Mobile Marketing With Mxit

Mxit (www.mxit.com), which is pronounced “mix it”, is a free instant messaging software application that was developed in South Africa for use on mobile phones and PCs. It runs on GPRS / 3G mobile phones which have Java support, as well on PCs using the Adobe Flash player. It allows users to send and receive text and multimedia messages to and from other users who are connected to the Internet, whether it be between mobile phones, PCs or between the two. The messages are sent and received via the Internet instead of using SMS technology, and also allow users to exchange messages with other IM programmes such as MSN Messenger. Although the networks do charge for data costs, this is usually far cheaper than SMS costs, which has driven the large uptake of this service, 9 million registered users, particularly in the youth market.

As well as being a chat platform, MXit allows its users to customise their profiles by downloading skinz, wallpapers and emoticards, has its own ecommerce platform (supported by its currency, Moola), and a music platform.

MXit for marketers

There are many similarities between web-based social networks and MXIt when it comes for opportunities for marketers. MXit provides social profiling, so that advertising can be served to particular demographics. MXit also allows organizations to set up profiles that users can connect with and chat with. These can be celebrities who want to keep in touch with brands, or cinema chains such as South Africa’s Ster Kinekor, who distribute movie information via the MXit channel.