Mobile phone usage is at an all time high with no slowdown in sight.  With over 50% of American’s now owning smartphone, the burgeoning world of mobile has today’s broadcasters scrambling to find the most effective way to both meet marketing goals and create a source of revenue, without alienating their customer audiences.

Fortunately for today’s marketers, the number one most successful marketing medium for driving both tune-ins and revenue for today’s radio and TV stations is text message marketing, and more specifically MMS (multimedia messaging).  And why not? Consumers are texting more frequently than ever. According to CTIA, Americans send 4.1 billion text messages every day. Modern mobile technology from companies like Mogreet provide radio and TV stations the tools they need to send mobile video and audio based promotions to their mobile subscribers, directly driving recipients to tune into the live broadcast.

Text message marketing is a no brainer when it comes to broadcaster marketing. The fact that it is can be delivered and opened by over 95% of American mobile subscribers, makes it a natural fit for both marketers and consumers.  And since mobile message marketing is opt-in only, marketers know that consumers who opt to join in are already invested in the station and the station’s offerings.  The only real issue for marketers who want to use mobile marketing is an understanding the importance of creative in one’s overall program.  After all, mobile message marketing is sent to personal devices driving marketers to utilize creative to attract and retain their mobile fans.

However this is where today’s broadcasters shine. Broadcasters understand that visual (video, audio, images) content provides an impact that text simply cannot match.  Mobile message marketing perfect for today’s broadcast stations, it showcases mobile video content beautifully, allowing fans to deepen their relationship with broadcasters onto the mobile phone. Especially since radio stations have little opportunity to offer visual content to their audience.

MMS messaging, specifically mobile video provides the perfect opportunity for broadcasters to increase marketing ROI and extend advertising and/or partnerships to effectively monetize their mobile marketing program.  With a few simple clicks, broadcasters can combine video advertisements with the station’s MMS video messages, as a pre or post roll video ad, creating a new, advertising opportunity, that delivers messages to a highly engaged audience – the station’s mobile subscribers. Studies have shown that over 98% of mobile messages are viewed, ensuring you and your advertisers that their mobile campaign will provide highly valuable advertising impressions.

Cox Media Group is one of the innovative media properties that have taken advantage MMS messaging to extend their advertisers’ reach within key markets. Each morning, Oakland-based station, KTVU, sends “tune-in now” and news recap MMS video message featuring news highlights and a brief commercial from their sponsor, to their opted-in mobile database.  Melissa Patterson, mobile manager at Cox Media Group says, “If [subscribers] get an MMS message when they are waking up and sitting on the couch, it is a great way to get them to tune into the newscast.”  Patterson states “The ability to add pre-roll and post-roll ads in MMS videos has really brought the messaging technology into the modern age of mobile.  It’s a huge go-to for monetization of mobile content, which is the name of the game right now.”