Travel seller lastminute.com offers SMS newsletter

LONDON -- European online travel seller lastminute.com has contracted with InfoSpace to provide an SMS newsletter service for mobile phone users. The weekly newsletter will be used by lastminute.com as a marketing tool to increase sales from customers visiting its web and WAP portals. 

Customers will select the newsletters they wish to receive based on individual category interests, and will then be notified of selected offers on such items as gifts, holidays and entertainment. The service will allow mobile users to receive news on offers instantaneously, enhancing the accessibility of lastminute.com's service. Each newsletter will contain an embedded phone number that will connect customers to lastminute.com's call center, enabling them to take advantage of offers as soon as they receive them.

Weekly SMS messages

"We will send information to SMS subscribers once each week," said Pete Flint, Head of Global Business Development for lastminute.com. "Subscribers select their preference (city breaks, hotels, restaurants, theatre etc). Our SMS will detail an offer which reflects their product choice. This represents a value added service for true 'last minute' customers and people on the move who can still access lastminute.com's extensive database of products."

lastminute.com customers will initially subscribe to the service via lastminute.com's web portal. In the future, the company expects customers will be able to subscribe through their mobile phones using WAP SMS or MMS, and a short code.

lastminute.com has operations in the UK, France, Spain, The Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Australia, Japan and South Africa. It has built its presence through growth as well as acquisitions in Europe.

InfoSpace provides software technology that allows the service to be offered under lastminute.com's brand. In addition, InfoSpace's connectivity agreements with the UK's major mobile operators -- including Orange, Vodafone and O2 -- provide lastminute.com with a single point of distribution through which they can reach the vast majority of the UK's mobile users. Subscribers will be charged on a "pay as you go" basis at 25p for each message received.

InfoSpace's partnership with lastminute.com marks the continued success of its wholesale SMS service that enables UK businesses to reach out to existing and potential customers in innovative ways. The service provides companies with the opportunity to offer their customers messages and alerts on subjects such as news, stock prices, sports news, weather, as well interactive games and promotions.

SMS marketing

Nick Henry, Wireless Business Development Director of InfoSpace Europe said his company's "agreements with the UK's four major mobile operators allow us to offer companies the ability to send SMS messages to up to 45 million mobile users, and to develop interactive communication on a regular basis. SMS marketing is appealing to more and more companies in the UK, and InfoSpace is here to ensure that services are brought to market as quickly and efficiently as possible."

Last month, lastminute.com announced the signing of a long term technology partnership contract with Global Distribution System (GDS) and travel e-commerce leader Worldspan. The contract means Worldspan will provide a key element of lastminute.com's GDS and Internet booking engine provision across Europe, delivering a range of customised e-commerce solutions and technology consulting.

"Last week, lastminute.com experienced its highest-ever flights sales on the UK site, and we continue to focus on technology innovation which we feel has helped give us the scale required to become a leader," said lastminute.com co-founder and CEO Brent Hoberman in making the announcement. "Worldspan has delivered consistently great service for lastminute.com and we're pleased to continue partnering with such experts in travel e-commerce."

Powered by Worldspan

lastminute.com's Internet booking engine is powered by Worldspan's Structured Messaging Interface (SMI) product, designed to handle large volumes of 'look and book' online enquiries both quickly and accurately. SMI saves time and money for booking and confirmation by only showing relevant information on the user's screen. It also has a unique customisable rule setting capability which shows both scheduled and negotiated fares and availability in one screen.

Last week, InfoSpace announced the launch in the Netherlands of the first Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS)-based mobile services with leading Dutch operator O2. MMS adds support for full-color images, such as maps, charts and icons, as well as audio and video clips, to the convenience and ease-of-use that have firmly established Short Messaging Service (SMS)-based services, such as information, entertainment and person-to-person messaging, as the world's most popular wireless data services.

The initial launch with O2 includes 20 branded MMS services backed by leading content sources, including ANP, the Dutch press association, and Voetbal International, a popular Dutch specialist weekly. InfoSpace and O2 expect to launch additional MMS services with content from other leading providers in the coming months, including cartoons, real-time stock quotes, and horoscopes.

InfoSpace offers global operators an expanding suite of MMS applications in a variety of the most popular content categories, including news, weather, finance, sports, horoscopes and more. InfoSpace MMS applications are available in several languages, including English, French, German, Italian and Dutch.

"MMS marks a major step forward in the development of wireless data as handsets and applications evolve to provide the rich-media experience mobile users are accustomed to viewing on a PC," said Jan Claesson, executive vice president, wireless, at InfoSpace. "Our multimodal wireless applications enable global carriers to quickly bring to market a wide range of services, backed by leading content brands, across a wide range of network and device standards."