By first catching mobile phone users' attention, then encouraging them to click through to the next menu and ultimately converting the user to the brand's desired objective/outcome, brands can now access users who are on mobile every day and who deserve to be served.
In creating this, it has opened up the market to brands looking to engage with millions of 'connected' people who are not necessarily smartphone users, as USSD is a device agnostic technology that is very popular with consumers across Africa. Three-C is available to both smart and feature phone users allowing marketers broader reach. This is also excellent news for publishers using USSD portals, as they can now operate ads on these strings, potentially generating additional revenue in the process.
"Considering that the vast majority of South Africans are still feature phone based and reliant on USSD to keep them informed (news and market offerings), we believe that 'three-c' (catch, click, convert,) is an all round winning solution for each party in the chain - brands, publishers and consumers," commented Tim Legg, director of MobiMedia and CEO of the Ole! Media Group.
Good results were achieved in a recent test campaign run with a leading mobile network operator (MNO) using daily news and sports menus. Click through rates during the seven-day campaign ran at a minimum of 5%, with approximately 20% of these converting into positive leads. The overall outcome endorses the requirement for a product of this type, confirming that the main market wishes to receive information and offers from marketers. This is as much about being included in the knowledge share as it is about getting first hand information and deals.
"Advertisers pay for the service, which users access free of charge. It is a new and fresh service for advertisers seeking to reach the main market, clearly demonstrating a degree of understanding into this market segment, which despite advances in technology, remains 'under-served'."
The USSD ad server was built by MobiMedia and is being promoted by another of the OMG companies, AddSuite.
