HooHaa launches permission-based SMS ads Tim Addington
Melbourne-based HooHaa claims it is the first in the country to offer permission-based advertising via SMS to Australia’s 19 million mobile phone users.
The company which launched this week says it is able to deliver highly targeted messages to users across the country.
Those interested in receiving ad messages register their details at www.hoohaa.com.au and answer a series of questions about their interests. Advertisers can then send offers or promotional SMS’s to users, segmenting them by categories such as age, sex, and location.
James Robinson, CEO at HooHaa said that users will receive no more than six texts per week and they will only be sent during the hours of 8amto 8pm.
“This service is revolutionary because for the first time in the digital age the power has shifted from the advertiser to the consumer Traditional mass advertising has become outdated. It is too expensive, too cumbersome and too ineffective in reaching a specific consumer base.”
While the company has yet to signup advertisers for the service, Robinson said that a major retailer and a national fast food chain were keen to go ahead. As well as major national chain stores, HooHaa hopes the service will prove a cost effective option for high street shops which can send offers to users in its immediate areas. A single SMS will cost “well below” fifty cents.
The company is mounting a nationwide advertising campaign to encourage people to sign up to the service, with half a million dollars being spent online over the next few months, as well as radio and outdoor. It has hired The Realty Group for offline work and Sputnik to create its digital campaigns.
Robinson said research had shown people were accepting of the idea of being advertised to, once they understood how it worked.
