A new channel for classified ads

KUALA LUMPUR: Classified advertisements are an integral part of newspapers, making their way to the Web and now also set to make their mark in the short message service (SMS) world.

ADSX Media Sdn Bhd has a new service that would allow users to post and search for classified ads via SMS.

The Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) status company's recently-launched text2ad service allows a seller to place an ad by sending his ad description via SMS, while buyers can search using their cellphones.

The company said its locally-designed Advertising Aggregator Engine would manage and deliver multiple types of advertising and promotions, which can range from property to cars and even to personal ads.

The service works with any of the three local cellular operators – Maxis, DiGi or Celcom – regardless of which network a user subscribes to.

According to ADSX Media’s managing director, Mark Koay, each classified ad posted by a seller will be charged RM2. The ad will remain posted for 14 days.

“All a seller has to do is to type in a few special codes followed by his description of the item he plans to sell, and send it to the SMS shortcode 33323,” he said.

Koay said that buyers who are interested could likewise use SMS to do a search by just typing a few short commands.

ADSX also has another service called the getitfresh. “This premium service is specially for those who have already tried searching our database but have not found what they are looking for,” he said.

With getitfresh, buyers will be informed immediately via SMS alerts once an ad that matches their search criteria has been received by the system.

“This way, buyers need not manually search our database as the system does the searching for you,” Koay said.

ADSX Media will be participating in the Asian Communication and Multimedia Expo 2004 (ACM Expo 2004) that will take place at the Malaysian International Exhibition and Convention Centre, part of Malaysia ICT Week on Sept 2-5.

“We hope that our participation would generate the awareness needed to promote our product and services,” he said.

ACM Expo 2004 will feature the latest in communications and multimedia technologies, including wireless broadband, mobile Internet and satellite solutions.

Malaysia ICT Week 2004 (MICTW 2004) is officially hosted by the Energy, Water and Communications Ministry, with The Star-In.Tech as the official newspaper.

Other MICTW events include the MSC Expo, National E-Commerce Expo, Impress, E-Security, IBIS and Smart Card Technology; as well as conferences such as the 8th MSC International Advisory Panel Meeting and the MSC Business Summit, scheduled for Sept 1-2 at the Putrajaya Convention Centre.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is expected to officially launch MICTW at the ACM Summit 2004.

Koay said that in the near future, ADSX plans to extend its text2ad concept to include MMS (multimedia messaging services) and 3G-type applications.

“One definite area we’re looking into is to enable our sellers to take a picture with a camera phone, and post the picture ad via MMS,” he said.

For more on ADSX, call (603) 7625-2576 or surf to www.text2ad.com.