TXTing Digital Signs: A data point
This is a follow-up to my post from last week where I expressed incredulity about people actually sending TXT messages in response to a Digital Sign. Scarborough Research emailed me their latest press release today entitled “El Paso, Salt Lake City, Dallas and Memphis are the Top Text Messaging Markets in the U.S.: Text Messaging Delivers Coveted Young, Multicultural Demographic Texters are Top Spenders on Cellular Service, Avid Hi-Tech Buyers.”
To summarize, their study showed:
- 57% of cell users age 18+ use text messaging in El Paso (the highest nation-wide)
- other leading markets: Salt Lake City, Dallas, Memphis (55% TXT use)
- this is compared to 48% nationally
- Ft Myers, FL (36%); Charleston, WV (36%); Grand Rapids, MI (35%) have the lowest use
- youth and cultural diversity are two “demographic commonalities” among the high-use txters, who are 49% more likely to be 18-24, 14% more likely to be Hispanic and 24% more likely to be African-American
- high-use txters are avid technology shoppers (among that top 6% I harp about, from another Scarborough study)
Ok, so I need to amend my rant from before.
If you’re trying to reach these high-use txters who lean 18-24 and are more culturaly diverse, than adding txt-messaging capability to digital signs can give you an edge. And everyone (er…advertisers, at least) is chasing that young demographic, which over the next 15 years will transform our country. This year’s election is the first sign of the big demographic shifts underway, driven by the high-use techno-kids who TXT a lot.
So that’s my amendment. I hope you enjoyed it!
BUT, I stand by my incredulity at actual normal non-high-use txters sending txt messages to digital signs. AND even in those high txter markets like El Paso, you’re missing 43% of the market with your txt-capability (or 65% in Grand Rapids).
I’ve yet to find good research on response rates via txt to digital signs. Is there any out there yet?