PrimetexT talks turkey with “Text Talk”
Wolverhampton’s young people first to benefit
PrimetexT Ltd (www.primetext.com) the UK's leading provider of 2-way text
messaging services and Base25, the advice and information service for
Wolverhampton’s young people have announced the launch of “Text
Talk”. The service, run by Base25, is the first of its kind in the
UK and provides anonymous and confidential information to 11-25 year olds
without the need for face-to-face contact.
“Text Talk” was developed by Base25 in conjunction with youth market intelligence specialist mobileYouth to encourage maximum uptake of Base25’s free services among vulnerable young people. Text messaging was selected as the means of communication after research highlighted that there are close to 50,000 young people in Wolverhampton under the age of 25 who have a mobile phone. A figure likely to increase to almost 60,000 by the end of this year.
PrimetexT supports the service with its 2-way messaging infrastructure ensuring that any young person texting the service for help will receive a prompt answer from a trained advisor – via text message. The “Text Talk” service is available Monday to Friday 9am - 6pm using a dedicated number provided on the Orange network.
PrimetexT’s infrastructure enables the text message to be delivered to a system “inbox” on a PC at Base25’s drop in centre. The system uses a web interface with the look and feel of a traditional email client allowing Base25’s counsellors to compose a reply and, quickly and simply, send it as a text message.
Base25 spokesman Rob Willoughby said, ‘As the first of its kind in the country “Text Talk” is an exciting development for young people and we want to encourage them to make contact to get help, advice and support. There is a wide range of free services available from Base 25 and texting is a great way of giving young people a simple method of making contact.’
‘We’re delighted to be a part of ”Text Talk”’ said Phil Goodacre, CEO of PrimetexT. ‘It’s such a positive example of technology being used to improve young people’s lives – Base25 is showing a lead that others will surely follow.’
Base 25 services include counselling, contraception advice, under 18s substance service, careers information, young dads project, housing advice, girls’ group, young carers’ group, x2y gay, lesbian and bi-sexual group, activities for young people and a drop in centre in Wolverhampton and freephone help line.
Contact Janet Meredith on 01902 572040
mobileYouth is the worlds leading provider of news, statistical research,
opinion and analysis on the youth market and its usage of mobile services.
It provides companies with the information they need to identify how their
mobile product or service relates to the youth market, the benefits to
the consumer and how to penetrate the market.
Contact Josh Dhaliwal on 0207 470 8898 or joshd@mobileYouth.org
The Mobile Option for Rapid Recruitment
PrimetexT Ltd (www.primetext.co.uk) the UK's leading provider of 2-way business text messaging services, and Options Employment Group Ltd, the UK's fastest growing employment agency group, today announced they have recently sent out the 250,000th text message as part of the advanced service of matching contract labour to vacancies.
The Mobile Data Association (MDA) announced on October 24th that the
total number of person-to-person text messages sent across the four UK
GSM networks in September 2003 totalled 1.73 Billion, taking the cumulative
annual total to 15 Billion for 2003(1). Business Text Messaging only accounts
for a small but rapidly growing fraction of that total which supports
the MDA's assertion "that text messaging has moved beyond a 'teenage fad'
to become an essential business tool" (2).
An example of this is the Options Employment Group, which operates in
a competitive recruitment market where vacancies have to filled fast and
communication needs to be managed between a single recruitment consultant
and many potential candidates. Integrating the PrimetexT solution into
its existing communications infrastructure has allowed Options Employment's
consultants to use text messaging throughout the recruitment process.
The benefits are a reduction in operating costs, improved efficiency and
increased revenue.
"We've found that there is simply no better mechanism for contacting suitable
candidates, especially given the short time frame within which we have
to fill those vacancies." Says John Dick, Options Employment Managing
Director. "Filling a vacancy used to take hours but now it can be accomplished
in minutes. Very often this has meant the difference between filling a
vacancy and not filling it".
PrimetexT's web interface has the look and feel of a traditional email
client allowing consultants to compose a recruitment message and, quickly
and simply, send it to 5 or 500 candidates. Information in the message
can cover the location and duration of the job, the rate of pay and the
relevant contact details. Candidates can elect to reply to the message
by phone or by texting the consultant in which case the message is posted
to the candidates "Inbox".
"Options Employment has been a customer since 2001 and during that time
we've been working together, refining and improving the service. For example
if a consultant has to leave the office he or she can now ask for the
messages to be forwarded on to his or her mobile.." Says Phil Goodacre,
CEO of PrimetexT. "Not only do Options Employment gain business efficiencies
through use of PrimetexT they also benefit from reduced communication
costs."
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PrimetexT Ltd appoints Phil Goodacre as CEO
PrimetexT Ltd (www.primetext.com), the UK's leading provider of 2-way business text messaging services, today announced the appointment of Phil Goodacre as CEO.
London - June 20th 2003 -- Mr Goodacre joins from 724 Solutions where he was Director, EMEA Solutions - responsible for the company's activity across the Financial Institutions sector. He also held global responsibility for 724's 2-way SMS banking products. Goodacre is the ex-Business Development Director at MobileAge Technology Ltd and is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers. "We are delighted that Phil has chosen to join PrimetexT", said Roy Smith, founder and Managing Director of PrimetexT Ltd. "He offers an incredible amount of experience in the creation and delivery of compelling business propositions gained from a career operating across the key industry sectors that PrimetexT is targeting. His blend of technological foresight and business acumen is unique in the industry so our excitement at his appointment is fully justified." Since the 2-way SMS service went live in June 2001 the company has attracted customers across diverse industry sectors, including Employment, Media, Local Government and Banking. Goodacre explains "The success of PrimetexT to date demonstrates that UK companies are starting to understand and appreciate the value of text messaging as serious business tool. We are confidently forecasting explosive growth in this marketplace, with PrimetexT ideally positioned to extend its leadership of this market."
About PrimetexT Ltd. PrimetexT was founded in 2001 to create compelling applications based on the SMS text messaging capability of GSM mobile phones. PrimetexT appeals across industry sectors as it delivers a combination of increased business efficiency, reduced costs and an effective delivery channel for communicating with remote workforces and customers alike. The Web-based service enables customers to use PrimetexT with minimal impact on existing IT communications".
Text Messaging - It's the business
Now UK business can benefit from the text messaging craze. PrimetexT today launches its service aimed at opening up the world of text messaging to UK business.
London - June 12th 2001 -- PrimetexT is a UK company offering a managed SMS text messaging service which allows UK businesses to integrate text messaging with their current internal and external communications. It allows any business with an Internet-connected PC to send and receive messages to and from any mobile phone. PrimetexT is unlike any currently available services in that it creates an instantly useable service, with no hardware or software installation required by its users. From sign-up to operational running is typically achieved in under 4 hours. Features include:-
- Full 2-way messaging from PC to mobile and vice-versa
- "Instant Message" mode for PC to PC communication
- Online Address Book
- Easy to set up groups of users for mass distribution
- Full administration interface to control and monitor usage
- Secure
- "Flash" messages for instant display on the recipient's handset
It is unusual for a business to be able to improve both the efficiency and quality of its communications, and save money at the same time. However, this is exactly what text messaging with the PrimetexT service delivers. A text message instantly and efficiently communicates information in way which is often more convenient for both sender and receiver. The cost advantage of text messaging can be significant. Nowhere is this more true than in international calls. A typical call to a UK phone abroad will cost 70p per minute. Even worse is if the phone is engaged or switched off and diverts to voicemail. To deposit and retrieve a voicemail message takes three international calls! So leaving even a brief message could cost the handset owner £2. Compared to the 10p to achieve the same result using SMS, it is easy to see the cost benefit.
Commenting on the launch, Bryan Wilson, a co-founder of PrimetexT adds, "feedback from our early users has confirmed that PrimetexT is a service that is long overdue. The variety of uses has amazed even us. We encourage businesses to look at the free trial at www.primetext.co.uk/freetrial and see how text messaging with PrimetexT can revolutionise their internal and external communications".
Notes to Editors. PrimetexT is a UK startup founded in 2001 to create complete applications based on the SMS Text Messaging capability of today's GSM mobile phones. The service launched in June and has already attracted significant corporate interest.