Firms discover the joy of text

BT used to say it's good to talk. Now businesses are discovering that if they want to sell something, it's even better to text. A staggering 44m text messages were sent every day in Britain last month. Most of them were person-to-person, but companies are increasingly getting in on the act.

Ben Wood, mobile telecoms analyst at research consultancy Gartner, says: 'Mobile phones are an extremely pervasive medium - 80% of the population have a mobile. 'It's easy to use text for promotions and advertising - and it's much more targeted than junk mail or billboard advertising.'

Businesses collect mobile phone details by inviting customers to text a number listed on advertising posters, the internet or even food wrappers. They then build a database for marketing, special promotions, or simply to find out more about their customers.

Regulators are drawing up guidelines to ensure that texting potential customers does not contravene the Data Protection Act or lead to a flood of unwanted messages.

Confectionery giant Cadbury Schweppes has already used text messaging to boost sales to its target audience - the young and technology-aware. Earlier this year, it ran a big competition inviting customers to 'text and win'. Five million responded and sales rose 2%, contributing to a 12% rise in pre-tax profits. Chief executive John Sunderland said: 'It gave sales a big lift at a time when the UK confectionery market has been pretty flat.'

McDonald's launched its first text-messaging campaign-last month to tie in with the UK launch of the film Monsters, Inc. Millions of boxes of French fries contained a code and a text number. Consumers received an immediate reply by text to let them know if they had won a prize.

Gartner's Wood said: 'Cadbury's was really the first major text message campaign. Now virtually every manufacturer of fast-moving consumer goods is looking closely at mobile technology.'

With a young, technology-aware customer base and fast-moving goods to promote, leisure companies are among the most enthusiastic texters. Brewer Wolverhampton & Dudley sent 26,000 text messages before the recent England-Netherlands football match, enticing 4,700 customers into its pubs to claim a free pint of lager if they showed an individually coded text message. Other leisure companies, including Luminar, Spirit Group and Brannigans, are experimenting with text promotions.

James Hamilton, business development manager at network operator Orange, said: 'The demand from businesses for text-messaging services is amazing. They have realised that it's a new and effective way to reach customers. It's very personal and direct - the 15-to-35 age group loves text messages.'

But Dr Hugh Philips, retail lecturer at the University of Bournemouth, thinks it is unlikely the craze will be taken up by major chains. 'Supermarkets target an older audience where loyalty and quality are the keys,' he said. 'Texting is more suitable for a younger, more high-tech audience. The older generation wouldn't understand texting, wouldn't reply to it and would probably view it as quite intrusive.'

And text messaging is not without its pitfalls. In a recruitment drive earlier this month for a new supermarket in Stockport, Greater Manchester, Sainsbury sent out messages that read: 'I wnt u, I need u. I cnt get enuff of u.' The move prompted a flurry of complaints that partners could have misinterpreted the message.

However, Sainsbury did recruit 80 staff within hours.