Out There Media (OTM) is partnering with Vodafone Group for its Rich Communication Services (RCS) offering.

The deal follows two successful campaigns with The Walt Disney Company Africa and McDonald’s, run in partnership with media agency, OMD. The campaigns were executed via Vodafone to reach Vodacom customers in South Africa.

Using the Vodafone network to facilitate the all-new 2019 Lion King release and McDonalds Rewards program RCS projects, the campaigns saw a 72 per cent and 73 per cent Read Rate (RR) respectively, with a conversion rate of approximately 3 per cent. Engagement rates were 44 per cent with the McDonalds campaign and up to 82 per cent with the Lion King campaign, without the need for subscribers to leave the native messaging app on their phone.

“The Disney and McDonald’s campaigns run by Out There Media and Vodacom demonstrate the first large scale commercial RCS campaigns by big brands on the continent,” said Liz McCord, principal product manager at Vodafone Group. “The results were spectacular and prove the value of this new messaging channel for mobile customers and brands alike. RCS Business Messaging is the game-changer the industry has been waiting for.”

Nick Lane, founder and chief industry analyst at research firm Mobilesquared said the campaigns are a clear sign that major brands are taking RCS seriously and are starting to see the potential of the channel. “Using an advertising model will allow the RCS ecosystem, and mobile operators in particular, to tap into the $616bn [source: WARC] global advertising spend,” he said.