T-Mobile is testing advertising SMS and MMS in collaboration with major advertisers

• The pilot project will address two target consumer groups tailored to best suit the needs of the advertisers
• Participants in the test will receive a maximum of two advertising SMS or MMS a day
• The advertisements are interactive, with possibility to respond using the phone number or web link contained in the message
• Advertising on mobile phones will soon become part of the standard media mix

Prague, 18 March 2009 - T-Mobile has launched a pilot project testing advertising on mobile phones. In the upcoming two weeks, two selected groups of customers will receive SMS and MMS with advertisements from large advertisers in the areas such as cosmetics, food, fashion and sports shoes, travelling and banking.    

"In the past, people had to leave many established paths in order to be able to move forward. Mobile phones will soon have a similar position like the internet, which has become a common part of the media mix in the recent years. It has been already proved that advertising via mobile phones is several times more successful than advertising in traditional media. In addition, mobile phones offer exceptional interactivity and the possibility to exactly determine customers' interest in the advertised goods and services, as consumers will be able to react on the offer directly when reading the SMS/MMS by clicking on the mobile internet pages with a detailed description of the advertiser's offer, calling to the included number of the advertiser's helpline or registering in the advertiser's loyalty program," explains Michal Němec, Vice President Mobile Portal & Content Services at T-Mobile.

The participating advertisers will send their advertisements to two target groups. The first group labeled as "Young" consists of people under 26 years of age. The second group are "Urban Women" - women aged 26-50 living in cities throughout the Czech Republic. Customers who are willing to take part in the test will receive free SMS or minutes for calls as a bonus. "In the future, subject to customers' consent, we will be able to use our knowledge of customers' identity and also their geographic position and thus maximize the efficiency of advertising using regional campaigns. This will guarantee satisfaction of both parties - advertisers will be able to use precisely targeted campaigns efficiently and consumers will only receive relevant information without being exposed to wrongly targeted advertising used in mass media," adds Michal Němec.

At the end of the pilot operation, the advertising companies will receive a comprehensive statistic report on all SMS and MMS with exact numbers showing the customers' interest in the advertised products and services.  Michal Němec adds: "The aim of the pilot project is to determine the attitude of all the parties involved. Therefore we will evaluate the customers' interest at the end."

T-Mobile is not a beginner in the area of advertising channels. Since autumn last year it has been operating a mobile internet banner system which is visited by hundreds of thousands users each months. Outside mobile phones, T-Mobile offers advertisers a banner system at the t-zones.cz web SMS gateway (with more than one million unique visitors each month). Since 2004, a banner system has been operated also at t‑music.cz, one of the Czech largest music portals.

T-Mobile Czech Republic, a member of the international telecommunications group Deutsche Telekom, has almost 6.2 million customers, the number-one operator in the Czech market. T-Mobile is an integrated operator: in addition to telecommunications services, it offers comprehensive ICT solutions not only for companies, but also for other organizations and individuals. It provides outstanding services in the high-speed network, which was proved repeatedly by benchmark testing performed by umlaut (former P3) with Best-in-Test seal.

T-Mobile Czech Republic places emphasis on taking a responsible approach to the environment and society. It adheres to fair business practices, helps beneficial applications and services to see the light of day, supports non-profit organizations, small businesses and individuals, and lends a helping hand whenever crisis situations arise. The company’s employees serve as volunteers in many places across the entire Czech Republic.

More information about the company is available at www.t-mobile.cz, www.t-press.cz (the portal for journalists) and www.t-mobile.cz/pomahame (information on the company’s CSR activities).

Contact details of the press unit: press@t-press.cz.