I just got my first true spam SMS today (the others have been from the network, so they sort of don’t count - I expect them). It was from a home loans company called Area3. No idea how I got on their list, but I certainly didn’t subscribe.
I suppose this is the beginning of the end in terms of text messaging, but there has been so much written about why this is a bad idea for marketers that I can’t believe people are really going for it. I wrote about this three years ago.
By the way, the address of the contact for Area3 is peterm@area3.com.au. Plenty of spambots trawl this blog, so hopefully they’ll pick up his email and he’ll understand why spam is so irritating.
UPDATE: I got a swift email back from Peter apologising for the message and noting that I had agreed to further marketing when I signed up for a rent card. The thing is, that was three years ago and I seem to remember not having a choice about opting in on that front, it was part of the terms of the card. Not only that, but Area3 is acting as a call centre for real estate agents who aren’t exactly the most popular people at the dinner table in the first place.
Rather than the teaser message, it would have been better to ask for permission in the first message and signalling that no others would be sent without opt-in. Instead they gave the message that I needed to actively unsubscribe and it becomes an invasive inconvenience.
It may be they don’t care hostile reaction from those not interested, but I’m sure plenty of people might be interested in their offering. The thing is, even those that are in the market may well be turned off by the approach.
So, plus points for getting back to me straight away, but the email still stays up there for not getting it in the first place.