A Direct Marketing Agency - Helping Brands Acquire and Retain Customers

I recently received an email from Overstock.com with an offer to sign up for their mobile marketing effort called "Otext," which will allow them to send me text messages via my phone or PDA.  They provided excellent directions on how to sign up  (it took me all of 30 seconds to do it) and also how to allow my carrier (Sprint) to charge me $2.99 monthly for the service.  The incentive?  5% off all purchases made by using a promotional code from the text messages when going online to order.

I thought this was a clever way for Overstock to motivate their customer base of bargain hunters to sign up to potentially receive even bigger discounts for shopping with them.

With over 7 billion text messages sent in the US during June 2005 alone, and an increase of over 150% from the previous year period (June 2004)(1), consumers are comfortable with this relatively new technology and are using it in increasing numbers.  In fact, over 67% of the US population now subscribes to a mobile phone service(2), and 36% of subscribers use some form of mobile data application(3).

I am looking forward to seeing how Overstock now follows up with me on the text messaging and if it is relevant and in synch with my needs as a consumer.  I am interested in how they speak to me one-on-one through my PDA, which to me is a highly personal device and should be viewed as such by marketers.  And most importantly, whether the messaging motivates me to buy from them.

(1) CTIA Wireless Quick Facts, Oct. 2005
(2) eMarketer North America Wireless Trends Report 10/2005
(3) Yankee Group study, reported in eMarketer North America Wireless Trends Report 10/2005