5G is here!! Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2019 – LA brought great insights about the changes on the horizon for the mobile, expanding functionality, 5G and in particular the SMS evolution to RCS — Rich Communication Service. If you haven’t heard about RCS, don’t fret. The technology has been in development since 2007 (rcrwirelesss.com), but had some obstacles to overcome such as price confusion and rollout through operators. There are no longer barriers and RCS is real and rolling out even as we speak. Built on the backbone of 5G and many of the operators who together are committed to get global usage, RCS will allow businesses to create experiences for their customers that enable them to get their “work to be done” or “fun to be had” in a much more interactive, seamless and frictionless way. According to Tatango.com, “RCS is essentially a better text messaging protocol as it allows you to add rich media elements, such as buttons, chatbots, and high definition images to a message. This is makes it a great enhanced messaging solution for mobile marketers.”
This is definitely an amazing opportunity for both product developers and marketers to explore and build this future. One brand already created a great “beer in your seat” ordering app for stadiums that is both fun, practical and showed 80 – 85% conversion rates in the very first use. And a train system in Europe has successfully used it to enhance its rider’s commuting experience by combining on demand schedule information right in the message vs. a link out to a webpage and a chat feature when you realize you really did miss your train (or stop). At ABC Digital we are excited by the future of RCS and encourage you to explore more about what’s possible. If you’d like to learn more, please reach out today.