2018

Fonix’s innovation processes £12.9m for BBC Children in Need’s 2018 Appeal via text donations

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

12th December 2018, London – Fonix, the mobile payments and messaging specialist, has announced today that it processed £12.9 million in mobile donations for BBC Children in Need.

BBC Children in Need is the BBC’s UK charity, raising money for disadvantaged children and young people around the country. Fonix has worked with the charity since 2014, providing a mobile payment mechanic which allows the public to donate via SMS, seamlessly charging the costs to their mobile phone bills.

This year, Fonix and BBC Children in Need collaborated to introduce the first ever £30 price point (alongside the traditional price points of £20, £10 and £5). This was introduced for the Children in Need Rocks concert with great success, and implemented on the live annual Appeal Show which aired on 16th November.

BBC Children in Need also ran multiple text-to-donate competitions for the first time, including the chance to see Bruce Springsteen on Broadway which featured on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show. A one-off voluntary donation of £10 was made to BBC Children in Need, but the public were able to opt out by replying CANCEL to their entry confirmation text within 60 minutes.

Clare Charles, Director of Media and Charity for Fonix, commented “We’re proud to have worked with BBC Children in Need this year. Since 2014 we’ve worked with the charity to refine and improve the mobile donation process.

“It’s clear that the public are willing to donate larger amounts via text-to-donate, and allowing them to do this by introducing the £30 price point has been great for raising money for such a good cause.”

Karen Bass, Chief Operating Officer at BBC Children in Need said “Mobile is such an important channel for maximising donations, helping us to raise as much money as possible to support disadvantaged children and young people around the UK. Donating by text is a quick and simple way for people to help change young lives. We’re grateful to Fonix for enabling this and to all of our generous supporters whose donations will go on to make such a difference.”

Two new special conditions for Directory Enquiries services

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

Today PSA are publishing their final statement on their DQ review which sets out two new special conditions on pricing transparency at onward call connection and IVR promotions on inactive geographic numbers.  The statement and responses to the consultation can be found at this link.  Their notice can be found here.

New price cap on 118 numbers

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

People who call directory enquiry services will be protected from high prices under a new price cap on 118 phone numbers, announced by Ofcom today.

Ofcom have been concerned about directory enquiry prices rising steeply. Some providers charge almost £20 for an average 90-second call. The price charged by the most popular service – 118 118 – for a 90-second call is now £11.23.

Although there are cheaper services available, Ofcom’s research shows that consumers tend to call the numbers they most easily remember.

And while the number of calls being made to 118 services has been falling by around 40% every year, more than a million people in the UK – many of them elderly – still use these services.

The cost of calling many of these services is now well above what people expect to pay. Ofcom’s research estimates that around 450,000 consumers a year are paying £2.4m in total more than they expect for these calls, with some struggling to pay their bills.

So Ofcom is stepping in, by capping the maximum amount a 118 service can charge at £3.65 per 90 seconds. This will bring prices back to 2012 levels, and closer to what people expect to pay.

To allow providers time to adjust their prices and billing systems, the price cap will come into force on 1 April 2019.

A news release is available.

Global wins Most Effective Charity Campaign

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

Congratulations to Global’s Make Some Noise, the official charity partner of Global, The Media & Entertainment Company, for winning a 2018 Effective Mobile Marketing Award (EMMA) for use of their ‘Text to Win & Donate’ mechanic.

The judges awarded Global’s entry ‘Most Effective Charity Campaign/Solution’ due to the creative way of running charity-based competitions on radio, together with high conversion rates and a +20% increase on the amount donated with each engagement.

To find out more, visit: https://mobilemarketingmagazine.com/2018-awards-preview-most-effective-charity-campaign-or-solution