A Natural Disaster Introduces Mobile Giving to the American Public
By Russell Hirshon | January 14, 2010
Unfortunately it has taken the horrific consequences of the 7.0 magnitude Haitian earthquake to make millions of Americans familiar with the aspect of mobile giving. Over $5 million dollars has been raised in the four days following the earthquake shattering previous records for mobile giving in the US and certainly bringing awareness of the act of mobile giving to tens of thousands of citizens interested in making an immediate contribution. News of the available text message codes and keywords have been publicized over a variety of mediums including Twitter, Facebook, blogs and websites.
Enabled by the Mobile Giving Foundation and various mobile carriers, a non-profit organization with more than $500,000 in yearly donations can work with a designated company that can help facilitate the mobile text campaign. A short code is assigned (or chosen) along with a keyword that the organization can promote. When texted via SMS, the sender will be billed $5 or $10 to their monthly mobile phone bill. The non-profit carries no cost but a small percentage or fixed fee is taken for each transaction by facilitating organization.
If you live in Washington D.C. then you might choose Distributive Networks. They handled the mobile campaign for the Obama presidential campaign and are helpful and willing to chat about mobile opportunities for both non-profit and for-profit organizations. They do it for good as well as the hope that it leads to other business opportunities.
Does it take an earthquake to get results through mobile giving?
Not always. Besides disaster relief, Alicia Keys has been successful with her campaign to raise awareness and funds for the Keep The Child Alive campaign raising approximately $750,000 dollars via text message donations to “ALIVE” at 90999.
Musician Wyclef Jean is asking donations be made via texting “YELE” to 501501 and it has also struck a cord with millions of dollars being raised. The American Red Cross is using the short code 90999 and the keyword “Haiti” to allow individuals to donate $10 per send. With the tragedy unfolding both on TV and within the digital universe, we have not seen the end of American donations by far. For mobile giving, this will be the start targeted campaigns in the near future as fingers find their way to giving $5 for a worthy cause. All charities will be asking how and if they should be leveraging mobile giving to help raise donations in what has been a very difficult time.
As always, be careful to whom you text and verify the nature of the transaction. Some dubious mischief is bound to turn up as not so trusted sources try to take advantage of the kindness of others.
Topics: Random Thoughts, SMS | No Comments »
Nexus One - iPhone - Droid - BlackBerry: Mobile will be king
By Russell Hirshon | January 12, 2010
So while Google rolls out what appears to be a lovely new mobile device well received by the technology community, it will not be the phone to overtake the iPhones dominance. It will, however, add to the options consumers now have available when selecting their mobile experience. What was once a phone call is now so much more and this is good for everyone.
With 235 million plus mobile users in the U.S. and their eyes focused on the small but nimble mobile screen, brands are wanting a piece of the visibility by investing in a variety of mobile opportunities. These include mobile display advertisements on mobile specific web content, branded applications and even more important, face time within social media content displayed on user devices. Getting their brands injected into the mobile conversation is not only the brand manager’s dream but likely the mission of agencies serving up social media as a strategic offering.
For the end user, this brand focus will mean better mobile applications as brands look to differentiate themselves, a multitude of downloadable brand ring tones and a world of branded screens. Further down the road will be a greater acceptance of text messaging campaigns by the U.S. market, mobile commerce (besides eBay which is already doing some strong business through their iPhone application) and the emergence of transparent social media mobile interfaces allowing for better community mobile experience.
Topics: Mobile Devices | No Comments »
On Your Phone? Watch Out for H1N1
By Russell Hirshon | November 18, 2009
With H1N1 a threat and concern this season, the CDC is looking to reach the 18-24 demographic in a non-traditional medium to communicate the threat of the virus to this at-risk group. Knowing that younger adults have been having a harder time with the virus, the CDC is buying some significant ad space for placement on mobile advertising networks targeted at this demographic. Mobile phones have significant penetration in both the 13-18 and 19-24 age groups with individuals using their phones for social networking, accessing information and sharing data. Placing health messaging within mobile ad slots delivers the CDC’s message of awareness to individuals on there phones while they are mobile. They want to get this audience while they are out and about and with their peers.
The message is as follows:
“Flu Vaccination Week, see your physician December 6-12″
This links to a page that can direct users to Flu vaccine supplies in their state as well as locations. Additional activities include SMS messages sent out to opt-in networks at colleges that prompt them to visit the school health facilities or their personal physician.
I applaud the forward thinking use of CDC health information budgets and hope they also take it one step further by engaging in extended mobile advertising to highlight the importance of good health and the steps that can be taken to avoid catching the H1N1 virus. I also hope that they leverage their mobile activities with outreach through a coordinated social media campaign but I will leave that for my other blog to discuss.
Topics: Mobile | No Comments »