A new company is hoping to put those hours spent idling in traffic to good use by bringing together mobile-phone users and radio advertisers with one number, free of charge.
Privately held e-Wireless Inc., founded by former Becker Beepers founder and president Dean Becker, recently launched its #333 service in seven cities across the country. The service allows a consumer to dial #333 from their wireless phone and get connected to a company advertising its product or service over the radio. The caller just has to identify which city they are calling from, and the company that was advertised.
“When I founded e-wireless last November, I decided I wanted to create a seamless integration so advertisers could advertise an easy-to-use, safe number,” Becker said. “It’s sort of like an integration of toll-free service and 411 service.”
E-wireless has agreements with every wireless carrier in the country, Becker said, and each has assigned e-wireless “#333,” so no matter what carrier is being used or what region of the country a person is in, they always will be connected to e-wireless when dialing #333.
More than 1,500 radio advertisers have signed up for the service. Instead of giving a personal 10-digit or 800-number, advertisers tell listeners to dial #333 at some point in their ad. Becker said advertisers only are charged per completed call, and e-wireless also provides customer tracking information on a private Web page so advertisers can gauge the success of their ads.
Becker noted that a caller does not have to dial #333 at the actual time the ad is playing to be transferred to the desired company. He said participating advertisers are “getting some really unique carry over,” from consumers who dial in days after they hear an ad.
On Oct. 2, e-wireless launched its latest markets in Austin and Houston, Texas, as part of a rapid nationwide launch that should see the service available in 50 markets in the United States and 15 markets in Canada by early next year. Fourteen international markets will be added in 2001 as well.
About 85 advertisers are participating in Houston alone.
“Houston consumers, advertisers and the radio networks all benefit from this new service. Consumers gain a quick, easy and free way to respond to advertising while driving in their cars. Advertisers … can increase their track response rates and #333 will transform the radio industry by making it a more effective direct-response medium,” Becker said.
In addition to Austin and Houston, the #333 service is available in Chicago, Dallas, Fort Worth, Boston and Hartford, Conn.
In about a month, consumers also will be able to log on to “www.333.com” to get more information about a company, its products and/or services, without having to remember the advertiser’s Web address.
E-wireless is based in Chicago.
