Last week, MOBI announced its top picks for its prestigious awards to honor those companies making history advancing mobile, marketing, and advertising with innovative campaigns. Clickatell was nominated in the "Best Mobile Direct Response" category for its industry-first SMS campaign working with the US State Department, which sent 'live' text messages to global citizens during President Obama's Cairo and Ghana speeches this past summer.
Nick Friese, President, DM2 Events and MOBI awards judge commented, "It's amazing what organizations are doing these days with mobile phones and social media to reach people all around the world, clearly advertising and marketing is changing very quickly. We are happy to include Clickatell and its work with the US State Department in our awards, showcasing this innovative use of text messaging and look forward to seeing more campaigns like this in the years to come."
The MOBI Awards honor overall excellence and breakthrough achievement in mobile media, marketing, and advertising. The MOBI's are presented by DM2, the publishers of digiday:DAILY and the hosts of digiday:MOBILE, which includes hundreds of leading mobile media and marketing experts, journalists, insiders, marketers, publishers, and mobile technology visionaries. The winners will be announced at The MOBI Awards Gala on September 16, 2009, at The W Hotel Union Square, New York.
Nominated for its innovative work with the US State Department, Clickatell implemented two distinct mobile messaging campaigns to deliver SMS excerpts to people around the globe during the Cairo and Ghana historic speeches given by President Obama. Creating a "Mobile Town Hall Without Borders," this mobile text campaign reached the masses of people who might not traditionally have a 'voice' during these events. To view a video of the white house administration talking about the success of the Ghana event, please view http://www.whitehouse.gov/video/White-House-Press-Briefing-7/15/09/.
Clickatell CEO Pieter de Villiers commented on the recognition, "To be honored for this particular deployment is especially important because it shows what SMS can accomplish as a wide-reaching communications tool in today's global environment - with the need to unite more important than ever. Comments came in via SMS from 150+ countries, commenting on President Obama's views and thanking him for his accessibility during these events. It even gave Obama a chance to respond to people who are hoping to see big changes in the administration's global policy and peacemaking efforts. Able to be received when a voice call may not, SMS is dependable, easy to use and already 'built into' the 4 billion mobile phones in use today."
The MOBI Awards are selected by an esteemed committee of leading mobile media and marketing experts, journalists, insiders, marketers, publishers, and mobile technology visionaries, including:
Benjamin Mosse, Director, Mobile, The Associated Press
Jeremy Wright, Global Director, Brand Strategy, Nokia Interactive
Robert Samuels, Director, Mobile Products, The New York Times
Robert Victor, Business Product Manager, Mobile, Google
Terri Walter, Vice President, Emerging Media, Avenue A Razorfish
Dave Gwozdz, CEO, Mojiva
Evan Neufeld, Vice President, comScore Brand Metrix
Maria Mandel, Sr. Partner, Executive Director Digital Innovation, Ogilvy
Dan Frommer, Senior Editor, Silicon Alley Insider
Adam Hirsch, Chief Operations Officer, Mashable.com
Dan Flanegan, VP Strategy & Client Services, Brand in Hand, LLC
Eric A. Litman, Chairman & CEO, Medialets
Tony Nethercutt, VP Sales, AdMob
Jeremy Arnon, Senior Director, Business Development, Quattro Wireless
Nick Friese, President, DM2 Events
About Clickatell
We create a better world through technology, making commerce in chat accessible for everyone, everywhere. Consumers can now connect with brands to find goods and services, make purchases, track orders, and resolve issues with a simple text or chat. No need for cash, phone calls, in-person interactions, or apps. Founded in 2000 with now over 10,000 customers, Clickatell is powering the digital commerce transformation. Clickatell is headquartered in Silicon Valley, CA and has offices in Canada, South Africa, and Nigeria (www.clickatell.com).
SMS and two-way channels, automation, call center integration, payments - do it all with Clickatell's Chat Commerce platform.