Week 3 Writing Assignment
Mobile Marketing 396V
By: Elizabeth Kulin
Sumotext
Sumotext is in the application sphere of the mobile marketing ecosystem.
They are an application provider of short codes, which means that mobile
marketers can use Sumotext to rent short codes for the SMS mobile campaigns.
A short code is defined as, “an abbreviated 5-6 digit number used as an
“address” for text and multimedia messages” (Becker & Ahearn 2006). The
average cost is between $500-$5000/month. In action, when a consumer sends
a text to a short code their SMS is sent to a commercial service or software
application. At this point, a text can be send back to the consumer from the
same short code (if opt-in was successfully obtained).
Short codes are a crucial part the SMS mobile marketing channel. SMS is
one of the most used mobile marketing channels by marketers because of its
reach capabilities among consumers. Research shows that 88% of phones can
text and that 60% of mobile phone user takes advantage of this feature and uses
it. Therefore, SMS is a valuable mobile campaign for marketers to engage in
when decided how to reach their target audience via mobile and a short code
enables the marketer to connect with the consumer as link between the two
players.
A marketer who uses Sumotext would be renting their short code(s)
however, short codes can be leaked from the Common Short Code
Administration. Some experts believe that leasing (as opposed to renting) offers
less risk and greater flexibility because marketers can pay for “vanity” short
codes (short codes they have control in designing). Leasing also allows
marketers great control in the management process of billing, online
administration and account management of choosing which application and

aggregator providers to work with; a rented short code that is owned, and
controlled by the application provide, such as Sumotext. To offset these
consumer dislikes, Sumotext has explained their service from simply renting out
short codes, to a one-stop-shop platform for marketers to use and depend on
when carrying out a mobile SMS marketing campaign.
Their value proposition is stronger because they can appeal to marketers
who are interested in using a platform to carry out their strategy and creative
mobile campaign. Sumotext has made execution simple with advice on SMS
mobile campaign strategies, (specific to the objective that a mobile marketer may
be interested in) built relationships with aggregator providers, consume response
email alerts, and an initiative user-friendly platform. The Sumotext user platform
encompasses scheduling of outgoing SMS campaigns, organization of
campaigns by keywords, text message draft saving, lists of individual opt-in
members, group list creation and segmenting capabilities, a .mobi website
associated with the short code, and statistical reporting (that details usage and
delivery confirmation).
For my specific mobile marketing 396V team project (titled “Mobile Red”),
Sumotext would offer the ability for us to rent short codes, share a short code
among multiple keywords (which may be an advantage in our marketing strategy
as we could have one short code across the Product Red brand, but different
keywords associated with the different retail stores that sell Red products), use
the platform for organization, automated scheduling and reporting, and to build
segmented database lists of our different constituents. Additionally, Sumotext’s
relationship with aggregators simplifies the process of a executing a mobile
campaign as they can offer syndication with all major mobile carriers while being
very cost efficient ($300/month).
References:
 Michael Becker & Michael Ahearn, Understanding the Common Short Code:

Its Use, Administration, and Tactical Elements. 2006
 http://www.sumotext.com/index.html