Hello, everyone, Derek Johnson with tatango.com. This today is about T-Mobile's new November code
of conduct for mobile messaging. There's one specific thing that I wanted to point out and
explain. In September, they released a new code of conduct, and there was one section in the code of
conduct which created a lot of concern for SMS marketers and brands. They've since...In the
November version, which just got released, they've since pulled back a little bit. So, I'm going to
explain what all happened. So, in September, and I'm going to read from my screen up here,
in September, they released the code of conduct, and in Section 3.1 or 3.10,
actually, the section is called Transitioning Messaging Programs to a New Application Address.
And new application address is essentially a fancy word for phone number. So, if you were
using a long code and you move to a short code or a short code to a long code, long code to a 1-800,
1-800 to a short code, whatever it is, that is what this section is talking about. Now,
most SMS providers or brands have been kind of following most of these rules. So, on the...let's
say you're going from a long code to a short code. On the long code, before you leave the long code,
you need to send out a final message saying, "Hey, we're going to message you from a short
code going forward, and here's the phone number," which is just good kind of standard practice.
Then you have to disclose the program name or product description,
opt-out information. So, "If you don't want to continue messaging reply STOP,"
and then other important details regarding the transition, customer care contact information,
whatever the brand decides, essentially. Most brands and SMS providers are following
those guidelines, at least for the last 13 plus years that I've been doing SMS marketing.
Then on the new phone number, which in this case would be a short code,
this is where it got concerning for a lot of brands, and a lot of marketers, and SMS providers.
So, it said these are the things that need to be in the message, recurring message program name,
or product description. So, "Hey, this is our new phone number." Again, this is Wendy's, or
Chipotle, or Macy's, whatever it is. Put the brand name in there or the product description. Opt-out
information, so "Text STOP to opt-out," customer care contact information. And then message
frequency disclosure, so we're going to send you five messages a week, or just recurring messages
weekly, a lot of...You can kind of intermix those things depending on what your legal counsel says.
Then this was the sticking point that everybody kind of freaked out about. So, they said, "New
opt-in confirmation request." So, essentially, what T-Mobile was saying in the September code
of conduct was if you are going to switch phone numbers on consumers, go from a short code to a
long code, 1-800 to a short code, whatever it is, you have to essentially re opt-in the subscribers.
This is horrible in email marketing, in SMS marketing, whatever it is, re opting-in
subscribers is kind of tough for the consumer, tough for the brand because you lose a lot of
subscribers. But this is what T-Mobile wanted in the rules, so you got to follow the rules.
It just has been announced though, and I'm going to bring it up here.
T-Mobile has put out a new set of guidelines, a new code of conduct. This is the 2.2,
which is released in November. This is when I'm filming this video. Let's see what date is,
November 18th, 2020. So, this just got put out. Essentially the same kind of thing,
but at the very...On the second message on the new phone number, let's say you're going from
long code to short codes, this is the short code, it has removed...T-Mobile has removed
the requirement to re opt-in mobile subscribers. The only thing that's required on the second
message on the short code, let's say, is the program name or product description,
opt-out information, which is always good to put in there, customer care contact information,
and message frequency disclosure. So, what's missing here is the re opt-in kind of statement.
Essentially, they put it as a new opt-in confirmation request, so that is no longer needed.
My take, most likely what happened here is everybody right now is moving their messaging
campaigns from shared short codes. A lot of brands are still using shared short codes. Those shared
short codes are being shut down or terminated, or there is going to be a sunset date for shared
short codes. So, a lot of brands and a lot of SMS providers are moving their clients or planning on
moving their clients to either dedicated short codes or long codes, maybe even 1-800 texting,
whatever the client wants. But that would be very, very hard if all of these brands, organizations,
groups that are using shared short codes would have to re opt-in their mobile subscribers.
So, I think T-Mobile got a lot of feedback, I bet about this, and that is why this change
is happening. And it also goes the other way too. A lot of brands are starting out on a long
code or maybe a 1-800 number just because they're really easy to provision, and then they're moving
to a short code, a dedicated short code because you can't get a shared short code anymore. So,
they're moving to a short code, but that is a horrible process for a brand if they build up
SMS subscriber database really quickly, but then they got to re-opt everybody in on the short code.
That just doesn't work for most brands or organizations.
So, anyway, this is just kind of a recap. So, in September, T-Mobile came out with their code of
conduct. They said if you're going to move phone numbers on your customers you have to get them to
re opt-in. Just today, at least today is when I got it, T-Mobile has come out with a new code of
conduct, which is Version 2.2. The last one was 2.1, and it is November 18th. And in this one,
they removed the requirement to re opt-in your subscribers when you move them from a phone
number to another phone number, short code, long code 1-800, whatever it is. So, I think it is good
for the brands. I think it makes it easier for them to transition between phone numbers. Again,
I wouldn't transition every week or every month to a different phone number. I think that would
be very confusing for the customer, and I think your opt-outs just would go up. But
if you've been using a short code for a long time and you want to move to a dedicated short code,
now it's much easier. If you want to move from a long code to a short code, much easier, if
you're on a shared short code and you need to go to a long code, much easier. So, I think this is
good for everybody involved. So, I'll try to drop below some links to the document so you can see
kind of the difference, but that was one of the big changes between the documents and something
that was causing a lot of pain in the industry. So, you can see where this change came from.
Again, my name is Derek Johnson with tatango.com. Be sure to check out our
YouTube channel where we post all kinds of videos like this about SMS marketing,
youtube.com/tatango. All right. Thanks, everyone.