TMS Shortcodes
Short codes are an association of short keyword and short phone numbers provided by local telecom companies to allow brands to engage in relation with consumers to exchange SMS text messaging or MMS multimedia messaging.
Short codes are widely used for local value-added services such as television program voting, ordering ringtones, charity donations and mobile services. Messages sent to short codes can be billed at a higher rate than a standard SMS. Example of short code: text Haiti 2010 to 43445.
The telecom short codes per definition are easier to read and remember and they were built for text messaging. With the new generation of internet connected mobile phones and tablets this system needed to be upgraded to answer the need of URL messaging as the relation between brands and consumers has moved from an exchange of texts to an invitation to visit a mobile website (or a mobile application) via a personalized experience.
TheTMSway a Hong Kong based company has developed a new generation of short codes: “TMS shortcodes” which upgraded the SMS shortcodes and are optimized for the new generation of internet connected devices and URL messaging. This company provides an editor of alphanumeric codes, Telco free, and a new real time search engine of short codes accessible by a simple mobile web browser.
Technology
The TMS short codes technology is an open platform which allows brands to create a short code (numeric or branded) and to link it to one mobile site via an URL or to different mobile sites for location based distribution. The system also allows the edition of different short codes linked to a same URL, to identify the origin of the consumer activation. On the consumer side the search engine of shortcodes “TMSsearch.com” is able to retrieve a brand offer associated to a short code to launch an action while it analyze the direct consumer environment (handset /time / date / location). These two components associated in real time authorize to redirect the consumers instantly to a personalized experience via dynamic URLs.
A dynamic URL is used to drive a visitor to a personalized version of a mobile site (in relation to his handset, location, language) as opposed to a static URL which will drive all visitors to the same mobile site version. A dynamic URL provides also an easier way to analyze the usage of a mobile site.
Following this, consumers who enter a same TMS short code in the TMS search engine with different handsets, at different times and in different locations will be able to access different mobile offers optimized for their phone and location and available at the specific day and time they have activated the short code.
Different TMS short codes
The editor of TMS shortcodes allows creating numeric short codes from 5 digits to 11 digits. 8 digits to 11 digits are usually used to create a shortcode with the phone number of a retailer or company allowing consumer to call the number or use it in TMS search to access the store or company mobile site.
The platform allows the edition of vanity (branded) codes which associate a 2 to 6 letters root to a 4 digits number. The platform allows users to purchase a branded short code root to use it for future campaigns (associated to different 4 digit numbers).
Short codes differences
The telecom SMS short codes are based on text messaging. They can provide consumers access to a brand mobile site in 3 steps: the user need to send (and pay) a first SMS to be able to receive an SMS from the brand with a text and a static URL link to the brand mobile site.
The TMS short codes reduce the consumer activation in 1 step with no SMS involved. They direct consumers instantly to an optimized experience.
On the brand side the TMS shortcode system reduces the process to a one step experience and offers multiple possibilities in term of actions.