SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CTIA -- The Wireless Association (R) (CSC Administrator) and NeuStar, Inc. (NYSE: NSR) (CSC Registry) celebrate the five-year anniversary of the U.S. Common Short Code (CSC) program today by presenting the third annual "CSC Pioneer" award to three innovative companies -- all of which have experienced exceptional growth in leased CSCs over the past year. Special recognition is given to repeat winner HipCricket, the leader in leased short codes with 358 active codes and annual growth of 126 percent through its work with broadcasters and brands.
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CSCs catalyzed the launch of the mobile marketing and advertising industry and are the primary mobile direct response method in use in the U.S. today. CSCs are short five and six-digit numbers that mobile phone users can use to send and receive text and multimedia messages using the messaging capabilities that come standard with virtually every handset made today. CSCs are accessible to more than 95 percent of mobile phone users, and provide marketers the greatest opportunity for reach when compared to other marketing mediums. This is because CSCs are "common" and work across mobile service providers -- meaning brands can reach mobile subscribers regardless of what mobile provider or what type of mobile device the subscriber has.
Winners of the 2008 Pioneer Awards are:
-- Applications provider: Repeat winner HipCricket Inc., a Kirkland, Washington, based marketer that drives new revenue and customer loyalty for broadcast stations and consumer brands through strategic and measurable mobile marketing interactivity. HipCricket has delivered successful campaigns for customers including Clear Channel Radio, Premiere Radio Networks, Sandusky Broadcasting, NBC, Coca Cola, Staples, Hershey's and Jameson.
-- Aggregator: OpenMarket Inc., a Seattle-based provider of mobile messaging and financial payment processing systems for direct-to-consumer (D2C) mobile commerce; and
-- New Customer: Philadelphia-based M3 Mobile Marketing, a provider of mobile technology used to communicate with customers of large companies in order to raise brand awareness, drive revenue and stimulate greater return on advertising. M3 Mobile Marketing creates and integrates brand-specific mobile advertising campaigns and leverages its technology to execute and support them.
"These three companies have shown true innovation and leadership in taking the mobile marketing revolution to the next level," said Steve Largent, president and CEO of CTIA. "They are clearly expanding the market for CSCs by demonstrating to new clients the marketing power of CSCs to create new business opportunities." The Pioneer awards are being presented at 12:30PM PDT, Wednesday, September 10th immediately before the "Marketing - The Mobile Channel" session in Room 2008 at CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment 2008.
The first CSC was leased in October 2003, and since then, the CSC business has continued to enjoy phenomenal growth. In its second quarter ending June 30, 2008, the CSCA (www.USShortCodes.com), saw the quantity of common short codes under management grow to more than 3,100, a 28% growth from the same quarter last year and a 10% increase from the first quarter ending in March.
"The jump in demand for CSCs is coming from a variety of sectors," said Diane Strahan, NeuStar vice president of Mobile Services, "including retail, entertainment, government, political campaigns and non profits. Advertisers are increasingly shifting their spending from conventional venues to capture the attention of the mobile customer."
About CTIA - The Wireless Association(R)
CTIA is the international association for the wireless telecommunications industry, representing carriers, manufacturers and wireless Internet providers. Visit CTIA online at www.ctia.org.
About NeuStar, Inc.
NeuStar is a provider of clearinghouse and directory services to the global communications and Internet industry. Visit NeuStar online at www.NeuStar.biz.
SOURCE NeuStar, Inc.
