Telephone directory publisher Names and Numbers is partnering with Convergent Mobile to provide SMS marketing to local businesses via the US411 mobile marketing platform.

Names and Numbers, Pittsburgh, KS, is one of the first mid-size telephone directory publishers to offer its customers mobile marketing via a mobile marketing network such as US411. It will enable local businesses to leverage mobile to stay engage with consumers.

?Normally in a published directory, the data is there for a 12-month period,? said Mickey Breen, president of Convergent Mobile, Sonoma, CA. ?We propose a product like US411 to make the product come to life."

Names and Numbers is an independent publisher of telephone directories in the Pacific Northwest, Midwest and South. It produces 59 directories and reaches more than 4 million homes.

Convergent Mobile is providing Names and Numbers with a white-label version of its US411 text messaging platform. The Names and Numbers platform has a reservation system for accounts reps.

The Convergent Mobile platform will enable merchants to select their own keyword and create a promotional offer that will be instantly sent to customers? mobile devices the first time they text the keyword to 5STAR. Customers will then receive exclusive weekly offers from business.

Text messaging still important
Customers can take advantage of the mobile offers by showing it to merchants on their mobile device. They can also easily opt out.

Despite the focus on video and other rich media in mobile messaging, text messaging is still a big part of the pie.

According to recent research from comScore, 68.1 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device in January. This number is unchanged from a year ago.

Merchants who sign up for the program will be provided with a call-to-action decal to promote their mobile marketing services to consumers.

Merchants will also have access to their opt-in lists in real time, reporting functions as well as the ability to provide additional contact information through the INFO function.

?This is a very low-cost mobile marketing platform that will allow the business owner to control their data in real time,? Mr. Breen said.

?This will also allow them to communicate with their opt-in customer base immediately,? he said.

For Convergent, the deal gives it a foothold in the directory publishing sector, which is facing declining print revenues from its books. 

?Most of the publishers have their own mobile apps for the iPhone and Android systems,? Mr. Breen said. "Names and Numbers, for example, has an app for the iPhone and iPad.

?We think they could be very big in the mobile space," he said.

?I think you will see large percentage of the publishers offering a product like US411 within the next 12 months."

Final Take