Outspoken Expands Mobile Marketing Platform to Support Apple Passbook

Outspoken, a B2C mobile messaging company, has expanded its mobile marketing platform to support Apple's Passbook application.

Outspoken's clients will now be able to send passes, including coupons, gift cards, boarding passes, and more, directly to their mobile customers via MMS or SMS text message. Outspoken's offering is the first end-to-end Passbook integration that uses SMS and MMS mobile messaging to deliver and import Passbook passes.

Passbook is a mobile application, available on all new and the majority of existing iPhones, that stores personal items like airline boarding passes, coupons, movie tickets, loyalty cards, and gift cards, while also allowing users to access and redeem these passes from one location on their smartphones. Furthermore, Passbook is often customized by location, so the pass will dynamically open up on the device when the consumer arrives at the relevant location (i.e., a boarding pass will appear upon arrival at the airport).

"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, president of Outspoken, in a statement. "Starting today, 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 percent of United States consumers."

Outspoken's Passbook offering works across both iOS and non-iOS devices with Passbook wallet applications installed. The platform does not require a specific application download by the consumer. 

"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."

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