Animal Welfare Organisation Deploys Mobile Payments Platform

Sydney, 10 December 2007 - In an Australian first for a charity, The World Society for the Protection of Animals has deployed a mobile commerce payments platform in Australia as part of a new strategy to raise donations to help animals worldwide.

The campaign launched on Network Ten on the back of a documentary, titled "The Compassionate Traveller", enables supporters to pledge a donation in response to broadcast television advertising via mobile response on 132120.

"As an organisation which attracts a largely younger demographic, adding this new response channel into the mix makes perfect sense," said Donna Horsey from the WSPA. "By providing supporters with greater choice around how and when they choose to help the organisation, the WSPA has moved a step closer to its vision of a world where animals matter and animal cruelty ends."

At the same time, being able to use SMS on a 13 number will enable more people to access and counter the negative perception of the 19 number range. In addition, donating through PayPal on their mobile phone is a concept that should sit well with the tech-savvy WSPA supporters.

As part of its campaign, the WSPA has deployed the services of mobile response specialist, Ad.IQ, the company managing the pilot for SMS to 13/1300 numbers in Australia.

Ad.IQ has pioneered mobile response since 2002 and has been continually refining its technology to help brands achieve greater response from their advertising campaigns. The company is managing each response to the WSPA campaign which will eventually provide the charity with accurate and informed insight into the performance of its advertising campaigns while at the same time providing supporters with a new way to interact with the organisation.

Those responding to the WSPA's advertising via SMS are charged at their standard operator rate and messages are routed to them through the existing local-rate service provider.

The World Society for the Protection of Animals exists for the sole purpose of raising the standards of animal welfare throughout the world. For the past 25 years, it has aimed to promote the concept of animal welfare in regions of the world where there are few, if any, measures to protect animals. Every donation goes to work instantly to touch the lives of animals that need it most, from bears milked for their bile in China to whales fighting for survival in the world's oceans.

James Sugrue, client service director, Ad.IQ, said, "Non-profit organisations around the world are at the forefront in the deployment of mobile response to broadcast advertising campaigns and are now reaping the rewards of being able to track valuable responses from their hard earned marketing spend. The WSPA is now not just a pioneer in its work with animal protection around the world but can be proud of taking the leap in pioneering the use of mobile response and commerce within the charity sector."