The new CBS Outdoor Canada platform txt2go has a magic number.
The OOH company announced yesterday it has added text-messaging functionality to its outdoor campaigns, allowing viewers to short code 77888 and a keyword to receive promotional information, location-based offers, contests or discounts. Clients can monitor the results of the SMS campaigns via a new mobile website, developed for the company by New York-based Rip Road.
‘It’s a mobile call to action,’ CBS Outdoor Canada’s director of marketing Michelle Erskine tells MiC. ‘It enhances outdoor’s ability to reach the audience with an interactivity we didn’t necessarily have before.’
With the world becoming increasingly adept at text messaging, Erskine says the time is right to launch the service, as its appeal ranges from youth and young adults to parents who have picked up the practice to stay current with their kids. Because of its low cost, it’s a media tool that appeals to smaller businesses as well, she says.
‘It’s an ideal time to offer this because you’ve got a strong number of people who are active text messagers, and since we’re reaching people when they’re out of the house, reaching them with an interactive component is just a nice marriage,’ says Erskine.
‘A short code and a keyword are easier to remember than a phone number and a URL,’ she explains further. ‘So much of the world now is mobile. Life is happening outside of the house, and for those that are living off their mobile device, this is the best way to reach them.’
