Textlocal

New look for Textlocal after winning an Effective Mobile Marketing Award

Hilary Devey from Dragons’ Den crowns Textlocal owners best Digital and Media Entrepreneurs for 2011

It’s been an exciting year for Chester based mobile marketing company Textlocal. After being listed in Media Momentum’s European top 20 fastest growing agencies list, winning awards for developing the best messaging platform on the market, and creating the best telecommunications website, the Textlocal owners Alastair Shortland and Darren Daws (pictured) have now been crowned as leading digital and media entrepreneurs across the North West.

The inspirational duo decided to go into business together back in 2005 with a passionate goal to bring simple to use text marketing systems and mobile web to UK businesses. Unlike their competitors, they enable any size business to communicate with customers or staff quickly, easily and cost-effectively with no set-up fees, monthly fees or contractual commitment. Textlocal’s business ethos has always been to provide clients with a tailor made Do-It-Yourself automated system, putting the power completely in their hands.

It’s no wonder then, that 2011 has been a rollercoaster of achievements for this ever growing business, which the North West EN Magazine judges including millionaire Hilary Devey, commended for being the most innovative and profitable business in the media sector over the past year.

Managing Director Darren Daws said “Alastair and I are extremely proud to have received this award, which clearly highlights how successful our business model is, not only for us, but for the 75,000 business we work with. We have dedicated our business to achieving the objectives of other businesses, understanding customer requirements, and putting their needs at the heart of everything we do, and being recognised in this way makes it all the more satisfying. Mobile marketing is transforming the way businesses communicate, and Textlocal is leading the way. ”

Today, Textlocal work with businesses from all sectors and of all sizes, from councils and universities, to big clients like Google, Manchester United, MySpace, Shell, Domino’s Pizza and Greenpeace.

Supporting QR code campaigns with SMS

Textlocal founder Alastair Shortland talks to Fourth Source.

Mobile marketing is rapidly transforming the way businesses communicate. Smartphones are everywhere, and across the globe people are becoming more dependent on using their phones while they’re out and about for things like payments and location-based services. It’s vital that businesses harness the growing influence of mobile marketing, and connect to customers quickly, directly and instantly.

QR codes are another way businesses can connect to customers through their smartphones. You have probably seen these barcodes that look like mazes – perhaps on bus-stop posters, or on magazine ads, or in shop windows.

When you scan or read a QR code with your iPhone, Android or other camera-enabled Smartphone, you can link to digital content on the web; activate a number of phone functions including email, Instant Messaging and SMS; and connect the mobile device to a web browser. Mobile technology has become so sophisticated, that not only do consumers want to browse and purchase on the go, they want to do it fast. QR codes allow this to happen.

The ability of QR codes to connect people with each other and to multimedia digital content is very useful for businesses and consumers alike. However, we at Textlocal feel that businesses are missing out on a huge opportunity to form relationships long term through QR Codes.

Most businesses only use them to drive people to a website, a specific URL, which doesn’t capture any data. Then there is the issue where marketing agencies think “oh, I’ll add a QR code to some marketing material”… and then all it does is take the user to their normal desktop website which may not even optimised for mobile.  Most QR codes that you see in the wild have no discernible call to action at all….they offer no reason for the end user to scan the code, other than novelty value.

Therefore, we believe the potential for QR codes has not yet been fully explored.

If you connect a QR code to an SMS text message, then a conversation can be automatically opened, and an exchange of data becomes possible. This is MUCH more powerful and effective, and means that when a user scans a QR Code, they can also send an automatic text message, giving businesses the opportunity to capture their mobile numbers for future marketing. This speeds up ‘opt-in’ mobile marketing, something that can also be done long hand via texting a word into a short code. QR codes linking with SMS can even go a stage further. After the QR Code has been scanned, and the SMS message has been automatically opened on the phone, businesses can also request that users enter an email address in the SMS message, and automatically reply with digital marketing collateral, for example, say a PDF brochure direct to the palms of their hands. We believe that QR Codes, working in harmony with SMS, opens up a whole world of opportunity for data capture that is being under-utilised.

There is so much more that can be done, and much of it is directly relevant to brands and retailers. Once you have used a QR code to excite your customer and make the sale, you can then use them to enhance the experience for them. Businesses can use QR codes on brochures, direct mail pieces, press ads, and so on. It is a slimline way of delivering rich, engaging content to customers in a way that encourages them to interact.

In this current economic climate, marketing budgets are being slashed. Local businesses and SME’s face competition from large high street chains and multinational organisations, and are without the resources to execute large marketing plans. The larger organisations are competing with each other to shout the loudest in an extremely busy market. Everytime businesses communicate with their customers, they come under scrutiny as to how it impacts not only society, but also the environment. QR Codes via SMS dramatically reduce the need to print mass amount of marketing materials, allowing companies to brag about their efforts on decreasing the global CO² footprint.

All users require is a QR Code reader which is a FREE app to download onto their Smartphone, which is usually free. We have expanded our extensive portfolio of services with a QR code facility that allows the 75,000 businesses we work with to set up their own QR codes at the touch of a button. There is huge potential for businesses to send information directly into the palm of people’s hands, in response to QR Codes, and the likelihood of the message being read is a whopping 97.5% according to Ofcom. QR Codes are generally free of charge, and you don’t necessarily need to be a ‘techie’ to make them work.

Our services, which marry SMS with QR Codes, deliver to ALL brands the power to communicate with customers through highly cost-effective, rapid, and convenient mobile marketing methods.

Autonet Insurance leading the way in MMS innovation

Autonet Insurance, the UK’s leading van insurance broker and the current Insurance Times – Personal Lines Broker of the Year announces the success in a new innovation, seamlessly implementing Multimedia Messaging with their proof of NCB’s procedure.  

Textlocal expands

Chester mobile marketing firm, Textlocal, has appointed 2 new directors as it looks to expand in the UK and internationally.

Townsend Marketing director, Rob Townsend, joins from The home group, where he was Group business development director. He’s also worked for Gyro HSR, SASS and The Direct Marketing Group.

“I’m really excited to join the team at Textlocal. A hugely progressive company with a fantastic reputation and strong foundations, the potential for what we can achieve is limitless,” stated Townsend.

“We are just scratching the surface as there are still many businesses missing out on the power of mobile. We need to move quickly to ensure we guide and educate those businesses that are being left behind”.

New sales director, Jason Palgrave-Jones was previously general manager of sales and marketing at Argos/Homebase.

“Today, with such a high percentage of reported mobile users, it’s clear that companies must revert to the small screen for faster, personalised marketing campaigns,” added Textlocal managing director, Darren Daws said,

Townsend and Palgrave-Jones have been recruited to exploit opportunities both at home and in the international market.

See published article: http://www.how-do.co.uk/north-west-media-news/north-west-marketing-services/txtlocal-recruits-sales-and-marketing-directors-20110928100955531