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Why Multimedia-Rich MMS Messaging Could Work
Is the world ready for multimedia messaging system (MMS) communication between mobile devices? In a post last month on a new MMS API developed by Mogreet, I was hesitant to answer that question with a resounding yes.
December 3, 2012
3 Min Read
By Natasha Palumbo
MMS
Is the world ready for multimedia messaging system (MMS) communication between mobile devices? In a post last month on a new MMS API developed by Mogreet, I was hesitant to answer that question with a resounding yes. But after hearing Mogreet’s perspective on some of the technological and marketing hurdles associated by MMS, I’m more convinced that it could work. Here’s why.The MMS APIs that Mogreet introduced last month provide a platform for organizations to integrate multimedia into marketing communications distributed to users’ cell phones. The MMS support enhances the SMS marketing technology that Mogreet has long offered (and continues to provide) for its global customer base.
But since the deployment of MMS for this purpose remains pretty novel–a fact Mogreet its acknowledges in promoting its APIs as the first in the industry to allow marketers to distribute videos, photos, audio and other rich media to mobile platforms–the technology on which it depends has yet to be totally proven. That’s why I wondered previously whether handset hardware, mobile networks and consumer expectations were prepared for the new technology.
Preparing the World for Mass MMS
These, of course, are not issues Mogreet has overlooked. In a recent conversation, Mogreet’s director of Marketing, Serena Ehrlich, explained why the company is confident its MMS strategy will work. She emphasized the following key points regarding market readiness:
Hardware-wise, 93 percent of cell phones worldwide (and 98 percent of those in the United States) can receive MMS content, according to Mogreet. So ensuring successful delivery of MMS content to consumers will not be an issue in the vast majority of cases.
Thanks to the investment carriers have made in recent years in preparing their networks to handle multimedia-rich content, mobile networks are ready for the bandwidth and other overhead that MMS could involve. Moreover, as Mogreet staff also pointed out, MMS in some cases could put less strain on networks than they are already handling with voice communications, which require stronger cell coverage than many messaging scenarios.
Users are prepared to consume the new content, especially because MMS, which is bundled into regular messaging, will not affect their data plans. Under the unlimited SMS contracts that most cell phone owners have signed today, MMS will not pose additional costs.
Ehrlich added that MMS promises to prove particularly attractive in emerging markets, where messaging has been preferred over voice for mobile communication for a long time. But she also emphasized Mogreet’s commitment to developed markets as well, and its especially strong presence in the United States.
The Mogreet APIs are still quite new, and organizations are still becoming familiar with the possibilities they offer and the best ways to leverage them. Nonetheless, a number of companies both large and small have already expressed interest in Mogreet’s MMS platform, according to Ehrlich, including in niches, such as the travel industry–which might not be the first place one would expect a strong early following. Stay tuned for further updates as Mogreet’s latest endeavor moves forward.
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