Ahead of my time!
Well, I already blogged about organizing through text message here, but one interesting thing I found about the Economist article about the money-making possibilities of mobile phones was the issue of advertising to phones.
Now, I am second to no one in my hatred of email spam. But the only thing that could be more annoying than spam? Ads on my cell phone! Because when I get that new-message beep, I'll definitely have warm and fuzzy feelings for the company or campaign that felt the need to interrupt my day with their message. It's one thing to advertise to people when they're actively using a medium for communication or entertainment, but to bother them when they're going about their daily lives? There's a reason telemarketers are universally reviled...
I fervently hope that campaigns never feel the need to jump on this bandwagon. Actually, I hope the bandwagon breaks down before it makes it to the end of the driveway....
(Ah, the beauty of bad metaphors...)
2 Comments:
I think the backlash from direct and unsolicited ads on PDAs would be too costly for any intelligent advertiser to what to go that way. That said, it is going to be tough to keep personal devices and advertisements separate for too much longer. The Google model of paid listings is a scenario that might work (less intrusive but still makes money for people).
On the campaign front, any messaging to these devices needs to be tied to an action (GOTV, go to your town hall meeting, rally on Main Street in 30 min., etc.). Without the pretense of a call to action, the messaging would simply be annoying and intrusive.
Your comparison of text Spam to current methods of telemarketing really hit the nail on the head. It’s bothersome to receive advertising when you’re not in the mood to listen; however, it could be very effective if the user has the advertiser’s consent.
I think campaigns should invest in this for all volunteers who sign up to receive text updates. An issue would be cost, but if the campaign resorts to a text messaging initiative only during certain periods of the campaign, the investment would become more feasible.
For example, text messages to remind you that the candidate will host a rally in your area or to remind you to vote would be extremely useful. Additionally, the message can be easily passed along to friends and family. Perhaps text message updates can differ from email updates so that they function as an incentive for the volunteer to become more involved with the campaign.
In summary, I agree with NM Dem’s reaction to cell phone Spam. Hopefully this method of advertising can be delivered on a contingent basis of individual consent.
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