Friday, January 13, 2006

ENVY Magazine And A Major Beverage Use Qtags For SMS


QTags, an SMS player, is doing something really smart by getting a major beverage to promote text messaging AND leverage their short code. They are also indirectly making magazines interactive.

I think you will find more print publications that offer this unique way to leverage their advertising. Instead of going to the trouble of buying a short code for themself, they hire a SMS broker.

Here's how it works.

ENVY Magazine, "Houston's real entertainment magazine", hires Qtags and uses their short code 78247 (QTAGS) as the main short code.

They drive around town in an Envy Scion, have Envy girls on street corners passing out flyers, feature modern advertisers, etc.

They run 'events' at nightclub advertisers each month. Qtags partnered with Envy to offer keywords for a major beverage at the events, throughout the publication and for all strike-team advertising. And major beverage is getting all of this for free...and then Envy can upsell them to use keywords.

The space advertisers will be mostly small local businesses (not set up to buy their own short code) and they win because the awareness is raised at venues through major beverage. A major beverage is putting radio spots, strike-team, custom table toppers and other bar POS behind this venue promotion - so lots of eyes will be at the events learning about Qtags.

That means when the small advertisers put a keyword on their ad (and in window and on collateral and on radio spots) - it will be noticed b/c a major beverage has already taught people what it is.

Look at all of the potential advertisers Qtags can get from a major beverage's heavy lifting. One short code with one magazine, just opened up a number of advertising possibilities

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