Event Camp East Coast 2011 Successfully Uses Text Message Marketing

The votes are in! Event Camp East Coast 2011 (ECDC11), held at the National Conference Center in Leesburg, Virginia, was certainly a memorable event for attendees on many levels.

Event Camp is an events industry learning “lab” that gives participants a chance to experiment with new meeting formats and attendee engagement strategies. One of the experimental strategies employed at ECDC11 was opt-in mobile text messaging for both pre-event and onsite promotions and information distribution.

In addition to the typical texting of keywords to opt-in to the list, ECDC11 provided a QR code on their event site and onsite signage that would automatically create an SMS text message on the user’s smartphone when scanned. All the user would have to do to opt in would be to hit “Send.”

Featured messages included:

Pre-event discount for referrals
Information on gaining CEU education credits for participation
Travel and lodging suggestions and details
Weather reports so that out of town visitors would be prepared
Check-in and registration instructions
Onsite reminders about key sessions and social activities
Reminders to complete event and session evaluations

Texts were scheduled about one per week prior to the event, daily the week of the event, and multiple daily broadcasts during the actual event days. To be respective of attendees privacy and data usage rates, texts were only sent to those who opted in and an opt-out message was included with each broadcast. Post-ECDC11 surveys showed that attendees found the information helpful and useful.

Click Here to See ECDC11 Surveys on the Mobile Text Messaging and the Sessions, too

The mobile text messaging was sponsored by PWPMobile.com, a marketing service of Thorne Communications LLC. “We were glad to once again sponsor Event Camp East Coast this year and were delighted to see the positive feedback on the mobile text messaging from attendees,” says Heidi Thorne, president of Thorne Communications.

Click Here to Learn More About Using Mobile Text Messaging for Events and Tradeshows

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