PelicanTxt.com — Press Releases:

6 December 2007

“MERRY CHRISTMAS” – The First Ever Commercial Text Message

This week marks the 15th anniversary of the text message! Surprised? Well it’s true. On 3 December 1992, an engineer called Neil Papworth sent the text "MERRY CHRISTMAS" to colleagues at Vodafone. But since that first message, it took a while for the UK’s love affair to come to fruition with the SMS (short message service), as for the rest of us, we were lucky if we had access to SMS to wish anybody "HPPY MLLNIUM".

So why the seven-year lag between Mr Papworth's seasonal greeting and the texting explosion in UK, where two million messages are now sent every hour?

Well, the main stumbling block was that mobile phone networks didn't allow users to SMS people subscribed to rival companies until 1999. But at the time the industry could not possibly have known the impact the technology would have, from simple peer-to-peer messaging, to premium services to mobile money transfers and mobile banking and advertising, SMS has fundamentally changed the way the world communicates.

The UK has embraced SMS technology with such acceptance, that it is fast becoming the leading forms of communication, with over 1 billion text messages per week. This trend has not gone unnoticed by business and industry, as more and more are integrating SMS into customer relationship management, supply chain management and marketing, offering an easy way for customers to receive updates or provide feedback.

PelicanTxt.com are at the forefront of the modern age when it comes to SMS marketing solutions, providing an effective platform for reaping SMS marketing success with minimal levels of cost.

According to a recent poll, mobile texting, instant messaging and the perception that email is "a lot of bother" could spell the end of the email era. With such factors, say the report, is the difficulty of ascertaining if an email has arrived and the lack of immediate response. Whereas, Texting's immediacy, privacy and personalisation, combined with the increasing trend to see the mobile as talismanic, a personal touchstone requiring immediate attention at every trill, means SMS is proving the most potent email slayer. A typical email is read within 24 hours and responded to within 48 hours. A typical SMS is read within a minute and responded to within five.

PelicanTxt’s messaging service provides a more resonant message than a phone call or even e-mail or regular mail. Mobile phones are almost constantly with their owner, and they are alerted when a text comes in, which they’ll see onscreen next time they look at their phone. Whereas often direct mail is thrown away before being opened and email is either intercepted by spam filters or is deleted before being read, when the user decides to get around to checking their email that is!

For details of how you can make the most of marketing your products and services using SMS text messaging with PelicanTXT, log on to www.pelicantxt.com

Editor’s Note: PelicanTXT is represented by online advertising consultancy, Top Position. Please direct all press queries to Billy Howe. Email: Billy@topposition.co.uk or call: 0800 094 9001.

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