After years of resistance, Apple might be adopting the RCS (Rich Communication Services) standard on iOS later this 12 months, in line with multiple media reports. The move will bring higher text messaging interoperability between iPhones and Android smartphones. For marketers, this could provide a compelling reason to graduate from tried-and-true SMS messaging as a way of reaching consumers.
Largely viewed as a more robust version of SMS messaging, RCS for a protracted time has been supported by Google (Android) and a number of phone carriers, including Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile. The standard allows for richer communication than the decades-old SMS, notably through stronger media-sharing capabilities. However, because Apple hasn’t adopted the usual, an RCS message sent to an iPhone would default to the SMS format and be marked with a green text bubble versus the blue bubbles used inside iMessage, a long-debated tension between loyalists to iOS and Android.
Apple’s adoption of the usual could give marketers more reason to utilize RCS for business messaging (generally known as RBM) and tap into perks like the flexibility to look as a verified sender and send high-quality media and longer, more interactive messages. RCS can also be different from SMS in that it doesn’t depend on a cellular signal connection. By 2025, the number of energetic RCS users is anticipated to achieve 2.1 billion globally, in line with Juniper Research.
“Marketers will have the ability to make communications more visually appealing with wealthy messaging capabilities of RCS, reminiscent of images, video and call to motion buttons which might be added to messaging campaigns,” said Molly Gatford, research analyst at Juniper Research, in emailed comments. “This is anticipated to extend consumer engagement with marketing messages and due to this fact make the use of RCS more attractive to marketers.”
Making probably the most of RCS
Global operator revenue from RCS business messaging traffic is anticipated to grow from $1.3 billion in 2023 to $8 billion in 2025 due largely to Apple’s adoption of RCS, per Juniper’s findings. Among its perks, the use of RCS may help brands boost their value exchange through added “moments of magic,” explained Vartika Verma, senior director of global marketing for Gupshup, a conversational messaging platform. For instance, an airline using SMS to message a consumer could send basic flight information, like a booking number, but with RCS, it could moreover help consumers easily select their seat or pre-plan meals for the flight.
“So much more of those two-way interactions at the moment are possible [with RCS] throughout the message window,” Verma said. “SMS can definitely send you a brief link, but it surely’s not wealthy. You get hungry once you see an image of food — now airlines can do this.”
Among clients using RCS, some have seen engagement rates about 30-35% higher than for messages sent using SMS, the chief said. The standard could even be priceless over other channels, like email, with one Gupshup client, a travel brand, observing a 2.7-times increase in conversion rate and a 7% higher open rate when using RCS business messaging in comparison with email, per data shared by the corporate.
Apple has confirmed that its adoption of RCS will arrive via a software update later this 12 months, in line with 9to5Mac, though many details are yet to be revealed. The adoption will bring a number of iMessage-like features to messages between Android and iOS, like read receipts and typing indicators, though the corporate has stated that RCS messages will still show up with green bubbles on iPhones.
Since Apple’s announcement, a number of Gupshup clients have expressed a desire to higher understand RCS, Verma said, noting that cost efficiency could be one factor driving interest.
“The excitement and the prep is there,” Verma said.
Though Android currently commands a much larger share of the worldwide market than iOS, Apple smartphone users account for significantly more mobile value in some points, which could make the corporate’s adoption of RCS much more appealing to marketers. Specifically, iPhone users engage with apps on their smartphone for nine hours more in a given month than Android users, and spend more on in-app purchases. However, iOS users are around 10% less likely than Android users to open a push notification.
The RCS standard has been within the works for over a decade, having been chosen for adoption by the GSM Association (GSMA) in 2008 and intended to switch SMS, which celebrated its thirtieth birthday in 2022. Google has been a significant advocate for the usual — even having offered back-end services to carriers trying to adopt it — offering it through Google Messages (the default messaging app on Android) while pressuring Apple to adopt RCS through cheeky campaigns.
Despite the advantages of RCS, Apple has prior to now refused to adopt it, as an alternative putting its muscle behind iMessage, which it doubled down on in its announcement because the “best and most secure messaging experience.” In 2022, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook even suggested to 1 individual asking about RCS to as an alternative buy their mom an iPhone. The company’s decision to adopt RCS, which got here in November, follows pressures placed on it to designate iMessage as a “core” service under the European Union’s Digital Markets Act.
The battle of RCS versus SMS
While Apple’s adoption of RCS is anticipated to assist usher the usual into the mainstream, SMS is anticipated to stay dominant, with 9.3 billion subscribers forecasted for 2024, per Juniper Research. Some brands have also been upping their bets on SMS marketing, and over half of marketers last 12 months planned to extend their spend on the channel. Still, while SMS isn’t expected to go away anytime soon, its one-way nature could be a reason for some marketers to drag back.
“SMS overall, in terms of its delivery, in terms of its architecture, global appeal — it’s still winning,” Verma said. “But I don’t see it as a channel to converse, it’s more of a channel to speak … when you’re expecting responses on SMS, I believe that point is gone.”
Compared to SMS, RCS offers features that could construct consumer trust, like a verified sender badge to assist distinguish against fraudulent activity. End-to-end encryption has been a priority as conversations around consumer privacy intensify, though Apple has said it’ll not use any proprietary end-to-end encryption on RCS messages. For reference, Google’s use of end-to-end encryption is thru Messages, not RCS itself, in line with 9to5Mac.
RCS could develop into a solid alternative to marketers as they navigate the worldwide rising cost of SMS, a trend that is anticipated to slow the expansion of SMS traffic over the following five years, Gatford said. Because of the upper costs, RCS traffic has been expected to grow regardless of Apple’s adoption of the usual, the exec added.
“SMS pricing is already a major problem for many businesses, and due to this fact, so as to make sure the success of RCS as a go-to messaging channel, it should be deployed with a pretty yet justified pricing model,” said Gatford in emailed comments.
One challenge for brands integrating RCS into their strategy is the flexibility for consumers to reply to messages through quick-reply features, tasking marketers to be prepared to administer the quantity and scale of replies and ensure consumers receive a response in a timely manner, Verma said. In such cases, the use of generative AI could help to alleviate tension, she said.
However, the channel shouldn’t be seen as a way for infinite conversation. Instead, brands should ensure consumer behavior stays front of mind, the exec said.
“All things said and done, this is identical space that they use to interact with their family and friends as well. So it’s good to have some boundaries, some distinction and have lots more empathy,” Verma said.
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