York Theatre Royal campaign breaks new ground
February 2003: York Theatre Royal will break new ground in the world of arts marketing this month as it becomes one of the first regional theatres in England to use text messaging as a direct marketing tool. Through its partnership with mobile messaging technology specialist mkodo, the theatre is adopting this new means of communication in order to enhance customer service.
Joining forces with mkodo, an established mobile enablement company, whose other clients include Cartoon Network, Creation Financial Services and LondonSkate, York Theatre Royal will soon be making use of the latest mobile message technology, including SMS (text messaging).
Customers will now be able to opt-in to receive exclusive discounts, priority booking and latest news directly to their mobile. Tristan Alltimes, Marketing Assistant at York Theatre Royal is co-ordinating the new project, he says: "The use of SMS technology is an exciting project as we are able to offer patrons exclusive discounts and information about productions direct to their mobile phone. In the future SMS technology could be used to buy tickets or even receive audio/visual clips of a production. The use of SMS technology is only limited by your ability to innovate!"
"Mobile communication is a fast, reliable and convenient means of building strong, non-intrusive, profitable customer relationships which has proven to be very successful for corporate use", says Sue Parker, executive director, mkodo. She adds: "mkodo's experience across the entertainment and leisure industries in provision of successful, well-conceived mobile messaging communications means we are well placed to assist the York Theatre Royal in meeting their objectives for enhanced customer service. The mkodo platform enables marketers to create and run mobile messaging campaigns from their desktop giving them complete control over what and when they communicate with their audience."
