The Hindu Business Line : Check that SMS, it could be a discount coupon!

THE next time you walk past your local supermarket, don't ignore the SMS alert on your cellphone. You may have just received a discount coupon on your mobile that you can encash immediately. Though not a very popular concept in India, M-coupons are all set to hit the country early next year.

Says Mr C.V.S. Sharma, Country Head, Tribal DDB, "We're working with a client on this concept and are expecting to roll out the campaign early next year," thus changing the way products are being peddled in the country. Mumbai-based Tribal DDB India is an ad agency that caters to the digital medium and specialises in online advertising.

Wireless marketing is still at a nascent stage here, though the subscriber base currently stands at a staggering 53 million. Says Mr Bibhu Kumar, Vice-President, Marketing, IMImobile, a Hyderabad-based company that manages applications and short codes for many providers, "Mobile marketing is still at a nascent stage here compared to Europe or the US."

Clients in India basically use the medium to handle three kinds of marketing: To induce customers leads (Eg: To know more about a product call xxx), to create a small piece of content (Eg: ringtones or wallpapers) or in contests and reality shows.

The Indian advertising industry itself is worth about Rs 10,000 crore but a mere 10 per cent is being taken up by interactive advertising (Internet and wireless). Though exact figures for mobile marketing is not available, a rough estimate says that with 50 popular short codes currently in use in India and with each short code attracting around 2 lakh SMSs per month, mobile advertising is worth just around Rs 1 crore (each SMS costs around Rs 4-6). The reasons for this stunted growth are many.

Mr Kumar of IMImobile explains: "There is no conviction for non-traditional media here. While the ad industry is yet to warm up to the wireless marketing idea, the service providers are not very keen on providing databases." Most people see this form of advertising is seen as an intrusion of privacy. Sectors that have used this medium successfully are BFSI players, consumer durable companies, FMCG companies and the entertainment industry. Bollywood has made theuse of short codes very popular.

Says Mr Kumar, "If there are one or two successful case studies, then there will be a change in the scenario."

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