New Media Age – Trinity Mirror uses personalised SMS to highlight print stories

15 Mar, 2007

Trinity Mirror is to send semi-personalised text messages to readers with details of competitions and stories in forthcoming editions of its newspapers as a way of driving up circulation.

The new strategy will transform the way Trinity Mirror undertakes mobile marketing by allowing it to segment its readers into various interest groups and demographics.

It could, for example, tip off readers with a proven interest in football when the latest edition contains a major soccer-related exclusive.

The national publisher said it has accrued one of the largest databases in the UK via its interactive services. It contains hundreds of thousands of mobile numbers, over half of which have opted in to receive messages.

"It's about offering value-added services to our readers," said Adam Goran, head of interactive services for Trinity Mirror. "We want to send them information on breaking stories or offers. It's about enhancing their experience."

To date Trinity has largely avoided sending generic promotional messages, but in the last few weeks it has integrated a service from mobile marketing company Enpocket. It can now easily divide its database according to criteria such as age, sex, location, newspaper purchased and interests.

"The evidence of seeing who our readers are and what segments they fall into is fascinating," Goran added, "You have a preconception of who they are but to see it in reality means that we can now shape campaigns."

Forthcoming campaigns are expected to range from relevant celebrity updates to receiving a mobile coupon to redeem at Tesco.

Goran is concentrating on SMS as a chief bearer rather than looking to run richer campaigns using MMS. He said that such campaigns might be built in the future around those newspapers with a younger readership.

But he doesn't plan to bombard his database with SMS. "We plan to be sparing in what we do," he said.

trinitymirror.com