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US congressman Devin Nunes connects with constituents via mobile

United States congressman Devin Nunes is using text and voice technology to communicate with his constituents.

Mr. Nunes is using mobile calls to action in broadcast and radio to promote the SMS program. Politics NorthStar Campaign Systems is working with Devin Nunes on this initiative, which is being powered by Stay in Touch Mobile.

?A straight text is important if you have a short message and want to get it out quickly,? said Dave Robinett, chief marketing officer of Stay in Touch Mobile, Geneva, IL.

NorthStar Campaign Systems is a campaign management provider and CRM platform.

Stay in Touch Mobile is a location-based voice and SMS solution.

Tally count
Mr. Nunes has been using a SMS program for the last month.

Consumers can receive campaign messages from the congressman by calling the phone number #250 from their mobile devices.

Consumers then say ?Devin,? which connects the consumer?s phone number and begins the SMS campaign.

After promoting the SMS campaign on a local talk radio program, more than 300 consumers opted in to the campaign in two hours.

According to NorthStar Campaign Systems, the technology has generated several thousand opt-ins in the past four weeks.

A call to action is also being used in the politician?s campaign videos.

?SMS and politics is an instant way to communicate with people you want to reach,? said Matt Butler, chief marketing officer at NorthStar Campaign Systems, Omaha, NE.

?SMS allows you to instantly publish your opinion and is an extremely powerful positioning tool,? he said.

Vote on mobile
Mr. Nunes is not the only politician using mobile to interact with consumers.

Mobile ? specifically SMS ? played a large part in the election of President Obama (see story).

Since SMS reaches all mobile phones, it is an extremely powerful marketing tool for political organizations to gauge how voters feel about particular issues.

According to a recent Pew Internet study, more than half of adults in the U.S. use text messaging, showing its use in everyday life.

For Mr. Nunes? specifically, who represents an agricultural area in central California, text messaging is an effective way to reach his constituents because of the high number of consumers who do not have smartphones in the area.

?If you are a politician and want to communicate with constituents, it has to be something they relate to,? NorthStar Campaign Systems?s Mr. Butler said.

?Marketers need to remember that it is all about reach with their campaigns and SMS and voice technology is an effective way to target consumers,? he said.

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York