Wayne, Pennsylvania – You probably don’t see them as often as you once did, but you won’t see them at all soon.
IVR service bureau companies have been informed by Verizon, owners of MCI, that it will terminate billing for all 900 number pay-per-call programs in the United States, effective December 31, 2012.
900 numbers enjoyed an astounding run in the 1990’s as businesses like Microsoft used them for computer technical support. The US Passport office also employed 900 numbers for expedited passport requests. You could even listen to the astronauts on the space shuttle via a 900 number.
Then, there were the 900 number programs that usually consisted of girls in hot tubs saying “call me” on late night television. In most cases, when you did call, you probably got a lot less than you might have thought you were getting, especially since the major carriers banned billing for adult content within two years of the mass introduction of 900 services in 1989.
But, the place where 900 numbers had the most lasting impact in the minds of the consumers was in entertainment. Singer Michael Bolton had a popular 900 number for his fan club and WWF heavyweight champion Hulk Hogan’s 900 number... Read more
Archive for Bob Bentz 
Verizon Announces End of 900 Number Billing
Ben Franklin Loves Beer
Anybody who has ever visited Philadelphia knows that its residents take sports very seriously. In a city known for “brotherly love,” its fans are anything but and are not afraid to show their passionate support for their home team and their disdain for their opponents.
Philly Sports Live is an upstart website that reports on the beloved Phillies, Flyers, Sixers, and Eagles. It also covers other teams in Philadelphia such as the Philadelphia Union and the college sports programs at Temple and Villanova.
But, despite outstanding journalism, finding an online audience in a city that boasts two sports talk radio stations, a very popular digital newspaper, and a bevy of prominent blog sites has not been an easy task.
So, Philly Sports Live took to the streets to find Philly sports fans. And, there was no place better to find them than this weekend in South Philly with the Phillies hosting the hated Mets and the Flyers pummeling the cross-state rival Penguins in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
“We decided that the best way to become known was through guerilla marketing at Pattison and Broad,” said Frank Mazza, publisher of Philly Sports Live. “We wanted to offer something hip, something cool,... Read more
The Shocking Truth About QR Code Use
The use of the QR Code increased by 6 times in 2011 and with increased smartphone penetration for 2012, it shows no signs of retreating.
If 2010 was the year of mobile, then 2011 was the year of the QR Code. The percent of print ads containing QR Codes showed growth from below 1% of all print ads in January 2011 to in excess of 6% of all advertising in December 2011.
While a variety of 2D barcodes were used in the print advertisements, the vast majority (87.8%) of those utilized in print were QR Codes. The Microsoft tag, a multi-colored tag using triangular shapes, was second most popular with 10.2%. The JagTag, DataMatrix Code, SnapTag, and EZ Code made up just over 1% of the use in print advertisements.
Businesses of all types are utilizing 2D barcode technology, although retailers lead with 21.9% of the overall use of bar codes. It would make sense that technology is the second most used category since those scanning bar codes are likely more tech savvy than the average person. Interestingly, automotive was just the seventh top category of use of 2D barcodes.
For 2D barcodes to continue growing, it is important... Read more
The Great Super Bowl Mobile Marketing Experiment
If you were watching Super Bowl 46 (I refuse to use Roman numerals that nobody understands), you know that all of the action was not on the field. That includes the riveting halftime performance by Madonna who showed that at age 53, she's still smoking hot and a great athlete. Just in case you were one of the 157 people that missed the Madonna halftime show during Super Bowl 46, here it is.
Best Buy's advertisement was interesting and showed that it was carrier agnostic and that Best Buy was a great place to shop for the best mobile phone plan for your particular needs.
Watch the Best Buy commercial that shows the inventor of the text message here.
There also was an enormous amount of action, mobile marketing action that is, during the commercials, proving that mobile marketing has now made it to television's biggest event and in a big way.
One of the biggest advertisers this year was Chevy, which has a big television ad campaign and advertisements across other mediums. It is also running a competition through its special Super Bowl iPhone and Android apps, where users who take the trivia quiz in the app can win up to... Read more
