February 7, 2008
Sending gifts via text message helps break down social barriers
Sending gift coupons via text messages has become a multi-million-dollar business for South Korea's largest mobile carrier, SK Telecom, since its launch in December 2006, reports dpa, seeing year-over-year growth of 700% from 2006 to 2007 according to Web2.0 Asia.
" Kim Mi-ran, a 20-year-old co-ed, smiles at a text message that she has just received on her mobile phone. It says, "Enjoy an Ice Caramel Macchiato coffee at Starbucks." It was from a male student whom she had met socially, but seldom talks to her.
"I like this way of letting her know my interest in her," grins the male student who sent the gift coupon by phone."I would be a little too nervous to call her and say 'hi," he adds.
SK Telecom says that the carrier has almost 300,000 young users a month sending about 1 million dollars' worth of the "gifticon" brand coupons, which are good for sending small gifts like coffee and ice cream via their friends' cellphones.
The service is meant to nurture human relationships, explains Kim Hye-Jin, a spokeswoman for SK Telecom.
... Small sum gift items top the list of more than 100 gifticon items offered by about 40 franchisers, including Mr Pizza, Baskin Robbins ice cream, Burger King hamburgers and many Korean-branded snacks".
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