TO MASTERINGA2P MARKETING

Steps

M E S S A G I N G A P P S A R E A N O B V I O U S F I T

F O R A 2 P M A R K E T I N G . F O L L O W I N G A R E

T H R E E U S E C A S E S , A L L W I T H T R E N D S ,

I N S I G H T S A N D D ATA O N H O W B R A N D S

U S E M E S S A G I N G T O R E A C H C O N S U M E R S .

It took almost a decade for SMS to be widely adopted

by consumers and now it’s the preferred method of

communication for many. How quickly technology

changes things. Marketers quickly adapted to SMS and

now specifically A2P, Application-to-Person SMS, is

the preferred method. So much so that the global A2P

messaging business is estimated to be worth

$78 billion by 2022.*

It’s worth so much because it works: 91 percent of

customers who opted in for SMS marketing see the

messages they receive as either somewhat or very

useful.** It also doesn’t hurt that 90 percent of all A2P

messages are read within three minutes.**

A MESSAGING APP ALLOWSMARKETERS TO REACH AHIGHLY-ENGAGED AUDIENCE

THE MOST CLEAR AND BASIC REASON FOR USING A

MESSAGING APP FOR A2P MARKETING IS TO REACH A

HIGHLY ENGAGED AUDIENCE. IT’S A NATURAL DESTINATION

FOR MARKETERS TO SPEAK WITH AND NOT AT CONSUMERS

IN A RELEVANT AND MEANINGFUL WAY.

According to Infobip’s internal research, 85 percent of Viber’s A2P messages are seen by users. Leveraging the suite of engagement tools messaging apps offer marketers makes it easy to keep consumers engaged pre-, during and post-buying process. Having this type of continuous interaction makes it ideal for marketers to test what text, content and CTA resonates best and to truly know their customers.

For example, Sila BG partnered with Infobip and Viber for their shift to mobile-first customer communications to boost their website visits. Viber’s Business Messages solution enabled them to increase unique website visits by 3-to-4 percent and drive an 80 percent CTR—achieving afully-powered multichannel consumer participation.

ATANAS ATANASOV, PROJECT MANAGER SILA BG

“AFTER LAUNCHING PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGNS OVER VIBER, THAT WERE ENABLED THROUGH INFOBIP ’S OMNI SOLUTION, WE GOT INCREDIBLE RESPONSES FROM OURCUSTOMERS. THOSE CAMPAIGNS RESULTED IN AN 80 PERCENT CLICK THROUGH RATE. MOREOVER, WE WITNESSED BETWEEN A 3-TO-4 PERCENT INCREASE IN DAILY UNIQUE VISITORS TO OUR WEBSITE. CUSTOMERS FOUND NEW PERSONALIZED MESSAGES COOL AND EASY TO SHARE AMONG THEIR FRIENDS. FOR US, THAT WAS AN EASY WAY TO BUILD BRAND AWARENESS. FOR ORGANIZING PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGNS AND PROCESSES WE USE THE INFOBIP PORTAL, A USER-FRIENDLY, STATE-OF-THE-ART WEB INTERFACE THAT HELPED US GET EXTENSIVE AND DETAILED CAMPAIGN REPORTS IN REAL TIME,INCLUDING THE INFORMATION ON MESSAGE DELIVERY.”

IF A2P ANSWERS THEQUESTION OF “WHY SMS”THEN MESSAGING APPSTELL “WHERE” TO DO IT

To illustrate this point, E-Table was seeking toeliminate fake reservations to reduce no-shows atrestaurants. By leveraging Infobip’s platform andViber’s messaging expertise, they reduced their No Show Rate to 1.75 percent, 56.25 percent better than the industry average. E-Table also delivered deals to restaurant owners which increased sales by 10 percent.

IN ORDER TO TRULY EXCEL WITH A2P TECHNOLOGY,

MARKETERS MUST SEND THEIR MESSAGES IN AN

ENVIRONMENT WHERE CONSUMERS REGULARLY RECEIVE

MESSAGES, RICH CONTENT AND LINKS. THIS IS

IMPORTANT BECAUSE A MARKETER MIGHT WANT TO

FEATURE A PROMOTION OR OFFER CUSTOMER SUPPORT

IN A MESSAGE. MARKETERS CAN ALSO RUN MORE

EFFICIENT CAMPAIGNS ON MESSAGING APPS, SINCE

ONLY DELIVERED AND READ MESSAGES ARE CHARGED.

GEORGE ARFARAS & KONSTANTINOS SARIDAKIS, CO-FOUNDERS E-TABLE

“A FEW YEARS AGO, VIBER WAS A HOT TOPIC AMONG STARTUPS IN GREECE AND INFOBIP WAS THE FIRST ONE TO APPROACH US WITH THEIR SOLUTION. THEIR FLEXIBILITY AND EASY-TO-IMPLEMENT SOLUTIONS WERE THE KEY TO OUR PARTNERSHIP. ALSO, THEY ’RE EASY TO WORK WITH AND HAVE GREAT SUPPORT THAT ’S TWICE AS FAST AS THEIRCOMPETITOR’S OFFER.”

A great example of this is MyMall’s campaign with Infobip and Viber. They chose to use both technologies in tandem to build new revenue streams and meet goals in an ROI-basedcampaign. The results speak for themselves: 65 percent read rate and a 7.1 percent ROI from Viber messages.

BY USING BOTH A GLOBAL, MULTICHANNEL

COMMUNICATIONS PLATFORM AND MESSAGING APP,

THE POWERFUL COMBINATION OF CONTENT, DELIVERY

AND PERSONALIZATION BRINGS MARKETERS AS CLOSE

TO THEIR DREAM OF OMNICHANNEL MARKETING AS

ANYONE CAN GET. THEY’RE ABLE TO SERVE UP

VALUABLE MESSAGES TO AN ACTIVE AUDIENCE—BUT THE

REAL IMPACT COMES FROM WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.

AS THE CAMPAIGN RUNS, THE MESSAGING APP

CHANNELS THEIR RESULTS BACK TO THE

COMMUNICATIONS PLATFORM, WHICH CONTINUES TO

INFLUENCE THE MESSAGES CREATED IN THE MESSAGING

APP. THE RESULT? A TRUE ROI-BASED CAMPAIGN.

DATSKO DATSEV, CMO MYMALL

“MYMALL IS ALWAYS LOOKING TO REACH CUSTOMERS IN NEW, TAILORED WAYS.DISSEMINATING AN ALERT ABOUT AN ITEM ON SALE, OR A CODE PROMOTION ON VIBER STRAIGHT TO OUR TARGET THROUGH OMNICHANNEL MARKETING IS A VERY DIRECT,IMPACTFUL WAY OF GETTING OUR MESSAGE ACROSS. WE HAVE NOT ONLY ENHANCED OUR BRAND AWARENESS AND CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT, BUT ALSO ACQUIRED NEW,LOYAL CUSTOMERS.”

Connecting a communications platform with a messaging app like Viber helps marketers get the most out of their marketing campaigns. “A messaging app bridges the gap between the marketer and the consumer,” according to Adrian Benic, VP of Products at Infobip.

THIS IS IT: A2PMARKETING’SHOLY GRAIL

3 STEPS TOMASTERING

IDENTIFY COMMUNICATIONSPLATFORM AND MESSAGING APP PARTNERS THAT WORK BESTMuch like selecting the right DMP and DSP matters in ad tech, marketers need to carefully select which communication platform and messaging app works best for their A2P campaigns. These technologies must complement each other well, enabling fastgo-to-market with appropriate channels and tools for easy onboarding. Using one without the other could result in in errors in campaign setup,execution or results.

“CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT IS INSTRUMENTAL INTODAY’S HIGHLY COMPETITIVE MARKETPLACE.REACHING THROUGH TO YOUR KEY MARKETS WITHMULTICHANNEL MARKETING TOOLS, ESSENTIALLY THE OMNI CHANNEL OFFERING, A COMPANY CAN DELIVER CONSISTENT AND PERSONALISED CUSTOMEREXPERIENCE ACROSS ALL CHANNELS, TOUCHPOINTS AND JOURNEYS.”

SILVIO KUTIC, CEO OF INFOBIP

CREATE EXCLUSIVITY & FOMO WITH MESSAGING

Consumers don’t want to receive texts from a marketer unless the messages offer something of limited or immediate value. Always include limited or real-time offers, whether it’s information about an event, a sale or a new product. Providing value and urgency by describing the benefits of acting now will turn users into consumers. Make them feel as this is something they should not miss out on!

CULTIVATE A BRAND SAFE &SECURE CONSUMER EXPERIENCE

With growing concern around brand safety andconsumer privacy, offering a safe environment for marketers and consumers to communicate iscrucial. Any safeguards available to assureconsumers they are safe and their messages are private and then voila—they’re likely to becomelong-time customers. Cristina Constandache, Viber’s VP of Global Partnerships, urges brands to start trying more out-of-the-box ideas.

“THE RISK IS SMALLER ONCE YOU CREATE TRUST WITH YOUR AUDIENCE. TAKE SOME BIG RISKS WITH SOME OF THEM. MAYBE YOU’LL FIND SOMETHING THAT YOUNEVER EXPECTED AND THAT WILL INCREASE THEIRLIFETIME VALUE.”

CRISTINA CONSTANDACHE, VP OF GLOBALPARTNERSHIPS, RAKUTEN VIBER

A2P marketing goes beyond message performance intobranding, and measurements matter from the top of thepurchase funnel to the bottom. Follow the results of yourcampaign activities. To determine whether or not campaigns have been successful, marketers must look at behavioralmetrics, such as how much time users spend interacting with a message, as well downstream metrics, like conversions, before finally focusing on brand lift. However, when it comes toperformance, every interaction should count.

ABOUT VIBERAt Rakuten Viber, we connect people. No matter who they are, or where they are from. Our global user base has access to a range of features like one-on-one chats, video calls, group messaging, and updates anddiscussions with their favorite brands and celebrities. We ensure our users have a secure and free environment to share their emotions.

Rakuten Viber is part of Rakuten Inc., a world leader in e-commerce and financial services. It is the official communication channel of FC Barcelona, and the official instant messaging and calling app partner of the Golden State Warriors.

Join Viber today and enjoy the world’s best communication experience.

For further inquiries, contact us at media@viber.com.

ABOUT INFOBIPFounded over a decade ago by two young developers, Infobip grew into an international business with offices on six continents offering proprietary, in-house developed messaging platform with the capacity to reach over six billion mobile devices connected to over 800 telecoms networks.

Infobip innovates at the intersection of Internet and telecoms technologies, creating new ways and opportunities for businesses and their end users to interact over mobile devices. The company serves and partners withleading mobile operators, OTTs, banks, social networks, tech companies and aggregators.

For more information about Infobip, contact us at pr@infobip.com.

Sources: *FastSMS, May 2017, **ClickZ, July 2017, ***MobileSquared, February 2018