The money is in the message

Rohit Bhandari did not mind this spam message entering his bulging mobile. The mail promised him discount coupons and ads on his cellphone.

Bhandari could also specify the number of messages that he would like to receive in a day and assign DnD (do not disturb) times. Plus the bonus: he could earn upto Rs 5,000 per month by permitting marketers of the world to communicate with him through his cellphone.

Ashish Tulsian, director and CEO of admad.mobi, a company specialising in SMS advertising says, "Its all about monetising the space. The whole idea is of converting spam SMS into subscription SMS."

With an estimated 180 million mobile phone users, the "third- screen" as advertisers call it, is becoming an increasingly important marketing tool.

Among the early converts for this medium are companies like confectionery major Perfetti, Korean durables majors, Samsung & LG, network marketing major Amway and biscuit major Britannia among others.

There is no dearth of service providers, either. Companies like sms2india.co.in, mginger,m-earn.com, Admad.mobi are among those who are willing to pay consumers to receive SMS.

To buy consumer confidence, mobile marketers are now shelling out special offers and the occasional big bucks. Perfetti Van Melle is now exploring options like showing product promos or showcasing its product mascots through SMS.

"The concept is still in the testing phase but the technology holds promise and we are looking at the options available," says Sameer Suneja, head-marketing, Perfetti Van Melle. The company plans to advertise the youth-centric Mentos and Happydent brands through this mode.

"If we get an option which suits any of our other brands we will go ahead with it. It is more about the right fit," adds Suneja. Perfetti claims to have a consumer base of 150 million and hope to targets its entire consumer set with this method.

Samsung is using the medium for promoting its mobile phones. "For Samsung cell phone users we have formed a club, where we invite consumers to participate in various activities," said a company spokesperson.

Marketers feel there are other reasons that include, one-to-one communication, no clutter like television. Plus of course mobile handsets at a growth rate of 30 per cent, are growing faster than the 12 per cent growth rate of television sets.

"This is not a broadcast medium where at times the messages get lost. Also, this medium has the capacity to become an audio-visual medium," said Sandeep Tiwari, head of marketing, LG Electronics.

The first phase of LG's SMS campaign will connect the company to its dealers across India. "In the second phase we will extend CRM facilities to consumers," says Tiwari.

But advertisers and industry experts warn that even as mobile marketing is in its infancy, Indian consumers may not warm up to the idea because, the early bird, telemarketing, has spoiled the beauty of the medium.

"The moment a consumer gets a call from telemarketing, it puts off consumers," says Tiwari. But they are unwilling to write-off the medium.

"Big brands like Sony Ericsson and Future Group have already approached us, but Indian companies are guarded as of now," says Tulsian. His enterprise, admad.mobi is only a month old.

Also the medium is cost-effective. "The traditional medium costs much more than this new medium," said Suneja.

But with Supreme Court ruling along with the 'do-not-disturb' directory coming into play, advertisers will have to be careful.

"With the do-not-disturb directory coming into play, we will be the only players authorised to send SMS, as consumers have authorised us to do so," said Tulsian. Bhandari certainly is not complaining.