Paramount Pictures is driving engagement for its upcoming ?Katy Perry, Part of Me 3D? film via a new SMS campaign that updates fans with news and exclusive content.

The company partnered with Tagga Media on the mobile effort. Paramount has dipped its toes in the mobile space before to drive consumer awareness for its new films.

?The strategy behind the Katy Perry mobile engagement program is to better engage and build excitement with Katy Perry Fans around the release of the Katy Perry: Part of Me movie,? said Amielle Lake, founder/chief marketing officer of Tagga media.

?Specifically, Paramount Pictures instrumented the movie's main Web site to drive interested Web visitors into an SMS update program,? she said.

Mobile engagement
Consumers can text the keyword KP3D to the short code 82442.

From there, users are opted-in to receive SMS alerts with special content and information about the release.

The SMS campaign enables fans to interact with the company?s Web site and sign-up for a program where they get information they want without having to return online.

?For marketers of the film, it creates an excellent avenue to convert interested fans into an ongoing conversation,? Ms. Lake said.

?SMS is an incredibly simple but effective tool to have users opt-in and receive snackable content on the go,? she said. ?It's the only mobile technology out there that is nearly 100 percent adopted by all mobile users with an awareness or message open rate above 95 percent ? compare that to industry standard adoption and awareness metrics for  apps, QR codes, email newsletter or a social network profile.

?SMS greatly outperforms all other modes.?

Ideal channel
SMS is a great tool to drive user engagement.

Paramount is smart to incorporate the technology into its initiative to keep fans up-to-date on the film?s content.

SMS is great for those that not only have smartphone devices, but feature phones as well.

?There is little doubt there are naysayers out there that don't believe in the utility of SMS for marketers,? Ms. Lake said. ?Most arguments against SMS relate to an overly simplified and largely text-based experience with a brand ? translation - it's not sexy.

?Technologies that can deliver that richer brand experience such as augmented reality and NFC are coming to market and adoption is rising,? she said. ?However, sufficient adoption still remains to be seen and I believe it will still be a few years before efficacies of the aforementioned trump SMS.

?Thus, I believe SMS will still prevail as one of the most useful tools for marketers and its adoption into the market mix will continue to increase.?

Final Take
Rimma Kats is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York