Though many advertising options are available, nowadays businesses are catching on to using SMS advertising. Here we give you the competitive advantages of SMS advertising over advertising in other media.
| Television | SMS |
|---|---|
| The cost of creating advertisement needs a large budget and has a lead-time for production before it can be aired. | Creative, Simple & Crisp 80 character advertisements can be created easily in 160by2. No need for big budget production. |
| High commercial time charges. The charge for advertising for 10 seconds is Rs 1,50,000 - 4,50,000 depending on various factors. | Very low charges for targeted advertising. |
| Presence of the audience is necessary | Reaches directly to the recipient |
| The audience may not watch the ad. | The recipient most probably reads SMS as it is attached to a personal message and is contextual. |
| The audience may not pay attention. | The recipient pays attention as a personal message is attached to it. |
| Though localized advertising is possible with local television channels, they are not very popular. | You can target people of a certain geographical area. |
| TRP ratings, which measure the audience, do not give the exact figure. | The number of SMS sent is accurate, and the advertiser knows his exact reach. |
| One cannot measure the convertibility of a TV ad. | Convertibility can be measured with the help of 'call back', 'SMS back' and 'click the link' tools. |
| The celebrities are brand ambassadors. | The recipients themselves are brand ambassadors. |
| The ad is watched once unless it is repeated again. | The recipient may keep the SMS in mobile as a personal message and may read it later. |
| Radio FM | SMS |
|---|---|
| The listener may forget about the ad, unless it is highly effective. | Because of the personal message the recipient most probably reads it. |
| The amount of audience for radio FM is far less. | The number of mobile users is far more. |
| The audience may swap between many channels and may not listen to the ad. | SMS directly reaches the recipient. |
| Most FM channels are only available in major cities. | An SMS can reach any mobile user anywhere in India. |
| The charges for advertising for 10 seconds is Rs 500 - 1,500. | Very low charges for targeted advertising. |
| Print Media | SMS |
|---|---|
| A reader may not pay attention to the ad. | The recipient reads the SMS ad as a personal message is attached to it. |
| The audience is divided among many newspapers and magazines according to their interest. | An SMS ad directly reaches the recipient. |
| It is difficult to track the response to an ad. | The response rates can be easily tracked. |
| Downloading applications is not possible. The readers requesting for more information and getting it is a difficult process. | The recipient can download applications or request for more information by using options like call back or SMS back. |
| In case of newspapers the charges for advertising are Rs 1,000 - 5,000 per sq. cms. In case of magazine ads the charges are Rs 4,00,000 - 6,30,000 for full page color ad. | Very low charges for targeted advertising. |
| Online | SMS |
|---|---|
| The advertisement generally gets lost in cluttered space of a webpage. It should be really catchy for attracting attention. | Reaches directly to the recipient |
| The users swap across many websites and may not pay attention to your ad | The recipient most probably reads SMS |
| Charges for advertising on internet are Rs 35,000 - 2,35,000. | Very low charges for targeted advertising. |