Vitaminwater recently launched their newest campaign staring the genius that is Gary Busey.  In the new ads Gary Busey plays Norman Tugwater, Fantasy Sports Attorney.  He’s fighting to get monetary compensation from fantasy sports players for the athletes that he represents.  The whole thing is pretty funny and quite entertaining, but Busey’s nut-job cheesy TV [...]]]>

Vitaminwater recently launched their newest campaign staring the genius that is Gary Busey.  In the new ads Gary Busey plays Norman Tugwater, Fantasy Sports Attorney.  He’s fighting to get monetary compensation from fantasy sports players for the athletes that he represents.  The whole thing is pretty funny and quite entertaining, but Busey’s nut-job cheesy TV attorney character takes the cake.

The most interesting part of the whole campaign would be the texting component that they have going on – we are a mobile company and into the whole mobile thing.  It’s nice to see a campaign with integrated mobile components.  By texting in TUG to 70734, users receive a call from Gary Busey followed by an SMS with a link to their mobile site.  Once on the mobile site, users can watch the viral video and share it via Facebook and Twitter.  It’s a pretty robust campaign, from the Facebook page, videos, billboards, and OOH.  We salute you Vitaminwater, welcome to the mobile club!

People always ask me why I insist that mobile is such a big deal. And although I am not at a loss of words when questioned, I do not just advocate mobile because it is my job. I believe in the capabilities of my phone and use it hourly. Whether it be texting my friends [...]]]>

People always ask me why I insist that mobile is such a big deal. And although I am not at a loss of words when questioned, I do not just advocate mobile because it is my job. I believe in the capabilities of my phone and use it hourly. Whether it be texting my friends and family, browsing my favorite websites, like www.TextsFromLastNight.com, or getting around with my GPS, I am passionate about my cell phone because it lets me do everything!

I recently came across an article that put it nicely, “When you can connect with customers wherever they are, you’re ahead of the game.” (You can visit this article here) This theme seems to pretty much sum up why mobile innovations, its use, and future journey look so bright. The article contains ways to enter the mobile realm with simple easy steps, but of course, not every company has enough knowledge to successfully launch a mobile campaign, and that is where our company comes in.

In fact, I am not the only one who stresses the importance of mobile implementation and its innovation. John J. Donahoe, CEO of eBay Inc, commented on mobile commerce by saying that its use will not only increase the customer experience but also significantly boost sales. With the eBay iPhone application accounting for about sixty percent of sales, the application has been downloaded over four million times and is expected to bring in more then half a billion dollars. While stressing the success of mobile through numbers, Steve Yankovich, Donahoe’s colleague,  also points out that if companies today have yet to offer mobile engagement to their customers, there is going to be a problem – because companies using this new marketing method to reach customers are dominating the market in doing so. (You can read the eBay mobile commerce article here)

Over all, its obvious that mobile is not only a necessity for companies that want to move forward, but that mobile is a big deal.

iVision Mobile, a text messaging software solution company, recently issued a press release about their  iMessenger platform. As an full-service agency it behooves us to keep up to date on, and provide our clients with the best mobile [...]]]> With each passing day mobile receives a brighter spotlight as more brands realize how effective its engagement is.

iVision Mobile, a text messaging software solution company, recently issued a press release about their  iMessenger platform. As an full-service agency it behooves us to keep up to date on, and provide our clients with the best mobile technology available – especially those technologies that won’t put us in a creative box – we’re not a in-the-box agency!

We’ve used the iMessenger platform and give it high marks for its beautiful interface and its flexibilty. We’re big fans of the text to screen function! We’ve found other platform technologies have their high-points as well, such as a tech-focused, “if / then” programmable technology by MX Telecom called CMX2, a nicely put together platform by GoMoText and the robust platform by 3C Interactive.

When we built mo:base, our customizable web SMS widget tool platform (http://bit.ly/3AcWBR) and our Facebook SMS application (SuperTextMobile http://bit.ly/DazZ1) we incorporated the best parts of the various platforms out there. As we continue to build tools that compliment various platforms the focus for us will always be on the creative, original technology – such as those we used for the Oregon State Lottery, Nieva and Beck’s.

With mobile usage on the rise, and soon to reach full penetration, there seems to be no end in site to innovation and possibilities for mobile and its reach. Indeed we live in exciting times!

Read the iVision press release here. (NOTE: I must warn you that there is a quote in there by Naushad!)

Textopoly does not fit into a neat box in the mobile world. Over the years I’ve tried to find the most accurate way to describe what it is that we do. And over theses same years mobile has grown dramatically in regulations, technology, creativity, etc. – and we’ve grown with it. We’ve stayed fluid and [...]]]>

Textopoly does not fit into a neat box in the mobile world. Over the years I’ve tried to find the most accurate way to describe what it is that we do. And over theses same years mobile has grown dramatically in regulations, technology, creativity, etc. – and we’ve grown with it. We’ve stayed fluid and well educated in mobile while keeping a focus on mobile. I think our business can be broken down into 2 large categories, Sexy and Unsexy – stay with me now!

The Unsexy: We’re not an aggregator, yet we service and manage both standard rate and premium dedicated short codes. We maintain relationships with Aggregators, Carriers, complete all required applications, provide strategies on how to efficiently get short codes certified and provide extra services such as giving guidance on, and hosting Terms and Conditions. On an ongoing basis we review advertising material for Carrier compliancy, manage audits and provide insight on various detailed areas of the business such as: refund policies; continuously changing Carrier requirements for standard and premium messaging; opt outs requirements by Carrier; AT&T subscription renewals process; and much more fun stuff!

The Sexy: For our agency and brand clients we provide strategy and innovative concepts that use mobile tactics such as SMS, WAP and mobile Applications to achieve a set of goals that insure maximum return on investment (ROI). This side of the business also includes advertising the marketing campaign through various mobile media opportunities such as banner ads on mobile publisher sites and Carrier decks. We create the banner ads using our in-house designers and then purchase media on WAP sites through relationships we have with various Carriers directly. We have strong relationships with agencies who controls Carrier advertising decks, so are able to purchase media directly from them in addition to media directly from publisher sites.

Mobile marketing and mobile advertising are best executed through integration with traditional marketing channels such as Online (including Social Networking) and TV. Our Digital Services create applications that use these traditional marketing channels in conjunction with mobile. For example, Super Text Mobile which is our Facebook application and mo:base which our web-to-mobile widget that easily captures mobile numbers from any website, web banner ad (!) or email and rapidly delivers branded content to handsets.

So given all this is it fair to call Textopoly just a mobile marketing agency? No, it’s not. We’re a Mobile Engagement Agency, we enable mobile communication.