Shortcode 101

For those of you who haven't yet texted to a shortcode, or seen a shortcode program being used in a marketing/advertising program - take a look at this article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  It discusses how shortcodes -  which are 5-digit phone numbers that you can text to, and that work across all mobile-phone carriers - are being used to communicate with audiences in lots of creative ways.  Here's an interesting excerpt -

"Customers who take the trouble to key in a code tend to be more interested in - and more likely to buy - products than people passively viewing a commercial or print ad, said John Styers, director of data communications services for Sprint.

The most important allure (of short codes) is self-selection. They're driving a behavior for individuals who are wanting to know more about a brand or to interact with a program."

The qtags shortcode is 78247.  It works across all major carriers in U.S. and Canada and can be used by any advertising on any type of advertising.  Advertisers choose a keyword (like 'hp' or 'ripcurl') and display it along with the shortcode 78247.  Text the keyword to the shortcode and immediately and anonymously get information sent to your mobile & saved for you online.

As The Pondering Primate described it - qtags is like an electronic, post-it note system, making it easy for people to remember ads they like. Or, another way to put it, qtags help one many remember many things.  Conversely, qtags help make advertising unforgettable.

Most of the shortcode programs described in the STL Today article are designed for one-to-one interaction; the advertiser interacts directly with the consumer, and the shortcode plan is a true media spend.  This is an important spend because adding a mobility element to a marketing plan is truly a must today.

qtags is not meant to be the mobility element added to an Advertiser's plan - but instead it's designed to make already planned advertising (traditional, digital, mobility, broadcast) more powerful by -

1. providing an additional connection point
2. leveraging the same shortcode across all advertisers so that it is easy & quick for someone to send a sms/text to the 78247 qtags shortcode.  (after the first qtags text sent, the shortcode is baked into your phone...and you don't have to re-load a new shortcode with each new advertiser or ad).
3. being flexible, quick & affordable; the keywords are registered quickly and the descriptive text and web-addresses assigned to keywords can be updated anytime, real-time - and there are no administrative costs or marketing costs to create awareness to a new unique shortcode