Text Messages Add Up to Gift Certificates

The number of young hipsters using text messaging is rising as fast as y cn rd ths.

And at least one cellular company hopes to hang on to those lucrative texters—and prompt them to text even more—by launching a loyalty program in conjunction with Amazon.com.

Cellular One, a subsidiary of Western Wireless Corp., last month debuted Hello2Txt Club, to reward subscribers to its Hello2Txt service for each text message they send from their wireless handsets. Subscribers automatically earn one point for each message sent. A minimum of 500 points is needed to receive a $5 gift certificate redeemable at Amazon.com. Once the point level is reached, Cellular One texts the subscriber with the news and includes the URL to retrieve the gift certificate.

Any subscribers who participate in text messaging automatically become eligible to join the club. The company offers three monthly texting plans: $3.99 (up to 200 messages); $5.99 (600) and $9.99 (1200).

To market the program, Cellular One sent SMS messages to a “substantial” portion of its customer base, largely those 18- to 24-years-old. The message indicated that it was a free message, described the club and invited customers to visit the Web site at CellularOne.com/TxtClub to learn more and to register to join the club. Those that register get 250 bonus points for signing up and can track their points at the site.

“We know that there are a lot of sweepstakes and a lot of give aways and contests that are out there, but we wanted to do something that would thank our customers in a unique way and show them that we’re really grateful for their text messaging business,” said Chip Vollers, director of product marketing for messaging, for Cellular One. “A loyalty program is a great way to do that. It gives our customers a reason to come back and it builds brand loyalty.”

Supporting the text messaging campaign are wallet-size counter cards that describe the program, include the URL and a “quick dictionary” to look up texting terms.

Cellular One partnered with Amazon.com for its affinity with its texting demographic and its huge variety of product categories from music, to entertainment, to books and video games.

Vollers said that Cellular One’s messaging activity is about three times what it was last year and if national statistics are any indication, the activity is increasing with great speed. In fact, as of June 2004, some 2.9 billion text messages were sent, up from 1.5 billion in June 2003. That’s a whopping 91% jump, according to the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association in Washington, DC.

“It is a messaging activity that is very popular right now,” Vollers said. “We like the idea of having something that appeals to a younger demographic so as they get older, they continue to use the service.”