Short codes are now a vital part of major brands’ mobile initiatives, and creative marketers are finding new ways to use them.
It may never be known how much the infamous Sanjaya Malakar contributed to the rise in SMS traffic during the latest season of “American Idol.” But rest assured, a great deal of texting is going on.
Long associated with AT&T’s “American Idol” phenomenon, short codes are being used for everything from local pizza searches through Google (46645) to casting votes for favorite Doritos flavors. Granted, short codes also have been the subject of lawsuits, like the one a Georgia woman filed against Donald Trump and company in connection with the “Get Rich with Trump” text message sweepstakes, claiming it boils down to illegal gambling. But for the most part, short codes are successfully being used to check airline flights, cast votes or find the nearest Starbucks.
It’s about time, says Nihal Mehta, co-founder and CEO of ipsh!, a mobile marketing and ad agency. “We’ve been preaching this thing as the mobile URL for years,” he says. “There’s a lot of really cool stuff going on finally, and it’s all centered on the short code.” Short codes are especially powerful because they can be incorporated into any form of media, from product packaging to billboards, he adds.
One of the more unique short code implementations recently was done through Pizza Hut. Through mostly viral marketing, consumers learned to watch for the Pizza Hut ads, find a hidden code and text the code to THEHUT for a chance to win prizes. With those and other implementations, Mehta predicts the industry will see a 200% to 300 % increase in short code usage this year over last year.
Administering all those codes is NeuStar, which operates the Common Short Code Registry under a deal with CTIA. Last year, the Common Short Code Administration added the 6-digit format to the already existing 5-digit format, creating a 10-fold increase in the number of available codes. To get a code, marketers need to fill out an application, explain how they plan to use the code and pay a leasing fee of $1,000 a month for pre-selected codes or $500 per month for a random code. Codes can be registered on 3-month, 6-month or 1-year terms.
NeuStar sees short codes being used for everything from charitable donations to market research. As for how effective they are, NeuStar isn’t in the business of giving recommendations, but it has seen some great success stories. “It’s all tied to how effective your creative is and if your call to action is good,” says Diane Strahan, vice president of mobile marketing at NeuStar.
he codes can be letters, numbers or a combination. Five-digit codes are allocated between 20000 and 99999; 6-digit codes range from 222222 to 899999. At www.usshortcodes.com, marketers can check for the availability of a favorite word or number and sign up to be notified when a code becomes available. They can even check on “available cool words” to get started.
When deciding on a short code, marketing executives have to consider whether they want to use letters or numbers. Consumers can get annoyed with having to painstakingly type a word with their phone’s keypad, but words can be easier to remember.
Mobile marketing company MindMatics advises most clients to stay away from vanity codes unless they’re a well-recognized brand and it’s easy for consumers to remember, says General Manager Hans Henkes. Generally, asking people to jump from alpha to numeric isn’t ideal from a usability perspective; symmetric or easy-to-remember numeric patterns, such as 44044, are preferable, he says.
At ipish!, executives advise brands to get the short code corresponding to their brand as soon as possible. Then they handle the communication based on the advertising medium. In print or online marketing material, for example, the numbers are easily shown next to the word so people don’t have to labor over figuring out how the numbers on their keypad correspond to the letters. For other mediums, such as TV, radio or a billboard, a word tends to be more effective because people can remember it better, Mehta says.
TOO MUCH?
For all the good that short codes are bringing for brands and marketers, they may be overused in some cases. Short codes were not designed to serve as guaranteed transaction mechanisms, and if a transaction doesn’t go through or produces a poor user experience, that can lead to lost revenue or a consumer backlash. “People are pushing texting to the absolute limit, probably well beyond what you can use it for,” says Joe Levy, director of product marketing at Qpass, a division of Amdocs. “I think it’s very good for some basic marketing things,” such as weather alerts, but guaranteed transactions require greater levels of security. “When you start to move into doing a lottery … that’s when it starts to fall down.”
Of course, Qpass offers a solution to manage off-portal transactions, which are most frequently done via SMS and short codes, so the transactions are conducted with the same level of security as an on-portal experience. Most of Qpass’ customers are in the United States, where carriers are starting to use the solution not only for on-portal transactions but off-portal as well. The software and service will ensure, for example, that a customer has the proper credit to make a transaction and is informed of the costs up front, Levy says.
Given the prevalence of short codes in sweepstakes and other contests, they’re not likely to go away, but with the right security and support, they can lead to higher revenues and more satisfied customers. Who knows? The industry might have to give credit to Malakar and his young female fan base for helping to create another up-and-coming segment of texters.