile content, says mBlox.
Ringspriations gives Christians the opportunity to openly display
their faith every time their cell phone rings, said Jewyl Gibson, CEO
of Ringspirations. We also discovered a mobile content downloading
disparity with first time consumers. Many of our consumers are more
than 40 years old and first time mobile content downloaders. By using
mBlox, we can offer a simple way for our customers to download and pay
for content via their mobile phone.
Manila-based Chikka.com has more than 38 million registered
subscribers. The companys focus on SMS communications is related to
the many Filipinos going abroad to work and earn a better income due to
the economic situation of the country. The communication options are
expensive and with the large adoption of mobiles in the country, SMS
plays a key role. Chikka.coms services are aimed primarily at overseas
Filipinos who need a convenient and reliable way to communicate with
family and friends back home. Chikka.com subscribers can enjoy free
PC-to-mobile and a less expensive international text response, or they
can download some of the sights and sounds of the Philippines that make
them feel closer to home.
We have seen a tremendous response for our Chikka messenger, as we
average a million new users a month and we are now generating more than
20 million messages per month, says Chikka.com Director, Gio Bacareza.
mBlox has been instrumental in allowing us to reach more customers
around the world.