Outspoken support for Apple’s mobile Passbook

Leading B2C mobile messaging company Outspoken greatly expanded the capability of marketers to use its service this week with a major upgrade involving Apple devices.

Outspoken’s mobile marketing platform now supports Apple's Passbook application, available on all new and the majority of existing iPhones, enabling marketers to send passes such as coupons, gift cards and boarding passes via an MMS (multimedia) or SMS text message. According to Outspoken, its offering is the first end-to-end Passbook integration that uses SMS and MMS mobile messaging to deliver and import Passbook passes.

"Passbook's rapid growth demonstrates that consumers want to receive valuable offers and store useful information, like boarding passes and loyalty cards, on their mobile devices," said James Citron, Outspoken’s president. "Merchants can now reach all of their customers with Passbook offers because passes can now be delivered via Outspoken's SMS and MMS messaging platform, which reaches 98% of United States consumers."

Historically, Passbook was only available to consumers who downloaded a merchant's mobile application or received passes delivered via email, which limited the reach of Passbook to typically only a fraction of a merchant's overall customer base. Outspoken's Passbook offering distinguishes itself from others in the market as it works via MMS and SMS messaging and across both iOS and non-iOS devices with Passbook wallet applications installed. The platform does not require a specific application download by a consumer. For brands, this provides the greatest reach of any Passbook offering in the market and a seamless way to integrate Passbook into existing mobile marketing campaigns, according to Outspoken.

"We are living in a digital era, where mobile coupons have a 10-to-1 redemption rate over traditional coupons, and people lose interest with each extra click it takes to get the information they want," Citron said. "Outspoken's Passbook offering provides a streamlined experience for both brands and consumers alike, yielding increased mobile engagement and commerce for brands, and a simpler way for consumers to receive and access the information they care about."