The GSMA September 12 announced that multiple global brands including 1-800 CONTACTS, BMW Seattle, Detroit Pistons, MGM Resorts, Multiplus, Subway and Walgreens are showcasing Messaging as a Platform (MaaP) services based on the GSMA's Universal Profile for Advanced Messaging (UP) at Mobile World Congress Americas. All plan to augment their existing SMS business messaging to Rich Communications Services (RCS) Application-to-Person (A2P) messaging, which creates a richer, more interactive experience for consumers and allows them to engage directly with brands within the messaging platform itself.
'Messaging as a Platform and RCS A2P is a huge upgrade on current SMS business messaging and opens up a host of possibilities for millions of brands to change the way they engage directly with consumers,' said Alex Sinclair, Chief Technology Officer, GSMA. 'It is all underpinned by the GSMA's Universal Profile, which is being adopted by mobile operators around the world, enabling a global RCS community with a unified, consistent and engaging user experience.'
These brands are working with aggregators and mobile marketing companies including 3Cinteractive, CM, ICF Olson, Mobivity, Movile, OpenMarket, Tiaxa and Zipwhip who are participating in programmes such as Google's Early Access programme. MaaP utilises the advanced messaging capability defined in the UP to open up a range of services that enhance the user experience through the use of artificial intelligence, chatbots and plugins as well 'conversational commerce'. This will allow customers to make restaurant reservations, book train tickets or make retail purchases entirely via messaging.