Incentivated Wins Award for BA: To Text. To Serve.

LONDON, November 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

Leading mobile marketing and technology specialist, Incentivated, last night was rewarded with an Effective Mobile Marketing Award for Most Effective Mobile CRM/Enterprise Messaging campaign for the customer service messaging solution it delivers for British Airways.

British Airways uses Incentivated's mobile SMS solutions as a way to deliver timely customer service messaging:

• To reduce passenger frustration during periods of high volume uncertainty around flight performance (e.g. during periods of adverse weather) that cause long delays or outages on traditional contact methods (telephone helplines or websites) for answering relatively simple service updates
• Free up customer service staff to be able to focus on the more complicated passenger queries that they are trained to handle
• Reduce overheads associated with short-term staffing for such extreme customer service events
• Improve customer relations (and brand perceptions) for BA
• For example, over 180,000 SMS alerts were sent in just 2 days when the Icelandic volcano erupted in April 2010.

Incentivated successfully defended the award they also won last year for CRM messaging sent out on behalf of Marks & Spencer.

Jonathan Bass, Managing Director, "We are delighted to have been recognised for the second consecutive year for the effectiveness of the CRM messaging solutions we deliver for our clients. Plain old text messaging is an oft-overlooked mobile marketing solution, but it is a mobile tool that delivers cost-effective service for a client's customers and, as such, is fundamentally important."

Notes for editors:

British Airways have a dedicated shortcode in the UK (60747) and USA (70615). They also have a dedicated long code for access by other international networks.

BA provides the following SMS-based message options as part of their customer service offering:

AUTOMATED OUTBOUND MESSAGES

DISRUPTION TO SERVICE

Automated outbound SMS, to those who provided a mobile number when booking, that alerts them to any disruption to their flight

Example message: Flight BA0365 on 02 Jul LYS/LHR ref ZJX6WR is cancelled. Visit ba.com/mmb Or call BA 0825825400 (FR) or 8777677970 (US) or booking agent. Apologies.

ONLINE CHECK IN

An outbound SMS sent to alert the passenger that they can now check in. Includes their booking reference and flight information within the SMS to help reduce hunting around various booking information sources.

Example message: Your flight *FLGHTNO* to *CITY* on *DEPTDATE* departing at *DEPTTIME* is now open for check in. Please check in online at ba.com using booking reference *REFNO*

PROACTIVE BAGGAGE

This is a relatively new service, launched in Summer '11. An automated service that is sent to a passenger's phone whilst they are in transit, so that they receive the message when they land (and switch their phone back on).  Taking a feed from baggage handling services, when a checked in item of luggage is known to have been sent on a different flight, it alerts the passenger so they don't have to wait unnecessarily at the baggage claim conveyor belts and can go straight to a help desk to arrange onwards delivery.

Example message: BA regrets to inform you that a bag has not travelled with you today. Please contact the Baggage Service desk upon arrival quoting xxxxxxxx to arrange delivery.

STAFF TRAVEL (B2E)

Staff who are travelling "standby" (employee perk) provide their mobile number as part of their booking, and when required seats become available they are sent an SMS confirmation that tells them where to go and check in.

-    Example message: Accepted for flight BA0005 - Go to the Blue Desk in T5 Staff Travel Servicing Area or to any Fast Bag Drop.

LOGISTICS (B2B)

Messages can be sent to support services for BA in order to more quickly facilitate repairs or avoid delays, or just to ensure regular maintenance of a landed aircraft (re-fuelling/ cleaning etc) happens on time and at the right place.

Example message: Hoist 117 OOS Damaged contour PEC. Affecting BB16 and 17B1 level 20. And BB14 and BB15B1 call direct only. Lodige

TEXT-IN SERVICES (customer initiated)

FLIGHT INFORMATION SERVICES (FLIFO)

Customers send SMS to BA requesting an update on the performance of a given flight - e.g. family members, chauffeurs/taxi drivers etc can request updates on departure or arrival times for people being met at an airport.

About Incentivated

Incentivated (http://www.incentivated.com) is an independent technology company with 10 years' experience operating exclusively in the mobile marketing services sector.

We help our international client base engage with their customers by designing, developing and delivering integrated acquisition, retention (CRM) and transaction (mCommerce) campaigns and services for mobile.

Our proprietary technology and specialist staff are well positioned to help brands, the public sector and charities to develop everything from enterprise messaging (SMS & MMS) through  mobile internet sites, to server-side software or handset applications, including web-apps, for 'smartphones' and feature-phones.

We also provide strategic, creative and technical advice for the use of mobile by businesses to raise awareness, deliver marketing ROI and provide customer service, as well as other managed services.