VuduMedia provides solutions and services in the Mobile Business & Entertainment industry, with a special focus on Premium SMS services for broadcast media. We offer our clients the technology, expertise and know-how which enable them to take full advantage of the business opportunities provided by mobile communications technologies. We enable our partners to generate new revenue streams and improve ratings by introducing Premium Rate SMS services into their media. An example of a typical service is "TV chat", where the audience can send their messages via mobile phone to a short number and it appears on television a few seconds later during a live broadcast. The message would be billed at a premium rate, for example 50 cents. The mobile operators bill their subscribers and share the revenues (for example 50%) with VuduMedia, and in turn we share this portion with our partners. Other common examples are voting and opinion surveys. The Argentinean version of the reality show Big Brother generates more revenue from mobile text messaging (Premium Rate SMS) than from selling publicity spots.

Here is a list of some typical Premium SMS services along with a discussion on Mobile Marketing:

Tele-Voting/Surveys

Users send their votes via text message. The VuduMedia system filters for the keywords and displays the results of the vote or survey on the television screen in real-time (or the results announced during the following program), or alternatively the results can simply be viewed in real-time on a computer display. There is an example of this in our projects section.

TV Chat

This service is used by television broadcasters to receive messages sent by the audience and display them during a broadcast. The appearance can be configured with different fonts, background colors, pictures, scroll speed, scroll direction, position on screen, message retention time, and many other parameters are available to optimize the output towards video mixing equipment. Some television broadcasters prefer integration with their software systems as opposed to a video feed, in this case VuduMedia performs the necessary systems integration. Filters can also be created to ignore messages which contain certain words, and even send automatic responses via text message (for example “Please do not use coarse language, thank you”). There is also a moderator function which allows an individual to manually approve (or disapprove) messages before they are displayed using the arrow keys and the space bar of the computer keyboard. Very easy! You can even take a look at some of our videos and see for yourself.

Information

These are services whereby the user sends a text message requesting certain information (horoscope, joke of the day, stock quote) and receives the information seconds later. For example the user sends the word “diet” to a specific phone number (for example 12321) at a cost of $0.50 and receives a tip on healthy living.

Subscription

These are services whereby a user subscribes to receive a certain number of text messages (usually specialized news) with a certain frequency. For example, a user could sent the message “top news” to a certain number billed at $3.00, and receive during the week the top 3 most important news items of the day. In some cases it is possible to bill for each message received, rather than billing for the message sent, a popular format for alert services.

Content

The user sends a message requesting a popular ringtone after hearing an announcement on the radio. The user then receives an internet link via text message (wap push) and is prompted to accept and follow the link. The user accepts, and proceeds to download the ringtone to the mobile phone. The same concept applies to images, games and videos. In addition, VuduMedia’s systems can automatically detect the model of the handset and adapt the content to the specific phone model (screen size, sound formats, etc).

Mailbox

This service is used to receive and view the messages sent by the users and respond in an efficient manner, much like email but with many other options and tools. The Mailbox service is ideal for interactive services such as adult chat or astrology sessions.

Chat Room

This service allows users to subscribe to a special interest group or forum. Once subscribed, every message sent to the group will be received by all members. It is similar to an internet chat room.

Trivia/Questionnaire

This is an interactive service whereby the user is prompted to answer a number of questions. This service is usually used in conjunction with a raffle, or in the form of a contest where the goal is to win a prize, but can also be used to make a simple survey. The trivia service can also be designed in such a way that the questions can be selected dynamically, either at random, or as a result of previous answers.

Games, Auctions and other services

The services above are the most typical and common. There are many other types of services, such as reverse auctions, dating, and different games and contests. For example the use of mobile communications technology to track the consumption of fast moving consumer goods (chewing gum, drinks, etc) is a very promising area that has been almost completely overlooked. With VuduMedia, only your imagination is the limit.

Mobile Marketing

Mobile marketing is hot! Brands and advertising agencies are continuously shifting an increasing portion of their budgets into this unique and very personal way of reaching their target markets. There are many techniques and approaches and just as many definitions of the term “Mobile Marketing”.  We start with the classic example of direct marketing:

A prominent web site has a list of mobile telephone numbers of users who have opted to receive promotional text messages based on their consumer tastes and hobbies. A certain brand is preparing to launch a new product targeting college students and would like to make use of mobile marketing to complement their communications strategy. Add a little bit of “Vudu” to the mix and it’s done!

The above example represents one technique among many others, that of direct marketing. Some marketing professionals consider this type of direct marketing to be dangerous and potentially hazardous (spam effect) to a brand’s image, particularly when using 3rd party leased lists. For others involved in loyalty programs, mobile communications represent a unique and effective way to communicate with their members and re-enforce loyalty. With the commercialization of 3G networks world-wide and the introduction of low cost cellular internet access, the internet model (clicks and banners) has seen explosive growth in the past two years. However only a small fraction of people use their mobile phones to navigate the web, and this business model is still very much in its infancy and somewhat limited. Another area which is very promising but mostly overlooked is in so-called “fast moving consumer goods”. By motivating consumers to send messages based on an insert or print on the packaging, brands can track consumption while building a list of mobile numbers which they may potentialy use at a later date for promotional purposes.

Consumer 2.0: Mobile vs Web

Mobile communications allow traditional radio and television broadcasters to identify their audience through their unique mobile phone number. The user is not required to “register” through a complicated 3 or 4 step mechanism (as is common on the web) in order for the broadcaster to know that this user (for example) regularly downloads hip-hop ring tones, participated in a contest to win a sports car, and is a big fan of extreme sports and boxing. For some, the psychographic profiling and unique data available through mobile communications is priceless.  For others, it is simply a practical way to interact with their audience anywhere and anytime. The typical passive consumer of broadcast media is usually not browsing the web while watching TV, but his/her cellular phone is most probably within reach.

You would think this all comes at a great cost to broadcasters, and very often it does. But it can also be done in a painless and very profitable way, the fun way, the VuduMedia way. Contact us for a free consultation.